Belgian strong dark using malt extract

[MrPat]

Hey guys,
It's been a long time. I'm just getting back into brewing after a long hiatus. My girlfriend surprised me last week by bringing home a kit for a summer blonde ale, and after making it, I guess I have the bug again.
I'm currently still using extract and steeping grains, but with a solid setup (full boil, wort chiller, yeast starters, oxygenation, etc.)
I've always wanted to try my hand at making a Belgian strong dark a la Westvleteren 12. My concern is this-assuming proper procedures are followed( good starter, proper aeration, good temperature control), will I ever be able to get a beer like this to ferment to the level of dryness that this style is known?
I'm worried even very fermentable extract still won't ferment enough and I'll wind up with a beer that's too sweet. But then again, it's been a while since I've done this and I've probably forgotten a lot in the past few years.
Anyway, is it worth it to try? Any advice for making a Belgian strong dark using extract?
Also, I know the traditional recipe has a very simple grain bill, and I'd like to stick to something similar. However, are there any steeping grains that would help in small amounts to make up for what I'd be missing by not doing all grain/ a decoction mash.I.e. Melanoidin, biscuit, aromatic, etc?
My basic idea is something like this, pale malt extract, maybe a few steeping grains, 3# of D-180, hops as usual, fermentation as usual(Westmalle yeast starter, pitch at 65, self rise to low eighties, keep there for a few days, let cool, leave another week or so, then crash and keep in secondary at fifty degrees or so for another eight weeks, then bottle with dextrose and fresh yeast.)
Thanks for your patience, any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[kingwood-kid]

On the monster Westy-12 thread, someone had the idea of mashing the extract with some base grain to make it more fermentable. or you could just sub some simple sugars for some extract. Since you'll be adding candy syrup anyway, I would add a pound of amber syrup along with the darker syrups. That way you'd be gaining some complexity as well as fermentability.

 

[Wolfdust]

The monks add plain white beet sugar...if it works for them it should help you. My 2 cents.

 

[Qhrumphf]

According to Brew Like A Monk, Westy 12 is literally just base malt and invert sugar. That makes it easy for an extract beer. I would use the palest DME you can get, and use 20% candi syrup, most or all of it dark.

 

[schokie]

Substituting a couple pounds of DME for simple cane sugar will help it finish dryer. Also, you can try adding some of the sugar/D-180 a few days into fermentation. That allows the yeast to consume the more complex maltose first.

Your fermentation temp plan sounds spot on. Warning, the Westmalle strain is a slow finisher. It'll go through the first 80% like gangbusters. Get a blow off tube or have a towel handy! It will then take a couple weeks to finish up the last few points. Keep the temp up to prevent it from stalling. That strain is fairly sensitive to drops in temp.