Cuetome: Belgian Specialty Ale

[PseudoChef]

For this project I am shooting for a sessionable Belgian-style medium-dark ale. I want it full of dark fruit: plums and cherries. Half will be soured, so I'm looking on information about this as well. I have chosen the Sour Mix because I want the tart sour produced by the lacto, but also the Brett character. Should I add at the beginning or when the O.G. dips a little?

Hops are because that's all the store had.

I'm wanting feedback on the specialty grains as well, as I've never used the Cara's. Too much? I want a solid malty backbone. Sessionable in terms of abv%, but I still want a little "chew" to the beer.


BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: C'uetome
Brewer: Kyle
Asst Brewer:
Style: Belgian Specialty Ale
TYPE: All Grain


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 9.00 gal
Boil Size: 11.40 gal
Estimated OG: 1.058 SG
Estimated Color: 23.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 21.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
14.50 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 66.67 %
3.00 lb Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 13.79 %
1.50 lb Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 6.90 %
0.75 lb Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 3.45 %
0.50 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 2.30 %

1.00 oz Saaz [6.00 %] (60 min) Hops 11.8 IBU
0.75 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (60 min) Hops 8.0 IBU
0.50 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (10 min) Hops 1.9 IBU

1.50 lb Candi Sugar, Amber (75.0 SRM) Sugar 6.90 %

1 Pkgs Trappist Ale (White Labs #WLP500) [StarterYeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Decoction Mash, Single
Total Grain Weight: 20.25 lb
----------------------------
Decoction Mash, Single
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
35 min Protein Rest Add 10.13 gal of water at 126.6 F 122.0 F
45 min Saccharification Decoct 4.29 gal of mash and boil it 155.0 F
10 min Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min 168.0 F


Notes:
------
4.5 gallons regular fermentation, 4.5 gallons will have WL655 Sour Mix added at 1.020?

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[landhoney]

I have chosen the Sour Mix because I want the tart sour produced by the lacto, but also the Brett character. Should I add at the beginning or when the O.G. dips a little?

I think the grainbill looks good, but I'm not the best on that. You can do primary with WL Sour Blend, but like you said, addding after primary(after the O2 has been used) is a good way to go. Mashing higher will leave plenty for the bugs to eat(1.020+ is good). The problem I see is at you mention souring 'half', when you blend the two halves and bottle, the Brett/etc will work on the non-sour half and could cause bottle bombs or overcarbonation. For instance, if the sour half finishes @ 1.007, and the non @ 1.015, when you blend you'll be at ~1.011 and then the Brett/etc. will work the bottled beer down to the sour half's level of 1.007.

 

[avidhomebrewer]

I think the grain bill is good-you will have plenty of non-fermentable sugar to aid in the malty (body) that you want. If you want 1/2 to be soured, I'd ferment that separately. You could use the WL yeast you mention, then add the sour strain later (sorry, not familiar with WL strains, but Wyeast 3278 would be equivalent). Or, as I have done in the past, I would ferment with just 3278, no additional Brett/Lacto/Pedio. For my sour beers, I have added the appropriate strain (3278) for primary fermentation. I would also think about adding a little malto-dextrin. That will give the bacteria something to eat after all the main sugars are gone. I wouldn't mix the two batches after you are done; you can't mix a sour beer with a normal beer to get a good flavor, just won't work well. I've used the Wyeast Trappist ale and haven't experienced plum/cherry flavors; maybe the WL strain is different. Either way, good luck.

 

[PseudoChef]

I think the grainbill looks good, but I'm not the best on that. You can do primary with WL Sour Blend, but like you said, addding after primary(after the O2 has been used) is a good way to go. Mashing higher will leave plenty for the bugs to eat(1.020+ is good). The problem I see is at you mention souring 'half', when you blend the two halves and bottle, the Brett/etc will work on the non-sour half and could cause bottle bombs or overcarbonation. For instance, if the sour half finishes @ 1.007, and the non @ 1.015, when you blend you'll be at ~1.011 and then the Brett/etc. will work the bottled beer down to the sour half's level of 1.007.

I'm going to sour half and bottle as is...I don't anticipate blending.

Either way, it's fermenting now...I was a little high on the numbers, O.G. = 1.065. I'm hopefully going to pick up either WL653 or the Sour Mix today. I think I'll keep it straight secondary and go 653 (Brett Lambi) though.