Belgian Golden Strong Ale Dirty Monk Belgian Golden Strong Ale

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ohiobrewtus

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
7,762
Reaction score
75
Location
Ohio
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
WLP570
Yeast Starter
2 qt
Batch Size (Gallons)
5.5
Original Gravity
1.084
Final Gravity
1.006
Boiling Time (Minutes)
90
IBU
34.4
Color
5.7
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
2 weeks @ 68F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
6 weeks @ 68F
Tasting Notes
see below
**** Adjust the water volumes to your brewing setup!

I was a bit worried about this one since it was only at 1.016 when I racked it to secondary (OG was 1.084), but low and behold, 6 weeks later it was down to 1.006 and it turned out mighty tasty. I carbed it to about 2.7 volumes.

Little to no DMS detectable in the nose or the palate. There is a faint hint of spicy/noble hops in the nose, but almost none in the palate. The nose is overwhelmingly a Belgian... I don't have a better way to describe it... I can just smell the Pils.

A mildly strong alcohol presence it detectable in the finish, but overall is masked very well considering that this beer is over 10% abv.

Color is very light golden, carbonation is right in line with the style. Mine hasn't cleared as much as I would like it to, but I'll give it a couple more weeks on tap and see how it is... this is only the 2nd pint that I've pulled.


BeerSmith Recipe Printout - BeerSmith Brewing Software, Recipes, Blog, Wiki and Discussion Forum
Recipe: Dirty Monk Golden Strong Ale
Brewer: ohiobrewtus
Asst Brewer:
Style: Belgian Golden Strong Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.30 gal
Estimated OG: 1.085 SG
Estimated Color: 5.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 34.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
12.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 76.19 %
1.00 lb Wheat, Torrified (1.7 SRM) Grain 6.35 %
0.50 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 3.17 %
0.25 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 1.59 %
1.00 oz Saaz [5.80 %] (90 min) Hops 15.6 IBU
1.00 oz Tettnang [4.20 %] (90 min) Hops 11.3 IBU
1.00 oz Hallertauer [6.00 %] (15 min) Hops 7.5 IBU
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
2.00 lb Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 12.70 %
1 Pkgs Belgian Golden Ale (White Labs #WLP570) Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Double Infusion, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 13.75 lb
----------------------------
Double Infusion, Light Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
30 min Protein Rest Add 3.09 gal of water at 132.1 F 122.0 F
30 min Saccrification Add 2.75 gal of water at 187.9 F 150.0 F

View attachment belgian golden strong ale.bsm
 
man - this looks awesome. What could I sub for the tett? Perhaps Brewers Gold?

Beersmith sayz Saaz and Spalt are good substitutions. I'd add Hallertauer, Crystal, Liberty and Mt. Hood as acceptable substitutions as well.

9-15-08.jpg
 
Wow, that sucker must be bone dry! Give three months and see where it's at. I brewed BSGA back in April. Drank five gallons of it and then stashed another five. Just pulled it out on Sunday and it just keeps getting better.
Well done!
I put Saaz and Styrian goldings in mine.
 
Yes, it's nice and dry. Just how I wanted it. I'll leave it on tap for a couple weeks then I'll BMBF the rest off to bottles for long term storage. I'm looking forward to seeing how this is in 6+ months.
 
Brewed this last weekend with a small tweak to the hop bill (added an ounce of Spalt Select at shutoff). Had a little bigger volume than I expected at the end so I ended up with an OG of 1.080. Nevertheless, it was the best efficiency i have had yet from my BIAB technique. Pitched it with 2 liters of starter made with yeast recovered from a bottle of North Coast Brewing's Pranqster. The fermentation was vigorous for two days with heavy blowoff. Now it is down to about a bubble a minute or so. Just checked the SG and flavor to find 1.010 and a nice dry but yeasty brew. I'll give it a couple more weeks in the primary, then I am going to dry hop for a week with a little bit (1/2 to 1 oz) of Citra to give it that tropical fruit nose. I'll bottle condition to 3 volumes CO2 and then hope to crack my first bottle on my birthday at the end of April. Most of it will go down for another month or so.

Thanks to Ohiobrewtus for the recipe.
 
Thank you Ohiobrewtus! I brewed this one outdoors, in CO, the third Saturday of December, 2011. This beer was my first attempt at all-grain and my goodness. This beer really got me hooked. We primaried it for three weeks at 73 degrees, then four more in the secondary. It is super clear and crisp, until I stir up the yeast and get all of the funky banana and pineapple flavors. Drank some after two weeks, saving the rest for my birthday in July!
 
I brewed this yesterday and accidentally left out the table sugar. Can I boil it on e stove in a couple cups of water and once it cools add it to the fermenter? Suggestions?

I didn't think table sugar was conertable to alcohol. Is it just a sweetener or am I wrong?
 
I didn't think table sugar was conertable to alcohol. Is it just a sweetener or am I wrong?[/QUOTE]
Table sugar is a highly convertable yeast food. It lightens the body while boosting alcohol. The only problem is that it doesn't taste like much. Last week I read a thread on here called "20lb bag of sugar and a bottle of yeast nutrient", and decided to give it a try today. It was about how to make your own Belgian Candi Syrup. I used to buy the stuff and it didn't have much flavor and who knows how long the stuff sat on the shelf. For the less than four bucks, I made 4 lbs of Candi Syrup that was Golden in color, but because of the malliard reaction with the DAP, it had an almost caramel flavor with hints of apricots. I think it's going to mix nicely with this yeast. If you make a batch of this and add it to the secondary, it'll work out just fine, as well as keep all the nice flavors you developed cooking the syrup. Good luck!
 
I also did it as a decoction mash with rests at 95, 122 and 150 before mashing out at 167. I tweaked the hops a bit and went with all Saaz, adjusting the amount to keep the IBU's the same.
 
Mine has been in the keg going on its 2nd week now. Came out to be 10.7% ABV!

There was very little alcohol "taste" until I sampled it as I was kegging. I was actually a bit worried for how strong it tasted. I decided to toss in 0.75oz of a Simco 7% A.A. I belive it was to try and curb that burn a bit.

Worked out ok imo. Still as you noted a moderate/strong alcohol taste, but yeah its pushing 11% lol. Mine definitely has a bit more of a "dark" haze to it than yours, but I attribute a lot of that to having to just toss some hops in to even out the burn a bit.

I am really looking forward to this in about another month if it stays around that long. Ive already pulled about 6 pints off of it for tasting through the 1st week, and a growler for the Superbowl!
 
Mine was in primary for exactly a month. Went down to 1.004. By my calculations feom 1.08 thats 10.1% . And it is strong.
 
It definitely drops down low :D. In the last few days I have pulled off a couple more pints and it is definitely clearing up a bit now. Alcohol burn is starting to mellow out a bit :mug:
 
Pour one and pass it this way please... Might have to try this style in the near future. Thanks for the posting.!
 
I know its an older thread but..I brewed this beer 3 weeks ago og was 1.070. Today, I took a gravity reading and its at 1.025. Do you think it will continue to go down or is this it? And if I bottle it, will the yeast still carbonate it? Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks
 
Sounds like a pretty high FG for a strong golden ale. My experience with similar recipes pulled them down to about 1.010-1.015. You might agitate the yeast and warm it up a bit. I wouldn't worry about the viability for carbonation. This is not that high in alcohol and 3 weeks is not a long time. What yeast did you use and what temp is it at?
 
I just looked at my notes, my og was 1.082 and the fg was 1.024. I used White Labs WPL550. I think the fg was high because its been pretty cool in the room where it was fermenting (about 62°f). After tasting it, I'm actually ok with the low abv. I'm not usually a huge fan of Belgian beers and brewed this one for the experience. It has a good flavor without that (for lack of a better word) "punch" ive gotten in the past from Belgian strong beers.
 
Just saw this thread today, thinking about brewing it. Question, when do you add the table sugar?

Thanks
 
Went ahead and brewed this yesterday. Had to bring it upstairs, out of the basement, too cold down there to ferment a Belgian. Looking forward to trying this in a month.
 
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