Belgian Dark Strong Ale Double Drunk Monk Belgian Dark

[kinkothecarp]

Recipe Type

Extract

Yeast

Rochefort Yeast (Wyeast 1762)

Yeast Starter

None - Wyeast Smackpack

Batch Size (Gallons)

5

Original Gravity

1.093

Final Gravity

1.020

Boiling Time (Minutes)

90

IBU

25.4

Color

Deep Amber/Dark Red

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

7 from 62-69, raised by a degree per day

Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

3 at 55.

Tasting Notes

Rich plum, followed by toffee and slight hints of dark currants. Amazing.

10 lbs Pilsner Liquid Extract
1.3lbs Belgian Rock Candi Amber
1lb Carafa III
8oz Biscuit Malt
7oz Special B
6oz Aromatic Malt
1oz Chocolate Malt

Hops:
60 minutes: 1oz Northern Brewer @ 8.5AA
30 minutes: 1oz Styrian Aurora @ 8.0AA
30 minutes: 1oz Hallertau @ 3.1AA

Boil: 3.0 gallons
9.7% ABV / 8% ABW

Steep Grains. I didn't pitch a starter and the beer worked perfectly. It's rich and smooth. You can drink this young (3-4 weeks) but really deserves age (4-6+ months).

 

[kinkothecarp]

This won first place in a homebrew club competition. Entered into the Colorado State Fair - hope it does well

 

[AmandaK]

What did your scoresheet from the state fair look like on this one?
Thanks!

 

[ButterSandwich]

10 lbs Pilsner Liquid Extract
1.3lbs Belgian Rock Candi Amber
1lb Carafa III
8oz Biscuit Malt
7oz Special B
6oz Aromatic Malt
1oz Chocolate Malt

Hops:
60 minutes: 1oz Northern Brewer @ 8.5AA
30 minutes: 1oz Styrian Aurora @ 8.0AA
30 minutes: 1oz Hallertau @ 3.1AA

Boil: 3.0 gallons
9.7% ABV / 8% ABW

Steep Grains. I didn't pitch a starter and the beer worked perfectly. It's rich and smooth. You can drink this young (3-4 weeks) but really deserves age (4-6+ months).

This looks delicious. What yeast and OG please?

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Home Brew Talk

 

[kinkothecarp]

Wyeast Belgian Abby Ale (1214)

I would add a little more bittering hops to balance it - it's really quite sweet.

 

[ButterSandwich]

Thank you very much!

 

[wedge421]

Great Recipe! Ive been looking for a solid BSDA

 

[Pandaren]

for the rock candi...did you just add that into the boil or did you add that into secondary? I think I'm going to use Turbinado sugar and invert that, since my lhbs doesn't have and Belgian rock candi.

 

[kinkothecarp]

for the rock candi...did you just add that into the boil or did you add that into secondary? I think I'm going to use Turbinado sugar and invert that, since my lhbs doesn't have and Belgian rock candi.

Boil at flameout.

 

[Pandaren]

Awesome thanks! I'm starting this bad boy tomorrow!

 

[kinkothecarp]

Awesome thanks! I'm starting this bad boy tomorrow!

Let me know how yours turns out!

 

[donjonson]

so how did it turn out? is it any good?

 

[Pandaren]

Yes, this was the big beer I had for my wedding reception! Didnt have as much time to condition as I was hoping, but I got nothing but good reviews on it. One of her uncles was saying it was his favorite of the beers (an ipa, choc. stout, "Cream of three crops", and this), so it went great, I'd say! Still havnt had a chance to try one myself, though, so I'll have to get back to ya on my own thoughts.

 

[kinkothecarp]

Wow! That's an honor! I never imagined others would be serving my recipes at weddings. I feel like an accomplished recipe maker-uper!

 

[Pandaren]

Haha, ya it was a pretty well welcomed! Mine turned out at 10.3% and now has a distinct rich malty tone with hints of toffee at the end. It's a bit thinner than I was hoping for, and has something of a banana flavor (guessing that's an off flavor? no one else seems to notice it...) but otherwise is an excellent brew. I've had less abv beers that tasted hotter than this one, so that's awesome!

 

[MmmmBeer]

Any tips to watch out for as I would like to do this one this weekend as a double batch since it sounds delicious!

Meaning would you recommend some Malto Dextrin to help with a more mouthy feel?

 

[Pandaren]

Well, it's definitely still getting better with age, so let it condition a good while at room temp. Ya, try out the malto dextrin and let us know the results! Kinda hard if you dont have one w/o to compare too, but I'd guess that could help it.

 

[daksin]

Think I'm going to brew this up for Christmas gifts this week. I was thinking a month in primary, a month in secondary and a month in bottles. Should that be enough?

I'll also probably go for a starter and the maltodextrin. One question I have is I actually already have a turkey fryer and huge pot, so I could full boil this. Should I add all of the ME at the beginning and go for a full boil? This will probably change up my hops utilization- what do you think I should do?

 

[Pandaren]

well, as far as fermenting goes, only a month in bottles will be kind of young, evenn though it's getting extra time in the fermenters: it definitely gets better with age! I did a full boil, and it worked out great for me.

 

[daksin]

Would you maybe shorten the time in the fermenters to say 3 each and tack the extra time onto the bottle conditioning? Or skip the secondary? I'm a bit new to all this.

The idea was to give everyone 2 750ml bottles of it, one to drink soon(ish) and one to drink way way down the road. I'd like to have it at least tasty in 3.5 months if that's possible.

 

[Pandaren]

I would prob just follow the recipe, but if you're partial to more time in the fermentors, then keep primary the same, and increase secondary a few weeks. It will certainly be good by xmas, but might still be a little hot and green. Something this big though, will mostly just be hot. Otherwise, I'd say you're good to go!

 

[daksin]

I would prob just follow the recipe, but if you're partial to more time in the fermentors, then keep primary the same, and increase secondary a few weeks. It will certainly be good by xmas, but might still be a little hot and green. Something this big though, will mostly just be hot. Otherwise, I'd say you're good to go!

Haha, ok. 7 day primary and 3 day secondary sounded a little short to me, but if the time in the bottles is what's important, that's what I'll do (OG/FG permitting, of course). Noobs like me probably shouldn't be fiddling with the recipes of award winning beers

 

[Pandaren]

ya the 3 day secondary hit me by suprise, too. In fact, if I remember right, my work schedule didnt work out well with me bottling after 3 days, so I'm pretty sure it was in there for a week. Let us know how it turns out!

 

[daksin]

Just an update: brewed this Saturday night WAAAAY late. We were up until 4:30 cleaning up. That's not all brewing, obv. We had a late lunch date with some friends and then had to cook and bake for a Sunday party. Didn't start sanitizing for bottling the ESB until around 9, and finally started brewing around 11:30.

Everything went exceptionally smoothly, save for a little scorching of the LME. That stuff is irritating to work with- I think I'm done with it. Hope it didn't affect the flavor too much- it smells pretty burnt/coffee ish, but it wasn't apparent in the gravity sample. Also missed the gravity (wtf) only by a few points, because I think I boiled too big and the boil-off on my pot/burner is actually pretty minimal.

Pitched a 2qt starter and after ~12hr lag it took off. It's been blowing through the blowoff since mid afternoon yesterday. Looking forward to this one:rockin:

 

[kyleslattery]

In the recipe, you mention Wyeast 1762, but then in a later post you say you used 1214. Which did you actually use?

 

[kinkothecarp]

In the recipe, you mention Wyeast 1762, but then in a later post you say you used 1214. Which did you actually use?

I've used both, but the Rochefort yeast turned out better for my tastes!

 

[kyleslattery]

Great, thanks. I'm really looking forward to making this!

 

[daksin]

Just an update, the krausen kept shooting through the blowoff for about 5 days, then I switched it to a bubbler. Gravity was only about 1.040 and it's been bubbling pretty slowly since then, so it may take a while to get down to final gravity. Smells fantastic, but man, you can barely smell it through the alcohol. Might just end up doing a long primary of 3 weeks and then going right into bottles. We'll see. The waiting is the hardest part.

 

[Moratorium]

I am planning on brewing this up this weekend. It sounds great! This is going to be my Holiday brew to to hand out. Any new updates anyone would like to share?

 

[daksin]

Mine was only at 1.030 as of last sunday, which would be 2 weeks in primary. Not sure why it's so slow compared to OP, but it is a big beer so I'm not worried.

I've roused the yeast once, and may again this weekend (3 weeks in primary). Still the occasional airlock bubble, though, so I'll keep rousing and waiting until it's done. Tastes excellent, most of that ridiculous alcohol nose is gone- this should be a great beer in a few months.