Fruity Belgian Duppel

[HP_Lovecraft]

What I really wanted was something very fruity, strong, malty, but not at all bitter.
I started with a Porter recipe, but swapped the Chocolate with Belgian B.

Then suddenly I had the urge to make the fruitiest ale possible. (Is "Fruitiest" a word?). So I modified the generic Porter recipe further, and ended up with this:

6.6lb Extra Light DME
1lb Wheat DME
1lb Brown Sugar (Dark)

1lb Crystal 65L
1lb Special B

1oz Nugget (50m)
1oz Cascade (15m)
1oz Fuggles (5m)
WYeast #1056

OG #1.073
IBU #59.7
SRM #22.4

Went into Primary on 1/6, and will probobly stay there until 1/16 then onto secondary.

Should this acheive my goal of "fruity"? Mainly from the excessive amount of Special B? I realized after pitching that I used the wrong WYeast. And the wrong hops. Going to drink it regardless, though I wanted a nice "after dinner" drink.

 

[CBBaron]

The real key to fruity Belgian ales is the yeast. Belgian Trappist and Abbey ale yeast provide plenty of fruity esters. You also have to let the temperature rise during the later stages of fermenting to get the best flavors from the yeast. Wyeast 1056 is a very clean yeast that produces very little esters. I don't think you are going to get much fruitiness from this beer except for some citrus flavors from the Cascades hops. Special B does add some hints of plum but mostly it is roasty and caramel. I'd say your are closest to an American Brown Ale with your recipe.
Craig

 

[HP_Lovecraft]

In hindsite, the recipe looks just like some of the milder Barleywines listed here. I didn't want a darker ale, so I avoided chocolates, and darker grains.

So I'm curious how it will turn out. My only concern is the WYeast pooping out with the higher gravity, but the website shows 10% for #1056. With an OG of 1.074, I should just be under the 10%.

 

[CBBaron]

In hindsite, the recipe looks just like some of the milder Barleywines listed here. I didn't want a darker ale, so I avoided chocolates, and darker grains.

So I'm curious how it will turn out. My only concern is the WYeast pooping out with the higher gravity, but the website shows 10% for #1056. With an OG of 1.074, I should just be under the 10%.

1056 should have no problem with that kind of gravity. I've seen beers over 1.100 use 1056 with success. I have done a couple of RIS using US-05 (a similar strain) that were near 1.090. At 1.074 you will probably be between 7.5% and 8%.
Craig

 

[zoebisch01]

As Craig mentions, it's all about the yeast and how you handle the ferment. I have a brew right now that has an unbelieveable nose because of the yeast I used (3942) and that was at modest temperature around 65 °F ferment. I have another batch going that I racked onto the cake and this one I am ramping up at the end, I am excited to see what happens.

Making the beer malty and sweet is a combination of factors. In your specific case, if the beer doesn't produce what you were expecting, perhaps looking into dropping out your hops additions to a single bittering hop and shoot for 25 to 30 IBU (that is if the crystal malts don't counter the 60 IBU). The cascade is indeed citrusy, but it may not play out the way you think it will, although only time will tell .

The brown sugar is going to take some time to blend into the flavor profile. You will probably be hitting about 3 months post ferment when it should come together is my guess. The Special B is certainly going to give you that raisin type flavor, especially a lb of it and will also take time to blend well into the profile. I don't think this will be a bad beer, but next go around you have a few options to tweak to bring it back to where you want it, assuming this doesn't hit the mark.

 

[HP_Lovecraft]

Making the beer malty and sweet is a combination of factors. In your specific case, if the beer doesn't produce what you were expecting, perhaps looking into dropping out your hops additions to a single bittering hop and shoot for 25 to 30 IBU (that is if the crystal malts don't counter the 60 IBU).

It didn't start out that way. But as I increased the fermentable base, I was boosting the hops to match. Then boosted the malt, then the hops. Then it got out of hand.

The 60 IBU was a total mistake. My goal was 30-40. My old homebrew book (Dummies Guide) lists Nugget as "mild". But after I added it, I noticed the Alpha was 13%!! Clearly the book was wrong. If I paid more attention, I would have used 1/2 the amount.

But in hindsite, it looks like it will make a good "Old Ale" once it matures. I wanted lots of flavor, and that is what i will get. Eventually... (I'm patient. Goes along with being married)

 

[DeathBrewer]

definitely not a belgian with that yeast, but it looks like it might be a nice, strong brown/stout ale. it'll definitely have some roasty flavours with that special b

 

[zoebisch01]

The 60 IBU was a total mistake. My goal was 30-40. My old homebrew book (Dummies Guide) lists Nugget as "mild". But after I added it, I noticed the Alpha was 13%!! Clearly the book was wrong. If I paid more attention, I would have used 1/2 the amount.

Makes sense. I always recalculate when I have the hops 'in-hand' by the AA number on the package. That is really the only way to be close, as some ranges of AA numbers for a given hop can be several percent apart.