Mash temp for Belgian Christmas Ale

[jtejedor]

Just had a quick question. I am planning on doing kind of a belated spiced christmas ale with some odds and ends I had laying around. I don't want it to be really high in alcohol so I prepared this recipe, OG should be about 1.077. The antwerp ale is supposed to really dry a beer out but I don't want this beer to be bone dry. And with the OG not being that high and using 2 pounds of sugar I figured I would mash at like 155 maybe so the beer does not get completely dried out. I don't know if that is too much sugar for a smaller batch or not, will mashing that high make it too thick or will the sugar being fermented out offset this?

Here is the recipe I am planning.
4 lbs 16.0 oz Kolsch (4.5 SRM) Grain 1 31.2 %
5 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (1.1 SRM) Grain 2 31.3 %
1 lbs Munich 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM) Grain 3 6.3 %
1 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 4 6.3 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5 3.1 %
8.0 oz Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 6 3.1 %
8.0 oz Melanoidin (Weyermann) (30.0 SRM) Grain 7 3.1 %
4.0 oz Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 8 1.6 %
4.0 oz Biscuit (Dingemans) (22.5 SRM) Grain 9 1.6 %
1 lbs Brown Sugar Belgian (60.0 SRM) Sugar 10 6.3 %
1 lbs Candi Sugar, Amber (75.0 SRM) Sugar 11 6.3 %
1.00 oz Magnum [9.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 12 21.5 IBUs
1.10 oz Ginger Root (Boil 12.0 mins) Herb 13 -
1.00 oz Styrian Goldings [2.60 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 14 2.2 IBUs
2.00 g Seeds of Paradise (Boil 5.0 mins) Spice 15 -
1.00 oz Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 5.0 mins) Spice 16 -
0.11 oz Cinnamon Stick (Boil 5.0 mins) Spice 17 -
1.0 pkg Antwerp Ale Yeast (White Labs #WLP515) [50.28 ml] Yeast 18 -

 

[smagee]

Antwerp can do some pretty good work on things, so I'd imagine this will still come out a bit dry for what you're hoping. I'd drop one of the sugars (probably the brown) and keep the mash around 155F. You'll still probably be looking at a FG in the teens, which may or may not meet your needs.

If you don't want it very high in ABV, 1.077OG seems a bit ambitious anyway; dumping a pound of simple sugar out will drop it closer to 1.068-69 and have the side benefit of not thinning it out too much.

 

[EO74]

Don't you mean EASTER ALE by the time its ready!

 

[Calder]

Dump the sugar and you will get what you want. It will be about 1.061 OG.

 

[jtejedor]

In case anyone was interested I went with my original plan and mashing at 160 seemed to do what I wanted. My efficiency was not so good it was about 1.072 but with the high mash temp and all that sugar I still finished at 1.015. The brew needs some age with the spices but has a real nice biscuity and malty backbone.