Belgian Golden Strong Ale Pink Elephant (Delirium Tremens clone)

[jkarp]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

WLP570

Yeast Starter

1L

Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter

S-04

Batch Size (Gallons)

3

Original Gravity

1.072

Final Gravity

1.006

Boiling Time (Minutes)

90

IBU

22 (Rager)

Color

4 (SRM)

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

7 (see notes)

Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

14 @ 32 deg

Tasting Notes

On-the-money clone for this award winning Belgian Strong.

Ingredients
-----------
Beet Sugar 1.00 lb, Sugar, Other
Pilsener (Belgian) 6.50 lb, Grain, Mashed

Styrian Golding 0.75 oz, Pellet, 60 minutes
Saaz 0.50 oz, Pellet, 15 minutes

Coriander Seed 7.20 grams, Spice, 10 min
Ginger 2.40 grams, Spice, 10 min
Paradise 2.40 grams, Spice, 10 min


Notes
-----
Recipe is from a Belgian who supposedly knew the brewmaster at Huyghe.

10 min @ 125F mash-in, 45 min @ 144F, 30 min @ 158F, 172F mashout. I'm frankly skeptical of the effectiveness of this mash schedule, but hey, it's how Huyghe does it, I'm told. 90 minute boil. 7 day ferment (pitch both yeasts), starting at 67F and allowed to rise as yeast desired. 14 day lager at 30F, followed by a 21 day warm bottle condition at 76F.

 

[eschatz]

So have you brewed this?

 

[jkarp]

So have you brewed this?

Yes. 2nd batch warm conditioning now which I'll be submitting for my LHBS annual competition in a month.

 

[IrregularPulse]

How does it compare and do you have one for NOEL? I enjoy this much more than Tremens.

 

[jkarp]

How does it compare and do you have one for NOEL? I enjoy this much more than Tremens.

Spice and color are dead-on. In my first brewing back in the fall, fermentation topped out at 74 so it didn't attenuate as well as I'd have liked. FG was 1.010 on that batch. I wrapped the fermenter in a blanket after 48 hours this time and it hit 82. FG was 1.006.

Sorry, I've never been in Belgium during the holidays so I haven't had a Noel. My bud in A'dam tells me it's a split between Tremens and Nocturnum. I'm not a big fan of Nocturnum.

 

[IrregularPulse]

I've had Nocturnum but don't recall the flavor. I just know I like the Noel. I can find it in southern OH, just had a bottle 2 weekends ago in Athens OH, surely you can find it in Colorado!

 

[jkarp]

Well, it's seasonal. Huyghe only brews it during the holidays. I could probably special order through my liquor store...

 

[IrregularPulse]

I understand it's seasonal, I guess it's probably because I live in a very non-beer savvy area so the bottles just stay available longer after the season.

 

[electric_beer]

You can find Noel at BevMo. Its actually a pretty good beer. Not too strong tasting considering how potent it is.

 

[BrewMunster]

You didn't list the yeast. Did you use a Wlp570 maybe? Just want to know so i can make

it soon, I love that beer.

 

[jkarp]

Yeast is listed. Huyghe pitches WLP570 *and* S-04. I've got a batch just out of warm conditioning. Wrong glasses, I know (all my goblets were dirty), but I'm submitting this one for my LHBS annual competition in a couple months and wanted to get an early taste-test alongside the real thing. Care to guess which is the clone?

 

[IrregularPulse]

I'm gonna guess the Clone is on the right. Real deal on left.

 

[jkarp]

I'm gonna guess the Clone is on the right. Real deal on left.

Correct, tho admittedly it's not entirely fair as I poured the whole DT bottle, including dregs. I'm not gonna waste a drop of that stuff.

 

[BrewMunster]

So does that beet sugar add a beet kind of flavor?

 

[undallas]

I'm brewing a similar recipe (from Northern Brewer forum) this weekend.
Instead of WL yeast, I'm going to culture it off a DT bottle.

I'll keep my notes and share soon.

How critical is this mash schedule? I only have a 5 gallons cooler which is good for single infusion.
WIll single infusion work? I'm planning to mash at high 140s for 90 minutes.

 

[jkarp]

How critical is this mash schedule? I only have a 5 gallons cooler which is good for single infusion.
WIll single infusion work? I'm planning to mash at high 140s for 90 minutes.

That's what I'd do. Maybe 146 for 90.

I'm skeptical of the true effectiveness of that mash schedule myself - particularly with modern malts - but it's what they supposedly do. It definitely made for a highly fermentable wort.

 

[jkarp]

So does that beet sugar add a beet kind of flavor?

Naw, beet, corn, cane, it's all the same in a Belgian. Beet is arguably more authentic as it's a local crop, but many Belgian breweries (Chimay for instance) use corn sugar now.

 

[jkarp]

Pic update. Here's a glass of Pink Elephant, properly aged. Still tastes spectacular.

 

[undallas]

I sampled mine when I racked from primary (5 weeks) to secondary...
Lots of spice... I guess I'll bottle this in a couple of weeks.
What CO2 volume do you shoot for? I guess it is around 4.0 (closer to hefe).

 

[jkarp]

Yeah, 3.5 - 4 seems to match the mouthfeel of DT.

 

[klamz]

Ingredients
-----------
Beet Sugar 1.00 lb, Sugar, Other
Pilsener (Belgian) 6.50 lb, Grain, Mashed

Styrian Golding 0.75 oz, Pellet, 60 minutes
Saaz 0.50 oz, Pellet, 15 minutes

Coriander Seed 7.20 grams, Spice, 10 min
Ginger 2.40 grams, Spice, 10 min
Paradise 2.40 grams, Spice, 10 min


Notes
-----
Recipe is from a Belgian who supposedly knew the brewmaster at Huyghe.

10 min @ 125F mash-in, 45 min @ 144F, 30 min @ 158F, 172F mashout. I'm frankly skeptical of the effectiveness of this mash schedule, but hey, it's how Huyghe does it, I'm told. 90 minute boil. 7 day ferment (pitch both yeasts), starting at 67F and allowed to rise as yeast desired. 14 day lager at 30F, followed by a 21 day warm bottle condition at 76F.

Just curious,

How did you accomplish this mash schedule with a cooler? what was your qt/lb ratio to start and did you batch or fly sparge the rest of the water after mashout?

Thanks

 

[jkarp]

Just curious,

How did you accomplish this mash schedule with a cooler? what was your qt/lb ratio to start and did you batch or fly sparge the rest of the water after mashout?

Thanks

Started with a 1:1 and stepped with boiling water additions. I had a VERY full 5 gal cooler after mashout at around 2.6:1. Batch sparged to desired pre-boil after dumping the 1st runnings.

 

[klamz]

I made this recipe last weekend and i just transferred to secondary today. I must have done something wrong because when I tasted a sample it tasted like rotten eggs. I pitched both yeasts after i brought the temp down to 68 and it remained at 68 for a solid 7 days. I have a fridge with a digital thermostat so I shouldnt have a problem in that department. Fermentation began about 12hours after pitching which isn’t bad right?? OG was 1.065 and final 1.004.......Color is great! but that’s about it. I did the 90 min boil and got exactly 3 gallons. Pre-boil tasted amazing and after the boil as well. Any ideas? Does it need time in secondary for that foul taste to clear up? Only thing that is obvious is that i got a low efficiency of 1.065 but that shouldnt matter for my situation.

 

[jkarp]

I made this recipe last weekend and i just transferred to secondary today. I must have done something wrong because when I tasted a sample it tasted like rotten eggs. I pitched both yeasts after i brought the temp down to 68 and it remained at 68 for a solid 7 days. I have a fridge with a digital thermostat so I shouldnt have a problem in that department. Fermentation began about 12hours after pitching which isn’t bad right?? OG was 1.065 and final 1.004.......Color is great! but that’s about it. I did the 90 min boil and got exactly 3 gallons. Pre-boil tasted amazing and after the boil as well. Any ideas? Does it need time in secondary for that foul taste to clear up? Only thing that is obvious is that i got a low efficiency of 1.065 but that shouldnt matter for my situation.

You done many Belgians klamz? Stink is part of the deal. I wouldn't give up yet. Secondary and wait a bit.

 

[klamz]

No, this is my first Belgian. It's not the smell that frightens me it's the taste. Tastes so funky it almost seems like it could never recover from it even after waiting so long in the secondary. Then again I did take a sample from the bottom 1 inch from the trub! LOL. I'll see how it is in the next 2 weeks. it's chilling at 39F. When you pitched your yeasts did you use the whole 11.5grams of the S-04. Could I have over pitched? is that ever a bad thing?

 

[jkarp]

Yeah, I pitch the whole S-04 packet. Really REALLY tough to over-pitch a beer. Wait it out. Sulphur taste/smell conditions out relatively quickly.

 

[theganda]

Out of curiosity, how would this turn out if I skipped the lagering step? I don't know if I could maintain that temp for that long because all I have is a fridge, not a devoted lagering setup. Also, is the ginger just grated fresh ginger and did you buy the coriander at a HBS or at the supermarket? Recipe looks awesome!

 

[jkarp]

Out of curiosity, how would this turn out if I skipped the lagering step? I don't know if I could maintain that temp for that long because all I have is a fridge, not a devoted lagering setup. Also, is the ginger just grated fresh ginger and did you buy the coriander at a HBS or at the supermarket? Recipe looks awesome!

I used fresh grated ginger and coarsely ground whole coriander. If you can't get the beer to 32, I'd at least get it as cold as possible (basement maybe) for a few weeks.

 

[undallas]

Out of curiosity, how would this turn out if I skipped the lagering step? I don't know if I could maintain that temp for that long because all I have is a fridge, not a devoted lagering setup. Also, is the ginger just grated fresh ginger and did you buy the coriander at a HBS or at the supermarket? Recipe looks awesome!

Same here... fresh ginger... quarter size.
whole coriander seeds are from Kroger's, but I found it to be cheaper at mexican or chinese market.

 

[klamz]

Ahhh i used dry ginger and i didnt crush my Seeds!! but i think it came out great yet still has a slightly strong sulfuricness to it which seems to be improving with time. Only problem is that I have chill haze....Not sure what I did wrong to get the haze. Any ideas??? I cooled pretty quickly.......

 

[klamz]

Also does anyone think that lagering at 39F is much different then 32F????

 

[jkarp]

Naw, 39, 32, close enough.

The real DT has quite a bit of haze so that's in character. Mine REALLY cleared up after a couple months in the beer fridge however.

 

[klamz]

Jkarp, Thanks for this recipe!..... What kind of water did you use for this beer? Do you happen to have your water report? I'd like to compare it with mine.

 

[jkarp]

Jkarp, Thanks for this recipe!..... What kind of water did you use for this beer? Do you happen to have your water report? I'd like to compare it with mine.

pH 7.2
Sodium, Na 10
Potassium, K 2
Calcium, Ca 32
Magnesium, Mg 5
Total Hardness, CaCO3 101
Nitrate, NO3-N 2.2 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 4
Chloride, Cl 7
Carbonate, CO3 <1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 109
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 90

 

[snoopdoggydad]

Jkarp, Thanks for the recipe. I'm currently lagering (32o) my first attempt at a belgian after reading your post (and seeing how little the beer cleared in the primary). Hope this is not too much of a noob question, but is there any need to repitch yeast for bottling or is there enough remaining in the beer after the secondary? On this batch ... OG was ~1.08 (still a little warm when measured), gravity 1.010 when racking to secondary after 3 weeks in primary. Plan to bottle after 1-2 weeks in secondary.

 

[jkarp]

There'll be plenty of yeast left. No need to repitch.

 

[sd38]

So is there an additional conditioning period after the warm bottle conditioning?Or is it ready to rock after the 21 days in the bottle?

 

[jkarp]

Give one a go and see. Mine really clear up and hit optimal flavor after about 8 weeks in the bottle, but it's quite drinkable, if a little cloudy, right after carbonation.

 

[sd38]

Cool thanks i just took my hydrometer reading and tasted it,wow it was great smells like ace but tastes good.

 

[Hunlock]

LOOKS GREAT!!!!!

One question though, if I have corn or candi sugar on hand, can I substitute?

If so, how much do you think?


Thanks in advance!


Tim