Belgian Blond Ale Revvy's Belgian Blonde (Leffe Clone)

[Abrayton]

I just kegged mine. It had a fg of 1.020. Is that normal? I too mashed at 158. Seemed high .

I’ve been under 1.010 every time. If I understand correctly the high mash temp will add mouthfeel while the sugar addition will help bring FG down

 

[BBQB]

Well, it’s kegged. I’m going out of town for a month but will report back if it’s any good. Next time I might mash at 154

 

[jturman35]

I did 158 just like the recipe calls for. The high mash temp is for added body. My batch took about 2 months to condition to where I felt like it hit its prime. I’m sending 3 bottles to Dr. Homebrew (Podcast) that were kegged back on Jan 27th. I will let the two Master BJCP judges tell the rest, can’t wait!

 

[Abrayton]

I did 158 just like the recipe calls for! The high mash temp is for added body. My batch took about 2 months to condition to where I felt like it hit its prime. I’m sending 3 bottles to Dr. Homebrew (Podcast) that were kegged back on Jan 27th. I will let the two Master BJCP judges tell the rest, can’t wait!

 

[BBQB]

I did 158 just like the recipe calls for! The high mash temp is for added body. My batch took about 2 months to condition to where I felt like it hit its prime. I’m sending 3 bottles to Dr. Homebrew (Podcast) that were kegged back on Jan 27th. I will let the two Master BJCP judges tell the rest, can’t wait!

What was your FG?

 

[jturman35]

View attachment 630889

Lol! Just noticed I had the exclamation point this was a typo.

FG ended up being 1.018 instead of 1.010 which I blame to blow off. WLP530 is a beast and I lost a lot of yeast out of my conical.

 

[SirHC_]

Adding this to the brew list. I'm going to split it between two fermenters, one w t-58 and the other with 530.
I'll then use the 530 yeast cake for a westy quad clone!

 

[Revvy]

... (dupe post)

 

[Revvy]

Can I ask folks - is the mash temp really 158? Next time I make this I am thinking of lowering it down to 153-154 max. I had a stuck fermentation but part of me believes that the mash was too high.

Did you READ my instructions? I CLEARLY STATED THAT IT WAS 158 AND WHY......

Note #1 (fEdited from an answer given earlier in the thread)
The reason for mashing at 158 came from doing research into the style from somewhere that I can't even recall.

It may seem high, but the reason for doing so is that Beta Amylase enzymes denature at 158. This leaves more unfermentable long chain dextrins, you will have more "weight" and more mouthfeel with the 158f mash temp but about the same starting gravity, and the final gravity will be higher as well.

You get more mouthfeel this way so that when you add the table sugar to the boil, you get the gravity boost but it's not "thin and cidery" like happens with many beers when you boost with a simple sugar. With this higher temp mash there still is decent mouthfeel and even great lacing on the glass from the proteins.

So yes, it REALLY IS 158.

 

[bondra76]

Did you READ my instructions? I CLEARLY STATED THAT IT WAS 158 AND WHY......



So yes, it REALLY IS 158.

Wow I’m sorry I offended you so much - was just asking a simple question vs reading through 609 pages of thread to see if circumstances had changed over the years.

 

[jturman35]

Ok just an update. Thought I would provide some insight to this thread. I followed Revvy’s recipe and brewed a really good Belgian Blonde. I brewed and kegged this back in Jan.

I just sent 3 of these to podcast (Dr. Homebrew) Episode 147 and this beer was judged by two Master BJCP judges. I respectably received a 31/33 score and the only flaw pointed out was under carbonation. If you listen I was told this beer could possibly hit 40’s with proper carbonation. I bottled using a beer gun which turns out is a common problem. Granted my beer only finished down 1.018 because I lost a lot of yeast during blow off. I am going to take the recommendations from the judges and build on this beer.

Thanks Revvy for such a great recipe!

 

[Revvy]

I just sent 3 of these to podcast (Dr. Homebrew) Episode 147 and this beer was judged by two Master BJCP judges. I respectably received a 31/33 score and the only flaw pointed out was under carbonation. If you listen I was told this beer could possibly hit 40’s with proper carbonation. I bottled using a beer gun which turns out is a common problem. Granted my beer only finished down 1.018 because I lost a lot of yeast during blow off. I am going to take the recommendations from the judges and build on this beer.

Thanks Revvy for such a great recipe!

Oh my god, wow!!! Congrats.

 

[HomerJay]

I brewed this recipe 3 weeks ago. OG 1.072, mashed at 158. I had to use Wyeast 3522, as this was the only Belgian yeast I could get my hands on. Fermented around 68 to 70F. Now the SG is sitting at 1.020 for the last week and seems stuck.

I try to ramp the temp to 75F at the moment and hope the last bit of yeast in suspension will start chewing away some more sugar. Anyone any other ideas what to do to get this down to 1.010?

 

[ihavenonickname]

I had the same problem - I let it get hot and swirled it, finished at 1.018. It seems fairly common with the recipe. Some people like it like that so you don’t have to do anything. But I really prefer most of my Belgians to finish dry so if I were in the same situation I would add an mL of amylo300 to the fermenter. Or you could pitch something like 3711 that would bring it way down.

 

[goodolarchie]

1.5L stir starter - ~36-48 hrs prior.

Mash @ ~156
I have some spare clear candi sugar to use. I rarely make trappists so it will go to waste otherwise
Pitch @ 68, let free rise to 70. Add some Fermaid K at ~48 hours in.
After a week I'll throw it in my fermentation closet which stays at 74.

[...]

Ordering stuff now, will update in a month or so when it's ready...

Okay! Reporting back and answering this (better late than never!). The beer turned out decent after 3 weeks, was missing some phenol and fruity esters I thought, but it got a 36.5 (guessing a 38 and 35) in the one comp I entered... but I never saw a scoresheet, emailed the organizer to no avail >/

So now those bottles have cellared for almost 9 months, the beer is very tasty, no surprise for a Belgian strain. I don't think I would brew this again without planning on bottle conditioning, it just seems style appropriate. Since these were 500ml bottles I threw some in my precision hydrometer (as I did prime them a tiny bit). FG was 1.011 (156 mash) after primary. Granted that hydrometer broke, but this one reads 1.010.

So here's my take:
Good recipe, my execution was mediocre, beer was better around the 2 month mark.

Appearance - darker than leffe by a few SRM, great rocky head after conditioning.

Aroma - missing the 4vg phenol (clove), but lovely dried fruit / fig / raisin esters. Nothing off when served at 42, but brought up to room temp I got solvent.

Taste: I like the dryness, I dislike the moderate midpalate bitterness I get, even 5 minutes after the last sip. I'd dial the Goldings down to 18-20 IBU and mash at 158 as recommended. (156 was by mistake, undershot February grain temp in the cooler) to finish around 1.013 ideally.

Mouthfeel: pretty spot on, it's just like leffe. On the thin end, lovely effervescence in a refreshing Belgian way.

Flaws: I think I'd dial back the biscuit + Munich if I was going to cellar it again, there's a kind of cloying and unfitting toasty malt note that wasn't there 6 months ago. I bet the color would be perfect with a 60 min boil less some Munich. The only offensive off flavor I get is ethyl acetate, which to me says I stressed the yeast out. Within the limit, this should taste like pear - perfect to style, yet at room temp it's clearly solventy.

Looking forward to brewing again with a few small tweaks.

 

[HomerJay]

I brewed this recipe 3 weeks ago. OG 1.072, mashed at 158. I had to use Wyeast 3522, as this was the only Belgian yeast I could get my hands on. Fermented around 68 to 70F. Now the SG is sitting at 1.020 for the last week and seems stuck.

I try to ramp the temp to 75F at the moment and hope the last bit of yeast in suspension will start chewing away some more sugar. Anyone any other ideas what to do to get this down to 1.010?

I decided to test if there is any fermentable sugars left by adding some bread yeast to a sample batch. Couple days later, still the same SG. As I have no experience with amylase and do not want to mess too much with 10 gallons of this beer I called it done. FG 1.020, so be it. Cold crashed and kegged. Sample after cold crashing tasted very promising, although a bit sweet.

 

[TandemTails]

I just brewed up this recipe today. I modified the recipe to adjust for my brewhouse efficiency. I scaled biscuit up to 6oz and just wrote 6oz for melanoiden too, about double what the recipe called for. It's still at under 3% of the grain bill so whatever.

Mashed for an hour at 157'F. 90 minute boil per the recipe. OG was 1.067 and pitched an active starter of Wyeast 3787 in there that I had harvested from a previous belgian dark strong I brewed not too long ago.

I'm looking forward to this one! As a bonus, I just kicked a keg in my kegerator so i'm excited to get this one hooked up.

I pitched the yeast at 65'F and will let it free rise to 75'F over the course of a few days, then slowly lower it back down to 65'F over a few more days where it'll finish up at that temp for a week or so.

 

[Oldskewl]

Brewed this over the weekend. Only flaw during during brew day was I ran out of propane mid-boil. Fired it back up for 15 min guesstimate I lost. I ended up with a little extra volume and a lower OG of 1.062. Yeast blew out the blow off on day 2. I will report back on the outcome. I’m sure it will still be good as long as it’s not too bitter.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I'm brewing this recipe again on Sunday. I just drank the last bottle of this back in November. That was bottled for 1 yr 3 mos and it was still amazing! Looking forward to having this on tap!

 

[Oldskewl]

Transferred my attempt after 3 weeks in my brew bucket to a keg today. FG was 1.016. Hydro tasted good! I did lose a lot of yeast out the blow-off partly due to having some extra volume in the fermentor. Not sure if the higher FG was due to the lack of yeast or the 158 mash. Now I need give it a couple weeks to carb.

 

[mr_lahey]

If I am trying to follow the original recipe, what would be the best Munich malt between Weyermann's Munich 1 and Weyermann's Munich 2?

 

[Abrayton]

I’ve always brewed this with Munich II

 

[Donvache]

Getting ready to try this recipe and I don't have any melanoiden malt. SMH. How is this going to affect the beer?

 

[craigmckay]

Can I ask a daft question from the UK? ...are these units "US gallons/quarts" or "Imperial gallons/quarts"?

Thanks!

 

[griffi]

U.S.

 

[craigmckay]

Thanks Griffi!

Another question: Am I reading right that we bring the 14qt (13L) to 178F (81C) and add our grainbill to that volume of water, and mash for 45 mins before sparging with 4.47gal (17L)? I've never mashed with such little water.

Thanks again!

 

[griffi]

I'm no help there, I'm a BIAB-er.

 

[Abrayton]

I’d think you can mash with whatever grist to water ratio you like, the temps are what matter according to the OP.

 

[Abrayton]

My latest version of this recipe

 

[jturman35]

Brewing this for the second time but changing my mash temp. Going to try and do a 20min protein test at 131deg then mash at 149 for 60mins just to see how this changes the beer. I did the 158mash for one hour and came out great on the first batch.