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

[Powers]

Ahh, the red raspberry report. So, the red raspberries added a good degree of sourness which complements this sweeter beer very well. My wife and I discussed the quantity last night as we drank of few of these on the patio, and agreed that 1.5 lbs is just about right for our tastes. That amount still lets the beer flavor through, but still gives you the raspberry flavor. However, if you wanted lots of raspberry flavor, you could go higher but you will risk masking the grain bill completely. I'll see if I can get a picture posted in a week or so when this clears up.

 

[Powers]

CAVEAT: I can also say that, having made this beer in its original form and also a raspberry batch, the fruit completely changes the beer. the raspberries are nice, but i prefer the beer in its original form where the yeast complexity really shines through...

 

[Revvy]

Awesome! Thanks for the kudo. I'm going to brew this up again on the 18th.

 

[usfmikeb]

Finally brewing this today. Vacations and such have interrupted my brewing schedule, had planned to brew this weeks ago. This is for my SWMBO, and we'll be doing strawberries in the secondary. Brewing the Spiced Cherry Dubbel from Mosher's book next weekend.

 

[usfmikeb]

Bubbling away nice and pretty in my new ferm chamber at 68 degrees!

 

[Akavango]

Made this recipe for my second brew and first one from a recipe. It came out with a beautiful colour and an OG of 1.058. The only problem will be waiting the 30 days of fermentation... How long did you have it in bottle before drinking it?

Thanks for the recipe.

 

[usfmikeb]

Mine's in tertiary right now, after spending two weeks in secondary on top of 6 pounds of strawberries. I'll probably let it sit for another couple weeks before cold crashing and racking into a keg. Should be ready to drink about a month from now.

 

[Akavango]

Mine's in tertiary right now, after spending two weeks in secondary on top of 6 pounds of strawberries. I'll probably let it sit for another couple weeks before cold crashing and racking into a keg. Should be ready to drink about a month from now.

Sorry for the newbie question. In your secondary and tertiary fermentation, do you had more yeast or sugar? What is the benefit of a tertiary fermentation?

 

[Revvy]

Sorry for the newbie question. In your secondary and tertiary fermentation, do you had more yeast or sugar? What is the benefit of a tertiary fermentation?

Drop the word fermentation. The purpose of a tertiary or secondary vessel is to clear the beer. Since he added fruit in the secondary, he moved it to a third vessel, to let the beer clear.

For info on secondary fermentation which most of the time is a minsomer, go here.

 

[usfmikeb]

Revvy's correct. There was a secondary fermentation triggered by the introductiomn of fructose in the strawberries. However, the tertiary is primarily for aging purposes, as I didn't want to sit on the strawberries for too long.

 

[Revvy]

Revvy's correct. There was a secondary fermentation triggered by the introductiomn of fructose in the strawberries. However, the tertiary is primarily for aging purposes, as I didn't want to sit on the strawberries for too long.

BTW, what color is it? Did the strawberries affect the color in anyway?

 

[usfmikeb]

Generally speaking, strawberries don't bleed color into beer. Not sure on the science behind it, but I've never seen a strawberry beer that was red. For example, Strawberry Harvest Lager by Abita is the same color as Budweiser.

 

[Akavango]

Drop the word fermentation. The purpose of a tertiary or secondary vessel is to clear the beer. Since he added fruit in the secondary, he moved it to a third vessel, to let the beer clear.

For info on secondary fermentation which most of the time is a minsomer, go here.

Make sense! thanks for the clarification and the link.

 

[bmason1623]

if I were to let this ferment in the upper 70s lower 80s what would happen? would I get the banana flavors that I like using Belgian Abbey II 1762?

 

[usfmikeb]

If that's the flavor profiles you're getting from that yeast in other brews, I don't see anything in this ingredient list that would cancel that flavor out, IMO.

 

[Powers]

i agree, it shouldn't change if that's what's happening with that particular yeast for you in other brews. personally, i would venture to guess you'll get some sulfur, but it will probably fade quickly.

 

[littlelord]

brewed 2.5 gallons last night! forgot about the 90 min boil & missed my target gravity. OG= 1.055 who cares....hydro sample tasted amazing.
also.... used wlp550 because that's all LHBS had. see you in two months!

 

[Revvy]

brewed 2.5 gallons last night! forgot about the 90 min boil & missed my target gravity. OG= 1.055 who cares....hydro sample tasted amazing.
also.... used wlp550 because that's all LHBS had. see you in two months!

Can't wait to hear the results!

 

[Akavango]

Had a bit of a incident with the fermentation vessel. It seems that I put to much in the vessel and it is now coming out of the airlock.
Does this means that the brew is lost? It is safe to replace the airlock with another one without further damaging the brew? should i add more yeast to replace the one I lost ?
Thanks

 

[Revvy]

No your beer is fine, you just had an active fermentation. Just clean off the mess, then get a tune that can fit in the bung hole and stick it in there, and the other end into a jar of sanitizer.

 

[Akavango]

That is very reassuring, Emptied the bucket a bit and could not believe the taste had changed in four days, this beer will be great once ready.

How long did you keep it in bottle or keg before drinking it?

 

[scadieux]

No worries. Happened to me a lot before I eventually switch to blow off tubes for peace of mind. If it spilled outside, that means you have positive pressure from the inside, so that much lessens the chance of something nasty getting in. And anyway, by now fermentation is very active so risk of infections are low. Don't worry about yeast neither. There is a HUGE amount left, probably 99.9% of it.
That beer will be awesome.

 

[usfmikeb]

That abbey ale is a very prolific yeast, it sent a lot of material thru my blow off tube.

 

[Akavango]

No worries. Happened to me a lot before I eventually switch to blow off tubes for peace of mind. If it spilled outside, that means you have positive pressure from the inside, so that much lessens the chance of something nasty getting in. And anyway, by now fermentation is very active so risk of infections are low. Don't worry about yeast neither. There is a HUGE amount left, probably 99.9% of it.
That beer will be awesome.

Thanks I like to read that. This is only my second brew so everything is new and bewildering. I appreciate your feedback and assistance.
Cheers

 

[Akavango]

Just put the leffe in the bottles, thanks revvy for the great recipe. It is very close to the real thing. Now off to the pub for a real one. Will brew another one of leffe tomorrow.

 

[bmason1623]

Just put the leffe in the bottles, thanks revvy for the great recipe. It is very close to the real thing. Now off to the pub for a real one. Will brew another one of leffe tomorrow.

What yeast did you use? Mine still needs another 2 weeks in the fermenter before I can bottle it. I'm glad to hear that it tastes very close to the real thing. Keep us updated.

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Home Brew Talk

 

[Revvy]

Akavango I'm really honored to to have my beer brewed on the Emerald Isles!!!

 

[Akavango]

Akavango I'm really honored to to have my beer brewed on the Emerald Isles!!!

And by a Belgian expat... Now when i drink a leffe I call it a clone of the beer i brewed... Thanks man!

 

[Akavango]

What yeast did you use? Mine still needs another 2 weeks in the fermenter before I can bottle it. I'm glad to hear that it tastes very close to the real thing. Keep us updated.

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Home Brew Talk

I used WLP 530, it was very active for 3 weeks. Enjoy your beer.

 

[Revvy]

I'm brewing a slightly modified version of this tomorrow. I basically just rounded up my grainbill.