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

[Locus415]

Racked my first attempt at this recipe this weekend. Because my thermometer busted at the start of the brew day, I mashed too low so it finish way low. FG = 1.008

It has a bit more hop bitterness but is still darn good. The WLP 530 blew into the airlock three times before settling down. It is great on its own but can see why it makes for a good Belgian fruit beer base. I am planning on using some of it to blend with a strong sour to balance it out a bit.

Thanks Revvy.

 

[ChrisL_]

So being a noob I am still prone to a few noob errors. This, my 3rd batch was no exception. My OG was 1.050 and attributed it to mashing too high so I know I have some un-fermentables in there and it fermented down to about 1.018. I was going to keg it last night and went to check my notes to confirm the brew date and noticed I did not add the 15 minute sugar addition :-(
So it is now 18 days later, should I try adding sugar to my fermenter and rousing up the yeast a little or just leave it alone?
My gut says just leave it alone and drink it as is, it won't be Leffe, but it is beer. But I am curuios if anyone more experienced then myself has a take on this? Maybe adding the sugar at this point would work well?

Thanks,

Chris

 

[starman]

Overshooting your mash temp wouldn't necessarily drop the starting gravity. That said you correct that a high finishing gravity would be expected.

People brewing ridiculously high abv beers will frequently add small doses of sugar over weeks. I think you could add the sugar now if you really wanted to but expect to have green beer longer.

 

[ChrisL_]

Overshooting your mash temp wouldn't necessarily drop the starting gravity. That said you correct that a high finishing gravity would be expected.

People brewing ridiculously high abv beers will frequently add small doses of sugar over weeks. I think you could add the sugar now if you really wanted to but expect to have green beer longer.

Right. I know that, but keep messing it up in my head.

The sample taste ok, nothing special, but having said that I still don't get when I read "the hydrometer sample tastes great". It is warm flat beer. If you got that in a bar you would throw it back at the bartender. I guess I just have to learn to anticipate the final product based on the early samples.

Given I have a brand new keg (my first) just sitting here waiting to be filled I am just going to keg it and see how it goes.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[starman]

No problem. One other thing which is probably not what you want to hear but this beer really is best at about a minimum of 8 weeks after brew day. (4 fermentation / 4 conditioning) Each day after its sublimely better.

18 days to keg is pretty quick. Also keep in mind that once you keg and throw in cooler the process of conditioning is slowed down.

 

[ChrisL_]

No problem. One other thing which is probably not what you want to hear but this beer really is best at about a minimum of 8 weeks after brew day. (4 fermentation / 4 conditioning) Each day after its sublimely better.

18 days to keg is pretty quick. Also keep in mind that once you keg and throw in cooler the process of conditioning is slowed down.

Thanks. I know the waiting is the worst part of this hobby.
If I understand it correctly, the bigger the beer the longer the wait. I know this is a short wait, but it also ended up a pretty small beer for me
I look forward to my next attempt at this recipe with my noob errors ironed out.

 

[Smokey21]

Hi,

I am new to home brewing.
I did a home brew using one of the starting kits a few months back, which turned out responsibly successful.

I then followed this recipe but my didn't quite get the gravity that was stated, my figures were:
Original gravity 1.068
Final gravity 1.014
Which equates to about 3.94%.

I made a few mistakes along the way could this of had this massive impact.

Mistake 1:
I only had a 3 gallon pan, so I halfed the quantity and put in this main pan and for the final boil had to transfer some to a second pan.

2:
I added all the Abbey Ale yeast in stead of also halfing that

3:
I had planned to make it on a one of my days off and didn't realise I was supposed to do the started yeast 24 hours in advance

4:
Cooling took a very long time nearly 2 hours as I only had a sink to do the cooling

Any help would be very much appreciated so that I can get it right next time

 

[homebrewdad]

Hi,

I am new to home brewing.
I did a home brew using one of the starting kits a few months back, which turned out responsibly successful.

I then followed this recipe but my didn't quite get the gravity that was stated, my figures were:
Original gravity 1.068
Final gravity 1.014
Which equates to about 3.94%.

I made a few mistakes along the way could this of had this massive impact.

Mistake 1:
I only had a 3 gallon pan, so I halfed the quantity and put in this main pan and for the final boil had to transfer some to a second pan.

2:
I added all the Abbey Ale yeast in stead of also halfing that

3:
I had planned to make it on a one of my days off and didn't realise I was supposed to do the started yeast 24 hours in advance

4:
Cooling took a very long time nearly 2 hours as I only had a sink to do the cooling

Any help would be very much appreciated so that I can get it right next time

1.068 OG and 1.014 FG is an ABV of around 7.08%. Adding all of the yeast wouldn't hurt anything; in a 3 gallon batch, you might not need a starter at all with a full pack of yeast.

Relax.

 

[stevemej]

Just woke up and found that the fermentation in my plastic tub has stopped (and it is starting to settle). Temp is still 24C.

any ideas?

OK so my fermentation has definately stopped. It has been at 1.020 for more than a week (in fact since day 2 of the fermentation - 14 days ago).The temperature has been maintained at 19C for the last 2 weeks by my heated jacket) I have another batch of yeast I bought. Should I try to use this?

As I see it I have the following options:
1. Just bottle it as it is.I think this gives an alcohol content of 5%. With 1 tsp sugar for the priming per pint this will add anothe .5% alcohol giving and abv of 5.5% (Not quite Leffe is it?) .. Q: Have I got mys maths wrong. is the alcohol content calculation for barley different to sucrose?

2. Add some more yeast and try to get it going again.

3. I have some 'turbo yeast' I use to ferment sugar solution for my hooch. i'd be a bit worried it would spoil the flavour of the beer and maybe ferment too much sugar.

4. White labs suggest adding some nutrient - I would be worried that if the fermentation did not restart then my batch of beer would be ruined with the taste of the undigested nutrient.

I would be grateful for any advice.

steve

 

[starman]

The temperature has been maintained at 19C for the last 2 weeks by my heated jacket
steve

19c/~66f is a bit low to finish.

I would bump up the temp to 70F and see if they finish. Belgian strains are frequently goosed at the end.

Also, what was your mash temp? There's a chance you just have a ton of unfermentables and are stuck with a high FG no mater how much you add/rouse/pitch...

 

[Revvy]

Thinking of doing this tomorrow and pitch it on top of the cake from my pomegranate with which is going into the keg hopefully tomorrow.

I probably wouldn't haven't have brewed it this week, but you guys have been talking about it everyday this week it seems. Glad you like it so much!!!!

 

[stevemej]

19c/~66f is a bit low to finish.

I would bump up the temp to 70F and see if they finish. Belgian strains are frequently goosed at the end.

Also, what was your mash temp? There's a chance you just have a ton of unfermentables and are stuck with a high FG no mater how much you add/rouse/pitch...

As far as I know I hit the temps in Revvys recipe.
initial mash with 14q water at 158F for 45 mins. Remove a gallon (to my plastic bucket) then extract the remaining sugar from the grain with 3 lots of 1.5gal water at 168F for 15 mins each.
2. take the combined liquors (1gall + 1.5gal + 1.5gal + remaining liquor) and put back into the cleaned pot.
3. boil and add styrian goldings (after 30 mins) for 30 mins
4. add saaz hops and boil for 30 mins before cooling for fermentation stage.


Well I decided to chance the second lot of white labs yeast I bought for my 2nd batch. I aerated the wort with an(sterilised) electric blender (figuring this would also release trapped co2). I then checked in another vial of yeast . i will increase my temo to 21C and hope for the best.

If I start with 1.058 and finish at 1.020 what will be my EtoH content? Is malt the same as sugar - I worked it out at 4.99%

Thanks in advance.

 

[hermsfun]

Brewing 25 gallons tonight, halfway through the mash... Beautiful color so far!

 

[Revvy]

Jeebus man, 25 gallons of that stuff? I did that good of a job that you like it that much??/

I'm speechless.

 

[stevemej]

19c/~66f is a bit low to finish.

I would bump up the temp to 70F and see if they finish. Belgian strains are frequently goosed at the end.

Also, what was your mash temp? There's a chance you just have a ton of unfermentables and are stuck with a high FG no mater how much you add/rouse/pitch...

I upped the temp to 21C but the final sg stayed at 1.020 after a 2 weeks. I put my 2nd batch of yeast in and the fg remained the same after 3 days more.

Here's what I decided to do: I added 1 tsp sugar to my 4l demijohn (my batch was 25l in a plastic tub and 4 l in a demijohn) and it started bubbling again.

I decided to use this as a tester for the main bx.

I calculated how much sugar to increase the EtOh by 2%
:2% of 4000ml = 80ml alcohol
:80ml EtOh = 64g alcohol
: 64g EtOh = 64/46(rmm EtOh) mol = 1.39mol.
: 1 mol sugar = 4 mol EtOh so
: 1.39 mol EtOh = 0.3475 mol sugar
: 0.3475mol sugar = 0.3475 x 342 (rmm sugar) = 118g

I will see how this works out and if it all ferments out I will scale up to the 25l tub.

It has started fermenting again!

(In fact it's going mad - overflowed thru my airlock)
:
can't wait to bottle and see what it tastes like. My large batch should be ok in the plastic tub with the lees for a couple of weeks wont it??

 

[duboman]

Jeebus man, 25 gallons of that stuff? I did that good of a job that you like it that much??/

I'm speechless.

It really is a great beer! I can't brew that volume but info could... I would!

 

[markjd]

Brewing a 10L (2.5G) batch of this recipe now.

Leffe Blonde was one of my favourite beers on tap at one of the local pubs; really looking forward to see how this recipe turns out.

 

[homebrewdad]

Been too long since I brewed this... it's on deck after my Oktoberfest.

 

[triat00]

Yeast question here,

Ive made that recipe and liked it! I want to brew it again this weekend but the only yeast I have is Wyeast Trapist High grav. Ive read that it will impart a "fruity note" to the beer,what do you think?

By the way, Ill wash the yeast and reuse it for a bigger beer later.

Thanks

 

[homebrewdad]

Yeast question here,

Ive made that recipe and liked it! I want to brew it again this weekend but the only yeast I have is Wyeast Trapist High grav. Ive read that it will impart a "fruity note" to the beer,what do you think?

By the way, Ill wash the yeast and reuse it for a bigger beer later.

Thanks

I personally think that it will work great. I believe you'll get less of the spiciness and more of the fruitiness, but you'll have a nice beer.

 

[markjd]

Brewing a 10L (2.5G) batch of this recipe now.

Leffe Blonde was one of my favourite beers on tap at one of the local pubs; really looking forward to see how this recipe turns out.

Bottled this morning after one month in primary. FG was a little higher than expected at 1.016, but I think that may be due to being a little high with my mash temp.

 

[stevemej]

Bottled this morning after one month in primary. FG was a little higher than expected at 1.016, but I think that may be due to being a little high with my mash temp.

My first 29l Batch was a bit light on alcohol (i think my final gravity was about 1.020. I simply calculated how much sugar to add another 1% alcohol and allowed a second fermentation prior to bottling (tertiary) .

It was delicious, especially after about a month.

I just bottled a 2nd 29l batch about 2 weeks ago. Again the fg was a bit short and the og seemed abit light too so I added enough sugar to add a couple of % alcohol. I'm going on holiday for a week on tuesday and look forward to tasting the first bottle on my return.

good luck.

 

[timcadieux]

So after 3 weeks I still have a thick, creamy layer on my beer. I read that this was a top cropping yeast so I presume that that is what's different here.
Do I news to rack from under this layer or do i just bottle from unfer it?
What to do, what to do

 

[Albionwood]

Thanks for this recipe and all the great discussion that followed - I brewed up something close last month, kegged it yesterday, and the flat samples taste GREAT so I can't wait to tap it. Used Mangrove Jack's M27 and it definitely has that spicy twang that I wanted - a nice surprise from a dry yeast. Also dried the beer out very well, down to 1.008.

 

[joety]

Bottled this morning after one month in primary. FG was a little higher than expected at 1.016, but I think that may be due to being a little high with my mash temp.

This is my fear as well. The Mash temp is 158 is the recipe and the final gravity is 1.010. I just don't think it will finish that low with that high of a mash temp. I will take my first reading in the next couple days, but if I end up in your range I will consider dosing with the 3711 superyeast.

 

[NurseJackie]

FWIW: I brewed this on 10/16 following the recipe as written but subbing wlp500 for 530. Mashed at 158. Held temps at 65-66 degrees (internal, not ambient) for about a week at which point SG was 1.022. Gradually raised temp to 78 and held for about 2 more weeks until FG = 1.011. Crash cooled, bottling today. Smells and tastes excellent. Lesson: don't fear the mash temp, keep your yeast happy and be patient

 

[AT_II]

Boil for 30 more minutes. Chill the beer to ~70 degrees (a bit cooler is better). Move to fermenter, aerate, pitch yeast. Leave it alone for 3-4 weeks.

First, thanks to revvy for this awesome recipe and homebrewdad for some great insight.

I am very much a newb but am excited to try to brew this recipe. I have done a fair amount of research and watched several videos on brewing belgian ales. I feel comfortable that I can take on the recipe with the help of a friend. However, there are two things that were not clear to me:

1. When transferring from the brew pot to the fermenter, how do you typically aerate?
2. When you are ready to bottle, do you still need priming sugar (or does the sugar in the recipe count as the priming sugar)?

 

[homebrewdad]

First, thanks to revvy for this awesome recipe and homebrewdad for some great insight.

I am very much a newb but am excited to try to brew this recipe. I have done a fair amount of research and watched several videos on brewing belgian ales. I feel comfortable that I can take on the recipe with the help of a friend. However, there are two things that were not clear to me:

1. When transferring from the brew pot to the fermenter, how do you typically aerate?
2. When you are ready to bottle, do you still need priming sugar (or does the sugar in the recipe count as the priming sugar)?

1. These days, I personally aerate with pure O2 for 60 seconds or so. If you don't have pure oxygen, simply slosh the beer back and forth in the fermenter for a minute or two. This gives you 8 PPM of dissolved O2, which is literally the most you can get from room air.

2. You always need priming sugar at bottling time (unless you bottle before fermentation is complete). Fermentation is complete because all available sugar (up to the yeast's tolerance level) has been processed. Adding priming sugar gives the yeast something else to eat, which they do to create the CO2 you need for carbonation.

Revvy has an excellent sticky on bottling - you should check it out.

 

[joety]

1. These days, I personally aerate with pure O2 for 60 seconds or so. If you don't have pure oxygen, simply slosh the beer back and forth in the fermenter for a minute or two. This gives you 8 PPM of dissolved O2, which is literally the most you can get from room air. 2. You always need priming sugar at bottling time (unless you bottle before fermentation is complete). Fermentation is complete because all available sugar (up to the yeast's tolerance level) has been processed. Adding priming sugar gives the yeast something else to eat, which they do to create the CO2 you need for carbonation. Revvy has an excellent sticky on bottling - you should check it out.

Yeah, I finally gave up on the little soldering o2 tanks and now have a regular cylinder of oxygen an a nice SS wand/stone. Love it!!! It has a regulator so I don't have to listen to know the flow rate.

I did this recipe recently and would make one change. Go for a mash temp of 154 vs 158 degrees. Mine finished a bit high. Still a great beer, though.

 

[timcadieux]

1. When transferring from the brew pot to the fermenter, how do you typically aerate?

You could just leave your fermenter on the floor and transfer the wort by pouring it from high so it splashes alot.
With a carboy this requires some shaking if the carboy.