Triple/Quadrupel recipe, need some advice

[Bokdem]

For my next brew I'd like to brew a beer with a higher ABV. Been brewing IPA's but wanted to try this out. I'm looking for something like a Tripel/Quadrupel/Belgian Strong Ale. I hope you guys somehow understand what I'm aiming for, a Belgian Trappist beer.

The recipe im thinking of:
70% Pilsner (Swaen)
10% Caramunich II
20% Table sugar (sucrose)
OG:1080, aiming for around 9/10% ABV.

IBU around 25, Hallertau Hersbrucker

I'd like to start this brew somehow 'simple'. I've added some crystal malts (Caramunich II?) to create some body and sweetness.

I'm not sure what kind of yeast to use. The only limitation I've got with this, I can't ferment controlled. The temperature will be in between 66-73F. (so far this hasn't that much of an issue to my beers.)

Any advice on this would be great!!

 

[redllama]

This looks like a tripel recipe as opposed to a quad... not a problem but that's what it is. I would replace the caramunich for munich 10. The majority of your flavor will come from yeast choice. I get a bright fruit sweetness flavor from WLP500, more dark fruit sweetness from 530, and more spicy "bite" from 550. Since you can't control temperature I would try to get it as close to 66 as possible for pitching temperature as Belgian yeasts tend to be quite aggressive. A blow off tube is more than likely required depending on your headspace (I have had 2 plus gallons of headspace not be enough in the past). Hope this helps.

 

[Bokdem]

This looks like a tripel recipe as opposed to a quad... not a problem but that's what it is. I would replace the caramunich for munich 10. The majority of your flavor will come from yeast choice. I get a bright fruit sweetness flavor from WLP500, more dark fruit sweetness from 530, and more spicy "bite" from 550. Since you can't control temperature I would try to get it as close to 66 as possible for pitching temperature as Belgian yeasts tend to be quite aggressive. A blow off tube is more than likely required depending on your headspace (I have had 2 plus gallons of headspace not be enough in the past). Hope this helps.

Thanks, that's great advice. Will be using the WLP500 since the fruity sweetness is welcome. Also, I haven't used this yeast before, do you know if this is a dry yeast? I've never made a starter/smackpack before.

Any other advice is still more then welcome

 

[redllama]

WLP500 is White Labs Trappist (Chimay) and is a liquid yeast. If your LHBS carries Wyeast it is 1214 Trappist. I have used both and had great results. If possible I would do a starter but if not possible 2 vials/smack packs should do the trick. Most calculators will tell you that you need 3 but I have found that 2 will do the trick and even 1 can work if you can keep your temperatures down for the first 48-72 hours.

If you are doing a starter you may want to do it a couple days ahead of time so that you can cold crash and decant the "beer" off the top of the yeast. I did have one batch that turned out super bubblegum that I traced back to the fact that my house is in the upper 70's in the summer and I developed some off flavors in my starter that I dumped into my batch. This time of year you shouldn't have too many issues (depending on where you live) but it is something that can happen with Belgian yeasts as they are very temperature dependent on what flavors they give off.

Here is a link to White Labs Belgian Yeast chart. It lists their Belgian strains and the flavor profiles at different temps. Hope this helps