Wanting a very Golden Belgian

Mrcrowley269 · Mar 5, 2012

Am playing with pro mash. I wanted to try to get a very light gold big brew. Below is what I came up with. I was wondering what anyone thought.

7 lb Extra Light LME
2 lb Clear candi sugar
1.5 lb Pilsner
1.25 lb Caramel Pils malt
1 lb Wheat Malt
.50 Munich malt
.25 Aromatic malt

1.5 oz Saaz
.75 oz Stryian Golden

Wlp570

chezteth · Mar 6, 2012

I would suggest keeping the grain bill very simple. Perhaps leave out the wheat, munich and aromatic malts and increase the pilsen malt. Other than that the recipe sounds good! Belgian beers get a lot of their complexity from their yeast. Ferment around 70 degF or so and you should get a tasty beer!

cheers,
Brandon

lowtones84 · Mar 6, 2012

Looks pretty good to me, though seems like a bit much carapils. I think the wheat, Munich and aromatic will be fine but not necessary. I'm sure it will be delicious anyhow!

944play · Mar 6, 2012

Yeah, the Carapils and sugar are at odds. The extract should have enough dextrins. I agree with Brandon too, keep it super simple.

That hop load would likely not satisfy me. I'm thinking about double that is about right.

DannPM · Mar 6, 2012

Candi and carapils are canceling each other out in this, contributing opposite effects. Also, If you're looking to get anything like the commercial Belgian's try using a Pilsner LME, that way you'll get a more authentic malt flavor you're probably looking for.

Golden Strongs are effectively just Pilsner malt and Sugar (plain sucrose is the sugar the Belgians use, American homebrewers are the only ones who use clear candi syrup

)

Try getting your OG with just Pils, sucrose, and maybe just a touch (up to 0.5 lbs) of Aromatic malt if you want to put a little more malty flavor in there without affecting the color too much.) That's the classic recipe for a triple at least. If you're going for something more like Duvel, stick with just Pils and Sugar only (lighter malt character there.)

Assuming you're doing a 5-5.5 gallon batch, you're also looking at an ending abv of 10% starting an an OG of about 1.087. With that OG you're also looking at roughly 3 vials or 2 vials and 1.3L starter or 1 vial and a 3L+ starter according to Mr Malty pitching calculator.

Big brews like that are tough to get right, pitching enough yeast, keeping the initial temp low and then ramping up after the initial growth phase to avoid hot solvent flavors from fusel alcohols. That being said, good luck mate, I do hope it turns out great for ya! We're here tohelp if you have any questions on it

beergolf · Mar 6, 2012

DannPM said:
Candi and carapils are canceling each other out in this, contributing opposite effects. Also, If you're looking to get anything like the commercial Belgian's try using a Pilsner LME, that way you'll get a more authentic malt flavor you're probably looking for.

Golden Strongs are effectively just Pilsner malt and Sugar (plain sucrose is the sugar the Belgians use, American homebrewers are the only ones who use clear candi syrup )

Try getting your OG with just Pils, sucrose, and maybe just a touch (up to 0.5 lbs) of Aromatic malt if you want to put a little more malty flavor in there without affecting the color too much.) That's the classic recipe for a triple at least. If you're going for something more like Duvel, stick with just Pils and Sugar only (lighter malt character there.)

Assuming you're doing a 5-5.5 gallon batch, you're also looking at an ending abv of 10% starting an an OG of about 1.087. With that OG you're also looking at roughly 3 vials or 2 vials and 1.3L starter or 1 vial and a 3L+ starter according to Mr Malty pitching calculator.

Big brews like that are tough to get right, pitching enough yeast, keeping the initial temp low and then ramping up after the initial growth phase to avoid hot solvent flavors from fusel alcohols. That being said, good luck mate, I do hope it turns out great for ya! We're here tohelp if you have any questions on it

I agree. DannPM hit the nail on the head. Keep it simple. Anywhere from 90% pils/10% sugar to 80%pils/20% sugar will work.

Get the BU:GU ratio in the .38 range with 2/3 IBU's at 60, and the other 1/3 at 30.

Definitely get a good starter going.Pitch at the low end of the yeast temp range ans slowly let it rise. Don't get too hot too fast or you will risk fusels. Expect a blow off so hook up a blow off tube. Let it ferment for plenty of time. Don't rush it. Belgian yeasts can take a long time to get the last few points of attenuation.

After bottling let it age for months instead of weeks like most brews.

Enjoy and good luck with your brew.