Westvleteran 12 Clone recipe

[mhenry41h]

If I properly understand the history and naming of Trappist beer, the Monks measured gravity in what they called Belgian Degrees. For example, a beer with an OG of 1.080 would be represented as 8 Belgian Degrees. The beers were named based on that number of "degrees." Thus, I expect that Westvleteren 12 likely had an OG of 1.120.

coming soon...to a fridge near you!

 

[smokinghole]

If Westvleteran had an OG of around 1.120 and the normal terminal gravity of under 1.020 you'd have a beer that's 14%-15% abv. You can certainly make a brew up to mimic those numbers and I don't think it'd be a bad beer at all.

 

[mhenry41h]

If Westvleteran had an OG of around 1.120 and the normal terminal gravity of under 1.020 you'd have a beer that's 14%-15% abv. You can certainly make a brew up to mimic those numbers and I don't think it'd be a bad beer at all.

No doubt, she'd be a monster. Does Westvleteren release the FG numbers? Alot of the Trappists get around 80-85 percent attenuation per some books I've read. 1.020 from 1.120 would be about 83 percent attenuation. I'd be willing to bet the FG is in the high 20's.

coming soon...to a fridge near you!

 

[smokinghole]

Brew Like a Monk reports the apparent attenuation at 86% so with a reported OG at 1.090 that puts the terminal gravity right around 1.012.

 

[coryforsenate]

oh man, I got a hold of two bottles of Westie 12. It's really good, even better when aged. While the price you'll likely pay if you buy it in america via certain online markets may lead to unattainable expectations, I would wholly recommend finding a bottle just so you can see what the few folks are talking about. It's a great beer.

In mine I noted complex caramel, banana, a distinct rumminess, notes of burnt sugar, raisin, maybe a hint of apricot or dried fruit. Alcohol is almost reticent to announce itself and when it does, it's very shy for being 10.2%. Dry but still retains a fitting body. Carbonation is moderate. Very digestible, as the monks would say. Darker in color than chimay blue.

 

[gsmith12]

Okay I finally got everything, as well as read BLAM ten times over. $90+ dollars later I'm ready to go. I'll continue to post till I get a chance to taste the brew in a couple of months incase anyone else want to try it. Thanks again everyone who helped me with the Westy clone.

 

[caiafa]

On the previous batch of a belgian style IPA (9,7% ABV) I saved a bit of wort in the begging, put it in the freezer.

When the fermentation started to slow down (about 1.030 grav), I top cropped a couple of spoons of yeast and made a 2l starter (1.040 grav), and pitched it in the fermenter at peak activity. The beer went down to 1.012 in 3 days.

 

[gsmith12]

Thanks for the tip caiafa, I wouldn't even think about doing that. Anything that speeds up fermentation in the primary is ideal. Thanks again.

 

[gsmith12]

Okay so I did the brew...I'm not sure what I did but my OG came out 1.060. I wasn't expecting perfection even after all this help and study from BLAM. The color is 30-34 SRM. I don't know if that's close or not. I thought it was more in the 40 range (black).

So my recipe...(basically the one that smokinghole recommended)

Westvleteran 12 Extract
5 Gallons Spring Water
1.5 Gallon Boil
(2 Liter Starter prepared with 2 vials of White Labs 530 4 days before brew)

6lbs Pilsner LME (90 min boil)
5lbs Light LME (90 min boil)
3lbs D2 Candi Syrup (90 min boil)
.5lb Special B (Steeped at 155 for 30 minutes)
1oz Northern Brewer (90 min)
2oz of Styrian Goldings (20 min)
.5oz Hallertaur (20 min)

The brew has been gradually increasing temp. Started around 63 degrees, about 73 degrees now, then 80's on day 4 of primary fermentations to drop my gravity.
On day 3 my 6.5 gallon carboy is nearly filled to the top with krausen. It seems to have a nice dark color, but idk if it's what I want. I haven't had a real Westy for 2 years. But it looks good, and it was fun to brew.

 

[Caucasian]

Whatever happened to this brew? It should be aged nicely by now.