Belgian Dark Strong Ale Westvleteren 12 Clone - Multiple Award Winner

[jturman35]

I’m waiting on the weather to warm up because my conical is in the garage. I have a homemade glycol chiller but this beer needs to hit the 75 + range to ferment out. I have a Leffe clone going right now and at 69 at the moment but having a hard time keeping it steady and warm.

I’m going to give this beer a go this spring!

 

[echoALEia]

Brewed this clone about 8 months ago and finally cracked it open. I compared it to staples of the style including westy 12. The pictures with the the ones that were drank the most should tell you which were the favorites

Some quick notes (not official BJCP haha):

Westy 12 - best balanced, bread aroma perfect blend between raisin and plum but not overpowering slight cherry and balanced flavor.

Homebrew - I over cooked the portion you draw off in the original recipe so it had a burnt chocolate chip cookie aroma (not stout like but that’s the best descriptor) and a smooth bread flavor. The aftertaste was very reminiscent of westy. If I didn’t overcook it - the flavor and aroma would have been pretty close to westy, probably the closest clone recipe I’ve ever done.

Chimay - strong Belgian phenols and esters. Raisin flavors

St bern 12 - strong raisin and Belgian phenols similar to chimay grande reserve. Smoother flavor than chimay

Rochefort 10 - least enjoyable. Malty caramel/banana aroma. Strong alcohol and burnt plum flavor.

Thanks for sharing everyone and cheers [emoji482]

 

[jturman35]

Did you do the D180 version or the other with all of the adjuncts?

 

[echoALEia]

Did you do the D180 version or the other with all of the adjuncts?

D180

 

[catdaddy66]

I have done the D-180 version the last three times I brewed this. The initial batch used the adjunct laden version. I love both, but the adjunct version had more of the dark fruit character.

I will try that initial recipe for my next attempt!

 

[Dog House Brew]

I’m waiting on the weather to warm up because my conical is in the garage. I have a homemade glycol chiller but this beer needs to hit the 75 + range to ferment out. I have a Leffe clone going right now and at 69 at the moment but having a hard time keeping it steady and warm.

I’m going to give this beer a go this spring!

Thick cardboard box and a cheap ceramic heater works wonders.

 

[griffi]

Brewed this clone about 8 months ago and finally cracked it open. I compared it to staples of the style including westy 12. The pictures with the the ones that were drank the most should tell you which were the favorites

Some quick notes (not official BJCP haha):

Westy 12 - best balanced, bread aroma perfect blend between raisin and plum but not overpowering slight cherry and balanced flavor.

Homebrew - I over cooked the portion you draw off in the original recipe so it had a burnt chocolate chip cookie aroma (not stout like but that’s the best descriptor) and a smooth bread flavor. The aftertaste was very reminiscent of westy. If I didn’t overcook it - the flavor and aroma would have been pretty close to westy, probably the closest clone recipe I’ve ever done.

Chimay - strong Belgian phenols and esters. Raisin flavors

St bern 12 - strong raisin and Belgian phenols similar to chimay grande reserve. Smoother flavor than chimay

Rochefort 10 - least enjoyable. Malty caramel/banana aroma. Strong alcohol and burnt plum flavor.

Thanks for sharing everyone and cheers [emoji482]



View attachment 615379View attachment 615380

Beer looks great but your woofers need re-coning!

 

[echoALEia]

Beer looks great but your woofers need re-coning!

Hahaha they still sound bad ass but I agree

 

[Kwitty]

Brewed this clone about 8 months ago and finally cracked it open. I compared it to staples of the style including westy 12. The pictures with the the ones that were drank the most should tell you which were the favorites

Some quick notes (not official BJCP haha):

Westy 12 - best balanced, bread aroma perfect blend between raisin and plum but not overpowering slight cherry and balanced flavor.

Homebrew - I over cooked the portion you draw off in the original recipe so it had a burnt chocolate chip cookie aroma (not stout like but that’s the best descriptor) and a smooth bread flavor. The aftertaste was very reminiscent of westy. If I didn’t overcook it - the flavor and aroma would have been pretty close to westy, probably the closest clone recipe I’ve ever done.

Chimay - strong Belgian phenols and esters. Raisin flavors

St bern 12 - strong raisin and Belgian phenols similar to chimay grande reserve. Smoother flavor than chimay

Rochefort 10 - least enjoyable. Malty caramel/banana aroma. Strong alcohol and burnt plum flavor.

Thanks for sharing everyone and cheers [emoji482]



View attachment 615379View attachment 615380

Small momentary hijack of the thread here. Couldn't help but notice the Cerwin Vega speakers. I have a similar model that fell apart around the surround of the woofer. Bought a kit from Simply Speakers. Real easy to fix and cheaper than new! If you're interested here is a link to the website. https://www.simplyspeakers.com/cerwin-vega-speaker-repair-foam-edge-kits.html
Back to beer. Can't wait to try a clone of Westy 12! Love those Trappist! Making me thirsty!

 

[jturman35]

I plan on brewing this in a month or so! Anyone use fermcap with good results? I will be brewing 6gals in my 7gal conical.

 

[ten80]

I plan on brewing this in a month or so! Anyone use fermcap with good results? I will be brewing 6gals in my 7gal conical.

I had 5 gallons of wort and nearly 4 gallons of krausen, so prepare for blowoff, even with Fermcap!

 

[jturman35]

Crazy! Anyone happen to ferment this in a 7 gal conical? I have the Spike CF5, I’d hate to brew less than 5 gallons and tie up my only fermenter for 2 months! I have two glass carboys as well, but can only control temp in the conical.

 

[Bottoms_Up]

Crazy! Anyone happen to ferment this in a 7 gal conical? I have the Spike CF5, I’d hate to brew less than 5 gallons and tie up my only fermenter for 2 months! I have two glass carboys as well, but can only control temp in the conical.

You only need to keep it in the fermenter for no more than about 2 weeks. After that, just rack it into a 5 gallon carboy. I racked mine from the fermenter to a carboy on the 12th day.

 

[ten80]

You only need to keep it in the fermenter for no more than about 2 weeks. After that, just rack it into a 5 gallon carboy. I racked mine from the fermenter to a carboy on the 12th day.

Mine took about 3-4 weeks to reach stable gravity and I was glad I didn't remove it from the yeast any earlier. I then racked to a keg for bulk aging and then bottling.

Crazy! Anyone happen to ferment this in a 7 gal conical? I have the Spike CF5, I’d hate to brew less than 5 gallons and tie up my only fermenter for 2 months! I have two glass carboys as well, but can only control temp in the conical.

Use Fermcap, but still plan for blow-off and don't rack to a carboy until you have hit stable gravity or you may increase the chance of stalling by leaving active yeast behind. You can also bulk-age in a keg instead of a carboy.

 

[Yeroc]

I picked up the ingredients to make the single malt version with D-180 candy syrup, but I have a question. Are people also doing the separate boil down of .75 gallon first runnings with the single malt version or is that overkill?

 

[echoALEia]

Small momentary hijack of the thread here. Couldn't help but notice the Cerwin Vega speakers. I have a similar model that fell apart around the surround of the woofer. Bought a kit from Simply Speakers. Real easy to fix and cheaper than new! If you're interested here is a link to the website. https://www.simplyspeakers.com/cerwin-vega-speaker-repair-foam-edge-kits.html
Back to beer. Can't wait to try a clone of Westy 12! Love those Trappist! Making me thirsty!

Hahaha i love the internet. Thanks bud!

 

[jturman35]

I picked up the ingredients to make the single malt version with D-180 candy syrup, but I have a question. Are people also doing the separate boil down of .75 gallon first runnings with the single malt version or is that overkill?

I am curious also!

 

[Kee]

I am curious also!

I've done the single malt version with and without the boil down, and there just isn't that much of a difference in taste, so I finally stopped doing the boil down.

 

[jturman35]

Thanks Kee! How long are you aging this beer?

 

[Kee]

Thanks Kee! How long are you aging this beer?

If I had to pick a window (and this is completely arbitrary), between 6 and 9 months this beer really shines. I personally drink it along the way, as it's a quality beer after 2 or 3 months. YMMV, depending on process, storage temperatures (I store mine at room temperature), etc.

 

[ten80]

My 2016 brew is tasting great.... except that it never fully carbonated in the bottles. Time to re-yeast and see if it can be resuscitated. Might toss in some active Brett in half of the bottles and active wine yeast (DV10 or EC1118) in the other half as an experiment. Nothing to lose at this point.

 

[Anh Tuan]

Anyone interested in the real thing?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/264305672813

 

[Kee]

Anyone interested in the real thing?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/264305672813

If I'm going to spend that kind of jack, I'll just buy a plane ticket to Belgium.

 

[jturman35]

You can get for $30 a bottle plus shipping.

https://store.belgianshop.com/abbey...UwiiC5LNUSw_JtM7o1Z5mn9DWKMlKH7xoC3y4QAvD_BwE

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Ebay seems to have 6-packs for around US$50 plus shipping - typical grey market retail in Belgium was around €10-12 last time I was there, I've seen fridges of it in London bars at £30 (~US$40) in the past.

But save yourself the bother, just drink some Rochefort 10 and imagine something not quite as nice....

 

[eimar]

Excellent thread ( I'm Belgian ) Is the wyeast 3787 Trappist high gravity a good candidate for that recipe ?

 

[Kee]

Excellent thread ( I'm Belgian ) Is the wyeast 3787 Trappist high gravity a good candidate for that recipe ?

Yes, it's the same as the White Labs 530 mentioned in the recipe, and I haven't found any yeast that will match that, much less beat it for this beer.

 

[jturman35]

I made a Leffe Blonde Ale Clone and used WLP530 and thought it put out the perfect amount of esters. I was also blown away by the amount of blow off I had too. This yeast is a monster!

 

[ten80]

As far as I can see I can get golden syrup, maple syrup or molasses syrup. I can also get a range of different honeys. I know they won't come close to candi syrup and i know what that means for the end result.

What is likely to give me the best result out of those options (in bold)?

You can caramelize any sugar, honey, or syrup in the manner listed in the threads above. I've had awesome luck with caramelized honey in several beers.

Molasses may have too strong a flavor and I think that golden syrup is just a light sugar syrup. I'd not waste effort and expense caramelizing maple syrup, but it could definitely add some nice flavors to this beer.

 

[jturman35]

Ok so I am planning on brewing this beer next weekend. I am going with 8lbs each of MO/Pilsner and 3 packs of D-180.

My LHBS only had one pack of WLP530 from February 5th which expires in Aug. What is the ideal step up process to get this yeast up to 350 B cells over a weeks time? I know yeast health is the most important part of this beer. I only one have one 2L flask.

Any suggestions?