Belgian I

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SteveW
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Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2011 5:53 pm

Belgian I

Post by SteveW »

To Celebrate being back on-line I brewed this at the weekend a first go at a Dark Belgian Strong.
Not aiming for BJCP class 18E - just what came to mind.


Belgian I

Brewlength 23 L
OG 1.098
IBUs 28

Grist

6310g Pale Malt (Warminster Maris Otter Pale)
503g Carahell Malt
27g Caramalt
474g flaked wheat
121g Special Carafa III

100g Black malt at sparge for colour

No water treatments used
Mashed at 63°C for 90 Minutes
90 minute boil

@ 90 minutes

60g Saaz 3.4% A.A.
25g East Kent Goldings 5.7% A.A.

@ 45 minutes

1859g dark brown sugar

@15 minutes

30g Saaz 3.4% A.A.
10g Irish Moss

Fermented with 2nd generation WLP575 (Belgian Blend) Yeast (thanks Colin!)
Maybe over pitched.

Fermentation temperature rose to 26°C
not good, lets see if it turns out too phenolic!
Dropped into another fermenter at 48 hours after start of fermentation.

Plan to Ferment for two weeks, cask for three then bottle & forget about it for at least six months.
The craft beer revolution will not be sanitised!
(Apologies to Gil Scott-Heron)
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SteveW
Posts: 264
Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2011 5:53 pm

Re: Belgian I

Post by SteveW »

I will some fresh yeast (WLP575 (Belgian Blend)) from this brew available from this Sunday when I cask it.

If you want about 250ml let me know, its now 3rd Generation.
The craft beer revolution will not be sanitised!
(Apologies to Gil Scott-Heron)
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steve crawshaw
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Re: Belgian I

Post by steve crawshaw »

SteveW wrote:
Fermented with 2nd generation WLP575 (Belgian Blend) Yeast (thanks Colin!)
Maybe over pitched.

Fermentation temperature rose to 26°C
not good, lets see if it turns out too phenolic!
Dropped into another fermenter at 48 hours after start of fermentation.

Plan to Ferment for two weeks, cask for three then bottle & forget about it for at least six months.
Doubt if you've over - pitched. The trappists pitch a lot of yeast into the strong beers as they don't oxygenate. Similarly temperatures up to 26C should be OK according to brew like a monk. However I would question the wisdom of racking after 48 hours. I don't see any reason to do this - let it ferment in primary for a couple of weeks and then into keg.
cheers
steve
I like to keep a bottle of stimulant handy in case I see a snake, which I also keep handy.
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SteveW
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Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2011 5:53 pm

Re: Belgian I

Post by SteveW »

The reason I dropped this beer was to be rid of most of the trub from both my own and Colin's fermentations and dead yeast cells to stop any off flavours from autolysis.

I tend to do this whenever I re-use yeast, also dropping seems to be a good idea as it rouses the yeast and adds more oxygen for the remaining fermentation at a time that will not cause oxidation in the finished beer.
The Burton union System is a modification of this.

Maybe I should sort the yeast from the trub before I pitch it.

Whatever you think of Graham Wheeler, I read about dropping first in his book Home Brewing of 1997 (page 95).
It seems to work with other beers and has served me well.

I always remember the quote:
"whenever two brewers meet they will come up with three solutions to a brewing issue" or something like that anyway.
The craft beer revolution will not be sanitised!
(Apologies to Gil Scott-Heron)
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steve crawshaw
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Re: Belgian I

Post by steve crawshaw »

SteveW wrote:The reason I dropped this beer was to be rid of most of the trub from both my own and Colin's fermentations and dead yeast cells to stop any off flavours from autolysis.

I always remember the quote:
"whenever two brewers meet they will come up with three solutions to a brewing issue" or something like that anyway.
Fair play, I just am wary of any exposure to infection before fermentation is complete. I would usually wash yeast from a previous brew. I have read that big beer especially benefits from oxygenation after 24 hours of fermentation but never actually tried it.
I like to keep a bottle of stimulant handy in case I see a snake, which I also keep handy.
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