The Kilted Monk - Wee Heavy with some Belgian ingredients
Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 12:23 am
Here's a brew Ariel and I (Eric) brought to the April BCB meeting. It's meant to be a wee heavy with a belgian flavor twist through the addition of dark candi sugar and special B.
Water
BS8 tap water treated only with campden.
Fermentables by wt%
MO: 73%
Crystal 150 EBC: 4%
Special B: 4%
Chocolate: 2%
Dark candi sugar rocks: 17%
Mashing
68 degC for 1hr.
Hops
EKG 50g for 45m
EKG 50g for 10m
Fermentation
US-05, no starter, fermented at 18 degC
OG: 1.078
FG: 1.013
ABV: 8.5%
Brewing comments: A relatively straightforward brewday. No special mashing techniques were used, but it would be interesting to see what a decoction mash could do in terms of upping the kettle caramel flavours. (Though it's possible that such flavors would be little different than the dark candi sugar provides anyway.)
Tasting comments: Pretty much what you would expect, really. A very malty, smooth beer with the taste of dark fruits. I think what stands out to me most is how belgian-y the flavor is despite the omission of belgian yeast. I think that demonstrates something about the role of candi sugar. The US-05 was well behaved, and did not produce any major off-flavors. There was a hint of harshness for the first few weeks after bottling, but that has since subsided.
Water
BS8 tap water treated only with campden.
Fermentables by wt%
MO: 73%
Crystal 150 EBC: 4%
Special B: 4%
Chocolate: 2%
Dark candi sugar rocks: 17%
Mashing
68 degC for 1hr.
Hops
EKG 50g for 45m
EKG 50g for 10m
Fermentation
US-05, no starter, fermented at 18 degC
OG: 1.078
FG: 1.013
ABV: 8.5%
Brewing comments: A relatively straightforward brewday. No special mashing techniques were used, but it would be interesting to see what a decoction mash could do in terms of upping the kettle caramel flavours. (Though it's possible that such flavors would be little different than the dark candi sugar provides anyway.)
Tasting comments: Pretty much what you would expect, really. A very malty, smooth beer with the taste of dark fruits. I think what stands out to me most is how belgian-y the flavor is despite the omission of belgian yeast. I think that demonstrates something about the role of candi sugar. The US-05 was well behaved, and did not produce any major off-flavors. There was a hint of harshness for the first few weeks after bottling, but that has since subsided.