Recipe check - Belgian dark strong ale

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Oneflewover

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Planning to brew a BDSA next weekend. Any thoughts on this recipe?

18l batch. 75% Brewhouse efficiency. OG 1.095, FG 1.015. 10.42% ABV. 27.5 IBUs.

4.5kg pilsner
1kg light Munich
1kg light Candi syrup home made
0.2kg special B
0.05kg carafa 3
90 minute mash, single step infusion at 64*C
A litre of first runnings boiled down to a dark syrup (stole this idea from @strange-steve westverlerten 12 clone recipe)

15g Magnum @ 60
20g Hallertauer Hersbrucker @ 30
30g Hallertauer Mittelfruh @ 15

WLP 530 Abbey Ale

Cheers
 
Sounds more than decent to me, personally I might add a little more Special B? How do you make your Candi Syrup?
Cheers, I did have more in there, but took some out as I'm thinking that reducing the first runnings right down will add colour and flavour. Hmmmm....

Re making the syrup, never done it before but loads on t'interweb about it. My research suggests boiling beet sugar with a small amount of water and citric acid at a particular temperature to invert the sugar gives best results. Could try boiling it to a darker colour but a bit wary about overdoing it on my first attempt
 
Ahh yes sorry I missed that about the boiling down the first runnings (knackered), that'll probably be alright then, though have not done it myself.

I found a youtube video and followed that, mine didn't come out as expected although the beer is nice.
 
Recipe looks decent to me although I've never bothered making light candi syrup, I just use table sugar instead.
What are your thoughts on fermentation temperature for this? I recommend pitching low, and keeping it nice and cool for a few days before ramping up, I've had some alcohol harshness when using this yeast in big beers, even at relatively cool temperatures.
 
I brewed such a recipe at the beginning of July, with St.-Bernardus yeast. I used 5% Special B on my recipe. I also added a bit of blackstrap molasses, at about 5g per litre of end product.
My fermentation temperature was about 22° C (and climbing while fermenting). After one week I racked it into another vessel and let it condition for six before I bottled it.
It doesn't taste boozy, hot or solvent.
 
Recipe looks decent to me although I've never bothered making light candi syrup, I just use table sugar instead.
What are your thoughts on fermentation temperature for this? I recommend pitching low, and keeping it nice and cool for a few days before ramping up, I've had some alcohol harshness when using this yeast in big beers, even at relatively cool temperatures.
Cheers Steve. I'm going to make the syrup for experience as much as anything. It may end up darker.
Yes, I'd read it was better to start low and increase temps.
Cheers for the feedback.
 
I brewed such a recipe at the beginning of July, with St.-Bernardus yeast. I used 5% Special B on my recipe. I also added a bit of blackstrap molasses, at about 5g per litre of end product.
My fermentation temperature was about 22° C (and climbing while fermenting). After one week I racked it into another vessel and let it condition for six before I bottled it.
It doesn't taste boozy, hot or solvent.
Thanks chthon. Would you use the molasses again? I'm thinking that there will be loads going on in this beer, and sometimes simpler is better....
 
Yes, at that level certainly. I think it does add just that small touch extra, without being overpowering. By the way, I used blackstrap molasses from Meridian. But I definitely wouldn't add more than 1,5% of the total fermentable bill.
 
Hmmmmm. Brewed this pretty much as above 10 days ago and it's gone from 1.095 to 1.035 in that time. Never brewed a beer this big or had a fermentation take this long. Bit concerned it's taking so long, although it clearly is still fermenting - albeit slowly. Thinking I should have oxygenated more thoroughly cold side. Any pearls of wisdom / reassurances?
 
I made a very similar recipe in August 2018, except I got some colouring from caramelising the home made syrup. I used MJ31, but I guess your chosen yeast will not give an inferior result. M31 was my summer yeast last year and I did 5 Belgian beers, from one dry sachet, re-using the trub from the first.

Last taste was complex - maybe coffee, dark fruits like raisin and plum? For some reason I did not seem to record gravities, but would guess it came out around 9%. It does age very well and seems now to be very much in keeping with the style. Curiously it now is better at lower temps than it seemed over the summer.

Perhaps hard to judge taste-wise over time as it not one you drink either frequently or in any volume.
 
Hmmmmm. Brewed this pretty much as above 10 days ago and it's gone from 1.095 to 1.035 in that time. Never brewed a beer this big or had a fermentation take this long. Bit concerned it's taking so long, although it clearly is still fermenting - albeit slowly. Thinking I should have oxygenated more thoroughly cold side. Any pearls of wisdom / reassurances?

This is a bit bigger than mine was for sure. I thought mine to more of an "8" than a "12"!

The best pearl of wisdom I can give, is the familiar one - Patience. 3-4 weeks in primary is not going to hurt it. At this time of year the wild yeasts are not much present in the air and all will be well.

Good luck with it! It will be worth it in the end and a year is your realistic minimum time scale, in my limited experience.
 
This is a bit bigger than mine was for sure. I thought mine to more of an "8" than a "12"!

The best pearl of wisdom I can give, is the familiar one - Patience. 3-4 weeks in primary is not going to hurt it. At this time of year the wild yeasts are not much present in the air and all will be well.

Good luck with it! It will be worth it in the end and a year is your realistic minimum time scale, in my limited experience.
Thanks for that mate. I'll hang in there! Wondering if it is worth racking to secondary and letting it finish off - however long that takes - in glass demijohns?
 
Hm, the one I brewed this summer, with St.-Bernardus yeast, went to 1.018 from 1.092, and I never really aerate my wort, just let it free fall into the fermentation vessel. That was in a week time, because after a week I racked it into a secondary fermenter. I performed the fermentation in my boil kettle, covered with cheese cloth.
 
Hm, the one I brewed this summer, with St.-Bernardus yeast, went to 1.018 from 1.092, and I never really aerate my wort, just let it free fall into the fermentation vessel. That was in a week time, because after a week I racked it into a secondary fermenter. I performed the fermentation in my boil kettle, covered with cheese cloth.
Ha, not so reassuring, but thanks nonetheless athumb..
 
Thanks for that mate. I'll hang in there! Wondering if it is worth racking to secondary and letting it finish off - however long that takes - in glass demijohns?

Absolutely. I later bought a 10L carboy for that purpose and 3 or 4 gallon demijohns, depending on how you want to play it, sounds a great bet to me. For many, the temptation to try it early might prompt some bottling for "sampling" purposes.
 

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