AG#32 - Kurgan's Candy

[coatesg]

Think my dark candy syrup I made for a BDSA earlier this year had about (CORRECTION:) 2hrs (according to my old brewday post!) caramelising - but even then I don't think it was quite like the real stuff the Belgians use. I've never seen this stuff for sale in the UK - would be interesting to try it: http://www.darkcandi.com/d.html

[crookedeyeboy]

Whats the BDSA Graham?

[196osh]

A Belgian Dark Strong Ale.

[coatesg]

What he said

It was this one: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=32276

[WishboneBrewery]

Looks a good brew.

[bellebouche]

Earlier this year I had a go at a darker candi and I used Diammonium phosphate as the catalyst instead of citric acid. Managed a pronounced licorice flavour without the bonfire toffee/deep caramel flavour I'd normally expect.



It pays to experiment!

[WishboneBrewery]

Sounds like a nice chemical!! Does it clean the scale off toilets?

[coatesg]

Don't think so - but it's a good fertilizer and yeast nutrient

[Gricey]

I like the look of this & I'm on the hunt for a strong belgian next. You haven't mentioned what you do once you've transferred to FV - what temp do you keep it at, and for how long?

Also, never captured yeast before (although getting my yeast in order is on my short term todo list and I'm flasked/stirrer'd up), do you suggest an alternative that I can get from, say, H&G?

Cheers
Gricey

[coatesg]

do you suggest an alternative that I can get from, say, H&G?

Buying a vial/smackpack is a much easier and safer method of getting a Belgian yeast, but you'll need a really big starter. There are many strains to choose, though you may want to check out the Belgian chart from White Labs: http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/belgianchart.pdf Crookedeyeboy is using the WLP 575 blend at the minute I think and sounds like it's going well. If you want the Duvel strain, it's supposed to be WLP570 or Wy1388. Check out the comparisons and supposed sources at http://www.mrmalty.com/yeast.htm.

Temperature control is fairly important, though usually a case of keeping the temperature slightly higher than a normal English Ale yeast, but not allowing them to rise so high that you get undesirable tastes. The saison yeasts are the tricky ones, and will apparently sulk horribly if you don't have them warm enough ...

[Gricey]

Thanks for that. I think I'll go making a big starter (1/2l ?) using the stir plate... nothing ventured!

I've done my previous 2 brews (an ale and a stout) at 20 degrees, the latter rising to 21 for the last couple of days. How much higher for this chap, 22/23 ?

Cheers
Gricey

[WishboneBrewery]

My Temp control was leaving it stood on the Garage floor where it was a steady 20c in the FV, I brought it into our utility room which is a few degrees warmer for a few days.
The Bottles are conditioning in our office which is about 24c, I'll keep them here for 2 weeks before returning them to the garage. I might have a tester this weekend, see how the carbonation is going.

[crookedeyeboy]

Mines just in our lounge which is a constant ish 20-22C. Hopefully this will make the flavour a little fruitier. Going to check the gravity tonight it was down from 1064 to 1026 in 3 days!

[coatesg]

I might have a tester this weekend, see how the carbonation is going.

Let us know, but I found that these big beers tend to change a lot in the first couple of months or so - the alcohol really smooths out in that period of time.

[WishboneBrewery]

*update - Needs some more time in the bottle, could have done with a little more carbonation though it poured well and gave a good fizz, quite light and a bit spicy with the alcohol quite well masked.