Looking to pop my Belgian Beer Cherry any suggestions?

[DC]

Hi all, I am looking to brew my 1st Belgian Beer (hopefully before Xmas) if not it will be early in the New Year (must ask Santa for a Jam Thermometer for making Candi Sugar). And I am wondering if any of you guys can suggest a recipe for my 1st attempt? I have tried a few Belgian Beers recently namely the West Malle Dubbel, Bedes Chalice (Durham Brewery) and also the Leffe beers. I am looking at something along the West Mall Dubbel lines or a Bedes Chalice.

Cheers DC

[seymour]

SEYMOUR WESTMALLE DUBBEL CLONE

6 US gallons = 5 Imperial gallons = 22.7 Liters

MALTBILL:
80.8% = 11.75 lb = 5.33 kg, Pils malt
10.3% = 1.5 lb = 680 g, Crystal malt ≈ 60°L
2.1% = .3 lb = 136 g, Special-B malt
6.9% = 1 lb = 454 g, Brown cane sugar added to boil

MASH @ 152ºF/66.7ºC for 60 minutes

HOPS:
.7 oz/20 g, Tettnanger, whole, 60 minutes
.7 oz/20 g, Styrian Goldings, whole, 60 minutes
1 oz/28.3 g, Saaz, whole, 30 minutes

BOIL 60 minutes

Irish Moss near end of boil for clarity.

YEAST:
White Labs WL530 or Wyeast 3787. Pitch at 64ºF/17.7ºC, allow to rise to 68ºF/20ºC

PRIME with 3/4 cup raw cane sugar

STORE 1 week at fermentation temperature, then 3 weeks at 50-60°F/10-16°C

STATS: assuming 75% mash efficiency and 80% yeast attenuation
OG: 1.064
FG: 1.013 or lower
ABV: 6.5% or higher
IBU: 24
COLOUR: 15°SRM/30°EBC

[jmc]

I found the Duvel yeast easy to cultivate and very reliable.

I used it in this brew:
Belgian Strong Golden (Duvel Yeast) that's based on Floyd's recipe

For a nice easy & quick to brew Leffe Blonde clone try Dave-o's recipe for
Cheap'n'Easy Light Wit (Hoegaarden-ish)

[seymour]

I found the Duvel yeast easy to cultivate and very reliable...

+1

And speaking of cherries, here's another thought for brewday:

Brew any Belgian ale as indicated above. Then before disposing your spent grains, sparge one more time, boil with just a small handful of any hops, old and oxidized is fine, plus a kg of cane sugar. Place 1 or 2 kg sour cherries, pits and all, into a carboy and rack your second-runnings onto them for a pour-man's cherry lambic. When it's cooled ambiently to room temperature, pitch a pack of T-58 and set aside for many months.

[Barley Water]

Seymour's recipe looks pretty good. If you want to spiff it up you might try swapping the brown sugar for some liquid Belgian candi sugar (although it is expensive). I also added about 6 ounces of carmelized raisins to my last batch but I can be kind of wierd that way.

[jimp2003]

Seymour's recipe looks pretty good. If you want to spiff it up you might try swapping the brown sugar for some liquid Belgian candi sugar (although it is expensive). I also added about 6 ounces of carmelized raisins to my last batch but I can be kind of wierd that way.

What did you do to caramelize the raisins before you used them and when did you add them?

[Barley Water]

What I did was pull off some first runnings then added the raisins. I then ran that through a blender and boiled the hell out of the whole thing until carmelized (be careful because if you go to far it will burn giving you roast flavors you want to avoid). I then just added that to the boil and proceeded as normal. I've now got the entire batch bottled and have only tried the uncarbonated beer, I can already tell it's got the flavors I'm looking for. I'll let you know how it does in competition but I won't get that feedback until late March.

By the way, for the original poster; I also like to make an Abby Single to grow up the yeast (since a dubbel is what I would call high gravity brewing and yeah, you want lots of healthy yeast to avoid generating fusels). The recipe is easy, aim for a table beer of say O.G. 1.048 or so. Pils malt, maybe a little bisquet malt and the last one I did I added a pound of jaggery to dry it out. You can also spice it if you like and otherwise screw around with the formulation to suite your tastes. You'll end up with a quaffing beer which is essentially a vehicle for yeast expression and at the end of the day besides a great drinking beer you'll have a nice load of prime yeast for the bigger beer. I also regularly play this same sort of game when I do lagers (just did a Munich Helles and that yeast will also ferment a Munich Dunkel when it's done with the first beer).

[DC]

Hi all, I know you guys will probably see this next question as Blasphemy or Sacrilege, but how much difference would it make to Seymours Westmalle Dubbel recipe if I substituted the Pils Malt for Golden Promise (Pale Malt)? Just I have 16KG of Golden Promise sat in the garage waiting to be used up.

Cheers DC

[DeGarre]

Don't forget one clove and 15g orange peel zest...

[jmc]

Hi all, I know you guys will probably see this next question as Blasphemy or Sacrilege, but how much difference would it make to Seymours Westmalle Dubbel recipe if I substituted the Pils Malt for Golden Promise (Pale Malt)? Just I have 16KG of Golden Promise sat in the garage waiting to be used up.

Cheers DC

Maybe slightly 'maltier' with pale malt rather than Pils, but that could be a good thing. I'd try it and see.

I had a play with Beer Engine and to get same colour I reduced Crystal by 300g and upped pale malt by 300g.

I'd try and use proper liquid yeast for this as I'm sure it has huge affect on taste.
Seymore suggested White Labs WL530 or Wyeast 3787.
If you don't want to get these I've had good results from yeast from a couple of bottles of Chimay.

[seymour]

Hi all, I know you guys will probably see this next question as Blasphemy or Sacrilege...

Oh, please, there's no such thing! We're all learning the same way: by doing, by researching, by asking and listening...nothing sacred or anything. And that goes for the Trappist monks, too, they've just been at it longer...

...how much difference would it make to Seymours Westmalle Dubbel recipe if I substituted the Pils Malt for Golden Promise (Pale Malt)?...

Would there be a difference? Sure, but slight. Would you still get a true-to-style Belgian ale? Sure. The recipe I submitted is an accurate clone of the actual Westmalle dubbel recipe, cross-checked with Brew Like A Monk's Hieronymous' on-site research. Pilsner malt is the only way to achieve that subtle husky Germanic graininess, and it gives a different type of candy sweetness than regular two-row pale malt, I sometimes even pick-up vanilla or marshmallowy notes, but feel free to tweak as much as you like. I certainly do.

...Maybe slightly 'maltier' with pale malt rather than Pils, but that could be a good thing. I'd try it and see...

+1

...I had a play with Beer Engine and to get same colour I reduced Crystal by 300g and upped pale malt by 300g...

Yeah, those sorts of things are always adjustable. But for what it's worth, my grainbill percentages are based on the actual Westmalle recipe, the colour isn't. The colour I gave is just what my calculators predicted based on my recipe, and I must have a lighter kilned crystal than you. In other words, don't put too much importance on my colour, if you're wanting to clone Westmalle Dubbel.

...Seymour suggested White Labs WL530 or Wyeast 3787. If you don't want to get these I've had good results from yeast from a couple of bottles of Chimay.

I only listed those because they are the true Westmalle strain, but there are lots of great Belgian yeasts. Chimay is excellent. Hell, T-58 may be a dried version of the same, in any case it makes excellent Belgian ale.

[far9410]

I reckon you should write a book, Seymour!