belgian recipe

[delboy]

Im looking to do a reasonably big belgian somewhere around the 8-10 % mark.
I want to do this somethime soon and bottle it and put it away for xmas, i plan to throw in some special-B malt to give it some raisin/xmas character.

When doing a brew like this how do people get the gravity so high, do they use a huge grain bill, do a no sparge or do they depend on spraymalt and or sugar to get the gravity up.

Has anyone got any suggestions or recipes for me to tinker with.

[oblivious]

Hi delboy

Here is one is am planning to do

Belgian strong dark ale

4.8 kg pale malt
0.681 kg Munich
0.300 kg Special B
0.250 kg wheat malt
0.250 kg aromatic malt


Sugar last 15
0.250 kg cane sugar
0.250 kg date syrup
0.250 kg Jaggery sugar

Hops

2 oz styrian goldings 60 min
1oz styrian goldings 15 min

I.B.U’s 32


Yeast

WLP5300 (3.5 liter starter 3 days old)

[delboy]

Cheers OB im guessing that would be coming out about the same colour as newcastle brown.

That would seem to tick quite a few boxes, i like the use of aromatic and special-B in there.

I was looking at what yeasts to use on this and noticed on the brouwland site the do activator (ready to pitch) packs of their wyeast belgian speciality yeasts for just a few euros more.
Might be worth it to circumvent the hassle of making a huge starter.

Just wondering where in the world could i lay my hands on jaggery sugar and how close is to the candi sugar/syrup the belgians use (this can be got at brouwland as well).

[delboy]

Cheers OB im guessing that would be coming out about the same colour as newcastle brown.

That would seem to tick quite a few boxes, i like the use of aromatic and special-B in there.

I was looking at what yeasts to use on this and noticed on the brouwland site they do activator (ready to pitch) packs of their wyeast belgian speciality yeasts for just a few euros more.
Might be worth it to circumvent the hassle of making a huge starter.

Just wondering where in the world could i lay my hands on jaggery sugar and how close is to the candi sugar/syrup the belgians use (this can be got at brouwland as well).

[oblivious]

Hi delboy

I still think those activator packs would still need a start for two reason 1) this is a high gravity brew and I suspect the pack were not intend to be pitched direct into it
2) They have travelled from the states and have had some store, so there is the issue of what percentage of viable cells.

Belgians beers a usually very well attenuated beer so having healthy active yeast is a must, American craft brewer have come un a bit of criticism form some beligan brewers, as the beer where not attenuated enough and where to sweet.

Jaggery not like the Belgian sugar, just different

Here is a bit of speal on it:
Jaggery is a semi-refined solid or "concrete" sugar made from palm sap (and/or sugar cane), primarily in India. It has a soft texture and a rich creamy flavor, and has a history in British brewing starting in the mid 19th century. Jaggery is also sometimes labeled “gur,â€

[Barley Water]

Delboy, jaggary is not traditionally used in these types of beers but who cares, it's all about being unique anyway. I get mine at a local Indian market and the prices are reasonable (and I'm in Texas). You can now get the dark liquid sugar from Belgium from some of the internet retailers (like Beer, Beer and More Beer and Norther Brewer). Don't even bother with the candi sugar that most places sell, it's expensive and doesn't really get you anything over cane sugar. The other thing you can do is make your own at home. I have not tried it yet but it sounds like fun.

I have not tried making a Strong Dark or Quad but I am still trying to perfect a Dubbel formulation so I have done a few batches of that style. This type of beer can become very cloying easily. You would be well advised to add at least a pound of some type of sugar and maybe two for a Strong Dark. If you use some type of semi refined sugar, you can get some unique tastes while at the same time making the beer easier to drink. As noted above, the trick is to get very good attenuation, otherwise you will end up with a thick, sweet, phenolic soup. By the way, as with heffe, it's all about the yeast with these types of beers. Screwing around with the fermentation temperature will get you different and unique flavors. Assuming you are using one of the Abby yeasts, don't let it get anywhere under 65F or you will run into fermentation problems.

I have also been messing around with putting raisins into my dubbels and a just scored a jar of date syrup which I intend to try out also. Oh yeah, you get your best coriander in the Indian markets for all you fans of Saisons and Wit beers out there. Well I guess I'll shut up now, poor old Daab is probably going crazy with all this talk about high gravity beer along with strange and non-traditional ingredients.

[oblivious]

Well I guess I'll shut up now, poor old Daab is probably going crazy with all this talk about high gravity beer along with strange and non-traditional ingredients.