Successful Chimay Clone!

[SiHoltye]

Have jinked around with the recipe posted earlier for my setup.

Chimaybe
19L, 90min simple infusion mash, 60min boil
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 71.46 %
1.20 kg Munich Malt - 10L (19.7 EBC) Grain 17.15 %
0.20 kg Special B Malt (354.6 EBC) Grain 2.85 %
0.20 kg Wheat Malt, Bel (3.9 EBC) Grain 2.85 %
75.00 gm Hallertauer Hersbrucker [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 23.9 IBU
25.00 gm Hallertauer Hersbrucker [4.00 %] (15 min) Hops 4.0 IBU
0.40 kg Candi Sugar, Amber (147.8 EBC) Sugar 5.69 %
1 Pkgs Belgian Ale #1 (Brewtek #CL-0300) Yeast-Ale (yet to be finalized)

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.093 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.022 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 9.31 %
Bitterness: 27.9 IBU
Est Color: 37.5 EBC

This is easily to be my biggest beer to date, and also my first venture into 'startering' liquid yeast. Can I crib from another's schedule for building up a a liquid strain to sufficient for this brew, pretty please . I'd choose the easiest starting position as well, say a smack pack if that's thought of as good.
Alternatively I'd use a dried yeast if such a good example exists, like to keep it simple but similar.

Thanks in advance.

[steve_flack]

That's a strong beer and to make enough yeast you'll need over a gallon sized starter for a 5 gallon brew...which is a lot. What I'd do is actually make two brews. Make a 2L (200g DME in 2L of water - boil it for around 15 mins then cool) starter and make a lower gravity Belgian Pale Ale or Abbey Single (around 1.050) with the yeast from that, then take the appropriate amount of yeast from that brew and pitch it into the big one. So you get two brews and appropriate pitching rates in both.

For yeast any of the Belgian strains will work but I'd recommend Whitelabs as there's more yeast in the pack and it's quicker to grow it to the amounts you need. Whitelabs WLP-500 is similar to the Chimay yeast.

Finally pitch at around 20C and hold it there for a few days and then try and get it to warm up to around 25C so that it attenuates properly. Don't start it hot as it makes for a headache beer.

[SiHoltye]

Thanks Steve. So I'll make a Chimaybe Baby brew 1st, and how must slurry should I pitch from that into the bigger beer, or would pitching onto the cake be a plan?

[steve_flack]

The Trappist breweries often make a weaker beer - mostly for internal consumption. I've not tasted one but apparently Westmalle's is basically lager malt with a lot of hops. Think Pilsner Urquell but brewed as a Belgian Ale.

For the second beer you need about half a pint of thick yeast slurry - yeast, not liquid. Don't just chuck it on the yeast cake. That would be too much. You want enough yeast to do the job but not so much you don;t get any flavour out of it.

[SiHoltye]

Yes thought's are coming together now. Working a yeast correctly to produce it's desirable characteristics. Thanks again. Baby will be brewed on the 20th I think.

[steve_flack]

I often do the 'two brews' technique for doing a stronger beer. Most big styles have a smaller style you could use as a starter beer (and get a 'free' brew out of it).