Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel

[AdyG]

I tried one of these the other night and really enjoyed it, and fanced doing some small 330ml bottles of stong crisp beer myself. This was a very interesting beer, a very light in colour with a fresh light hop flavour in a distict Belgian style.

After reading Seymours recent thread on here about Belgian IPA viewtopic.php?f=5&t=61435, I decided to look into it further.. and this is what I've come up with. I'm aiming for 15 litres to fill 40 x 330ml bottles and all the IBUs & ABV seem to hit the targets:

Batch Size (fermenter): 15.00 l
Boil Size: 26.17 l
Boil Time: 90 min
End of Boil Volume 18.91 l B
Final Bottling Volume: 13.60 l

Ingredients

4.00 kg Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (3.9 EBC)
0.85 kg Cane (Beet) Sugar (0.0 EBC)
20.00 g Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 90.0 min
10.00 g Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 20.0 min
2.00 g Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins)
35.00 g Saaz [4.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min
1.0 pkg Belgian Golden Ale (White Labs #WLP550) Yeast
20.00 g Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Dry Hop 5 Days

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.078 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.008 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 9.3 %
Bitterness: 50.1 IBUs
Est Color: 7.2 EBC

Only problem I have is the lagering for 3 weeks at 2-4 degrees as I do not have a fridge for holding a FV for that time... I think I'm going to look for one second hand and stick it in the brew cave!

Any comments or suggestions gratefully received

[seymour]

Looks great to me. I'd probably add a little bit of light-crystal/toasted/aromatic malt and some oats, but you know me. Also, brown sugar adds some nice complexity compared to white sugar, in case you're into that.

I like the idea of combining dank/resiny Columbus with delicately spicy Saaz and fruity Amarillo. Excellent call on the yeast, that's a big improvement over the Castle Belgian IPA recipe. Can't wait to hear how it turns out.

A fridge will certainly be handy, and will help you produce slightly cleaner, more consistent beer, but not absolutely necessary.

Best of luck!

[AdyG]

Hi Seymour

Thanks for your input... as the shop bought beer was very light and clear I think I am going to try the first attempt with just Pilsner, so I have a standard to compare it to, then maybe start adding more aromatics on the next brews. I saw the yeast being used on similar Belgian Pale Ales and my regular online homebrew shop stocks it, so I too a flyer and decided to branch out from my regular reliable US-05/ S-04 safety yeast!

I am watching a few cheap second hand fridges on ebay at the moment, there is space in my garage for one so hopefully I shall have the option of chilling for 3 weeks and 4 degrees!

I will post the results when I hopefully get round to brewing in the next couple of weeks.

[AdyG]

I've just brewed this one and it's now in the fv with yeast pitched. I got a lower OG 1072 but everything else seems ok... had a problem with the boiler dying half way through the boil and had to fix it before continuing with the last 45 mins.

I plan to ferment for a week, dry hop with the 20g of Amarillo for 5 days then lager the fv in a fridge at 4 degrees for 2 weeks before bottling.... once I've aquired a fridge!

[AdyG]

Quick update on this, the FG dropped to 1008 after dry hopping. I've got a little fridge in the garage now so I can lager it at 4 degrees for 2-3 weeks before bottling. A quick taste from the trial jar is promising, nice flavour from hops and Belgian yeast, you wouldn't know it's ABV 8.5%.

Just hoping the lagering process will make it crystal clear now like the original.

[Pinto]

Good to see you found a fridge, but i'd forget ebay as a source of fridges - FAR too many people on there willing to pay over the odds. Youre much better off looking in the local classified papers - i got my last one there - bosch classix so good quality - for £10.....

[seymour]

Sounds like it's coming along nicely. Can't wait to hear how the final beer tastes!

[AdyG]

Good to see you found a fridge, but i'd forget ebay as a source of fridges - FAR too many people on there willing to pay over the odds. Youre much better off looking in the local classified papers - i got my last one there - bosch classix so good quality - for £10.....

There were econd hand Beko fridges going for £50 on ebay so I know what you mean. I couldn't find any bargains in our local classifieds or gumtree, fortunately a fridge with the salad tray and a shelf missing came up on ebay a mile from my house, which I got for £23. Would have rather had a Bosch for £10 though

Sounds like it's coming along nicely. Can't wait to hear how the final beer tastes!

Hi Seymour, I will update the thread on tasting, but I have high hopes for this one. Might not be for another 5 weeks or so with 2-3 weeks lagering and a couple of weeks aging in the bottle.

[TheMumbler]

Sounds good, I've been meaning to do something along those lines for a year or more. If you like Houblon Chouffe I'd recommend trying a bottle of La Rulles Triple if you get the chance.

[AdyG]

Sounds good, I've been meaning to do something along those lines for a year or more. If you like Houblon Chouffe I'd recommend trying a bottle of La Rulles Triple if you get the chance.

Cheers for the tip... I will check in my local specialist Offie next time I'm in. I do like a Belgian beer or two

[AdyG]

After 3 weeks of lagering at 4 degrees in my dedicated brew fridge I finally bottled this yesterday. I was 300ml short and only got 39 bottles instead of 40 but nevermind.

I am very impressed with how clear and bright it looks, definitely my lightest brew in colour, but my strongest in ABV

Also after 1 week fermenting and 1 week dry hopping, I was surprised how much more sediment dropped out of it after the 3 weeks lagering. I reckon a couple of weeks conditioning in the bottle and it will be ready for a proper taste... the trial jar samples have been very promising!

I will update with photos when I finally have a proper glass of it.

I might attempt a Czech or German Pilsner now I can lager stuff properly!

[spanspoon]

Keep us posted on this one! I am looking to get a tasty belgian brew on!

[AdyG]

Keep us posted on this one! I am looking to get a tasty belgian brew on!

Cheers will do. This is my first Belgian brew, so will get a bit braver and experiment more as I get more experience with the Belgian styles.

[AdyG]

I have now sampled a couple of bottles of this, and given some to my mates to try and overall it's a success!

It is the cleanest, clearest and lightest beer I have brewed, crystal clear in fact with virtually no sediment in it, the yeast has given it an authentic Belgian taste and despite it's strength it is very easy to drink. My only criticism of it is it could be a bit more carbonated, it's been in the bottles 3 weeks so I thought it should be ok, and it could be a bit hoppier. The Saazs gives it a nice taste but I was hoping for a bit more off the Amarillo dry hop.

Ok next time more sugar in before bottling and a lot more dry hops!

[Matt12398]

I used a Belgian yeast for a pale beer with loads of dry hopped galaxy and that didn't have a massive hop smack in the face. I wonder if it's something to do with Belgian yeasts.