My homebrew club has an ongoing barrel project where we have refilled an old oak barrel numerous times. This time we did a funky belgian golden strong and we needed some blending beer so I brewed this up. Turned out really good but I didn’t get to drink much since I needed it all for the barrel. The recipe came from the club.
BrewDesign
Recipe Info
Beer Name: belgian_golden_strong_ebiab1_1
Style: Belgian Golden Strong Ale
Date: 5-2-16
Style
Original Gravity: 1.079
Final Gravity: 1.011
Color: 3.9
Alcohol: 8.9 %
Bitterness: 26.4 IBUs
Brewery
Efficiency: 70
Attenuation: 86
Mash
Mash Fermentable Weight: 20.5 Pounds
Mash Thickness: 1.5 Quarts per Pound
Grain Temp: 72 F
Strike Water Qty: 9.69 Gallons
Mash Volume: 11.33 Gallons
Strike Water Temp: 159.8 F
Mash Temp: 149 F
Boil
Kettle Gravity (start of boil): 1.069
Predicted Mash Run-off Volume: 7.8425
Target Starting Boil Volume: 9.75
Boil Duration: 60 Minutes
Evaporation Rate: 1.25 Gallons per Hour
Final Boil Volume: 8.5
Fermentables
| Weight (Lbs) | % by Weight | Name | Yield | SRM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 80.9 | Castle Pilsner; Belgian | 80.0 | 1.6 |
| 1.5 | 6.4 | Rahr Wheat Malt; White | 88.0 | 2.8 |
| 3 | 12.8 | Sugar | 100.0 | 0.0 |
Hops
| Weight (ozs) | Name | AAU | Time (mins) | Use | IBUs / Addition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Saaz | 4.0 | 60 | Boil | 22.6 |
| 1 | Saaz | 4.0 | 15 | Boil | 3.7 |
Yeast and Friends
| Amount (Milliters) | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 pouch | White Labs WLP530 Trappist Ale |
Misc
| Amount | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whirlfloc Tablet | 15 |
| .5 tsp | Yeast Nutrient (Wyeast) | 10 |
Notes
raise to 168F for 10 mins
Liquid Yeast Pitch – Stirplate Starter
First Starter
Quantity of Yeast: 1 vials / pouches (100B cells per)
Quantity of DME: 344 grams
Starter Size: 3.4 liters
Salt and Acid adjustments:
Mash Salts:
Gypsum: 6.0 gram
Calcium Chloride: 6.0 gram
Mash Acid:
Lactic Acid: 8.0 ml @ 88 %
Sparge/Boil Salts:
Predicted Mash pH of: 5.43
Mash Ions (ppm):
Ca: 78.2 Mg: 3.0 Na: 21.0 Cl: 79.0 So: 102.6
Boil Ions (ppm):
Ca: 75.2 Mg: 3.0 Na: 21.0 Cl: 76.1 So: 99.2
cool to 64F to target a pitch @ 66F and just let it ferment out at room temp.
Notes:
5/3/16 made 2.5L starter with 250g of DME and 1 pouch of WLP530 on a stirplate
5/4/16 normal brew day. no issues. pitched at ~1pm and big kreusen at 8pm. pitched entire starter.
5/5/16 huge kreusen w/ blow off. VERY violent fermentation.
5/6/16 very slow bubbling in morning then i moved the fermenter and fermentation kicked off again.
5/7/16 settled down to slow bubbling.
5/8/16 ~18 seconds apart
5/9/16 moved to bubbler. slow steady bubbling
5/10/16 ~13 sec apart
5/11/16 ”
5/17/16 ~15 sec
5/18/16 ”
5/21/16 racked beer to keg . FG 1.010. pH 4.13. a little bit boozy and green with some phenolic notes -> pepper and a low level of tire/rubber. nice orange esters. not bad for a very young, flat golden strong. no off flavors.