Belgian Strong Red, recipe critique

[manticle]

Never anything wrong with a hit of biscuit if just doing 2 grains makes you feel funny.
If the grain is crunchy, it's good, slack and stale; it's a no go.

 

[technobabble66]

Oh yeah, better test it first for freshness.
Yep, the spec B is crunchy. Tastes like toasted, malty raisins. Methinks i should've tried a few grains 12months ago ....

Not sure about including the Biscuit.
I was thinking of using 50g of Melandoiden also as a sub for Aromatic (don't have any of that one).
Do you think that's viable, or is it too optimistic to think 50g melanoiden is close to 100g Aromatic?

 

[manticle]

Just go the simple route. If it works but you think a specific grain would add something (not a sub) then brew again with the extra.
Restraint my friend. Be like the monk but without the annoying religious aspects.

 

[Mardoo]

Not even the hand jobs in the cloister?

 

[manticle]

What happens in the cloister, sprays in the.....

Oh my!

 

[technobabble66]

Fwiw, this is what 2.5g of the syrup in 100mL water looks like. That's roughly the equivalent of 500g in 20L.
I'm guessing it's between 7-9 SRM, or ~14-18 EBC.
Checking Belgian Amber Candi Sugar, it comes in as ~19 EBC.
So I'm assuming that mine's close to a slightly light Amber Syrup.

 

[manticle]

What's it taste like?

 

[madpierre06]

Maybe the monks had more than just earthly help in coming up with such great beers....

And thanks techno, you've given me the impetus to try one of these brews...been just looking at the recipes too long.

 

[technobabble66]

Tastes very much like honeycomb
Kinda like caramel toffee, i s'pose.
Does that sound right for Amber syrup?

I may finish to current batch of syrup prior to brewing. Same process intended as the above sample, but with 10% Dark Sugar. The inverted stuff definitely has a bit more rum & fruitiness to it. So i'm wondering if that'll be better for this Dubbel...

 

[technobabble66]

Maybe the monks had more than just earthly help in coming up with such great beers....

snigger ... he said "coming".... h34r: :lol:

 

[madpierre06]

Watching too much Beavis and Butthead, eh.

 

[manticle]

Maybe the monks had more than just earthly help in coming up with such great beers

Or maybe they had a lot of time on their hands.
10 reasons for the existence of god.

1. Beer
2. beer
3. ale
4. lager
5. beer
6. strong beer
7. table beer
8. farmhouse beer
9.session beer
10. pints.

 

[madpierre06]

So many gifs to choose from....

Techno...was it that difficult to make the syrup, as in worth doing?

 

[technobabble66]

Watching too much Beavis and Butthead, eh.

Is that what you call Mardoo and Yob?

h34r:

Or maybe they had a lot of time on their hands.
10 reasons for the existence of god.

1. Beer
2. beer
3. ale
4. lager
5. beer
6. strong beer
7. table beer
8. farmhouse beer
9.session beer
10. pints.

You forgot the Ergot infected grain.

 

[technobabble66]

So many gifs to choose from....

Techno...was it that difficult to make the syrup, as in worth doing?

Not really. Pretty easy actually, just takes a little time and patience.
Obviously this is all assuming i've created something close to the real thing

But yeah, i did 2 main steps.
1st step was to heat sugar & water with some citric acid. The 2nd step was reheating with Lye and DAP, then a little juggling to maintain the target temp at the end.
You can run straight from the 1st to the 2nd step, or let it sit on the stove for a night or 2 until you have some more time to finish it.
Also, all the ingredients are as cheap as chips. 2kg of white sugar is ~$2. So if it all goes tits up, you've wasted a few bucks and a couple of hours. Not a real biggie in the grand scheme of this hobby! :lol:

 

[technobabble66]

So this is the latest attempt.

Belgian Dubbel

Vol = 24L
OG = 1.053
FG = 1.007
IBU = 19.5
EBC = 30
alc = 6.5%

4.62 kg (84%) Pilsner (Wey)
0.21 kg (3.8%) Special B (Ding)
0.10 kg (1.8%) Biscuit (Ding)
0.07 kg (1.3%) Acidulated (Wey)
0.50 kg (9%) Dark/Amber Candi Syrup

20g Hall Mitt (6.3%AA) @ FWH
10g EKG (4.5%AA) @20mins (cubed)
10g Select (5.0%AA) @20mins (cubed)

1.1gCaSO4 +1.3g MgSO4 + 2.3g CaCl2 into Mash
0.8gCaSO4 +1.0g MgSO4 + 1.8g CaCl2 +0.3g Citric acid into Sparge
0.5gCaSO4 +0.5g MgSO4 + 1.2g CaCl2 into Boil

Mash: 55/66/72/78 for 5/60/20/5
18L Mash
14L Sparge

Fermented with WLP-550, probably starting at 18°C, slowly ramping to 23-25°C over a few days.
-----------------------

How's this one look?
There's a possibility of raising the Syrup to 1kg, but i thought i'd test this with 500g first.
Should that be enough to get a decent taste of it?
The 3 Dubbel recipes on the CSI website use ~1kg syrup. So i've dropped the Pilsner down to 4.62kg so that it should be fine if i stick to 500g syrup, and should also be ok if i decide to throw in a full 1kg.

 

[manticle]

Looks much better but with the salts, acid and dark crystal grain, is there much need for the acidulated?

 

[technobabble66]

Bru'n Water indicates without the acidulated it'll hit pH5.4 in the mash.
With the 70g Acidulated, it hits pH5.3.

I generally target pH5.3.
Any reason i shouldn't be?

 

[manticle]

No reason. Just wasn't sure if you'd be overdoing it.
Brew on brother.

 

[technobabble66]

[emoji106][emoji106]