Fermenting: Belgian Rye Black IIPA!

[bigbeergeek]

Will it prove to be too much? I'm almost tempted to oak half of it, for the namesake alone! I know similar beers have been done before, but here's my currently-fermenting batch of blacked-out, rye-spiked, Belgian fermented IIPA:

BigBeerGeek's Belgian Rye Double India Black Ale

OG 1.080

Fermentables
45% 2 row
20% malted rye
15% Munich
10% crystal 60
10% midnight wheat
+ 0.5 lbs table sugar

Hops (cleaned out my freezer of all my domestic pellets!)
@90: 1 oz galena
@5: 2.5 oz galena, 1.63 oz columbus, 1 oz summit, 1 oz centennial
20 minute whirlpool @ 150*F: 2 oz amarillo, 1 oz centennial, 1 oz columbus, 2 oz galena
5 day dry hop: 0.5 oz summit, 1.5 oz amarillo, 2 oz centennial, 2 oz galena

Yeast
WLP500, rinsed from previous batch, slight underpitch, fermented warm.

I'll update with tasting notes in a month or two.

 

[bigbeergeek]

Just hit it with the table sugar as the krausen was creeping back into the beer... lovely!

 

[jessup]

hmmm i'm really interested in your recipe. i was thinking a black rye with low roastiness - pale choco & rye - but your twist sounds most interesting! with the whirlpool & dry hopping you best report back. i'm not a big fan of oaking any IPA's but to each their own:rockin:

when do you plan on adding the dry hops? being 1.080 this might take awhile to ripen. how much did you underpitch??

 

[jessup]

Any updates on your experiment??

 

[bigbeergeek]

Tasting notes for my Belgian rye black IIPA. Appearance: nearly jet black capped with a dense, lumpy, khaki-colored head which slowly recedes to sugary lacing. Aroma: citrusy and resinous/piny hops dominate the nose, followed by sweet malty aromas and the slightest hint of wet coffee grounds. Taste: similar to the nose. Strong citrus and pine hop flavors coat the palate and linger throughout. A bold peppery/oily note from the rye asserts itself early and lends a slickness to the texture in the mouth. Only the mildest of roasty notes. Finish is somewhat fruity and more dry than not. No hint of Belgian yeast character until the sample reaches room temperature -- only then s the slightest suggestion of Belgian yeast detectable. Overall, a nice complex beer. Next time I would back off the heavy dose of rye (20% is a little too much here, perhaps 10% next time) and forget the Belgian yeast?? I fermented this beer hot and funky to coax as much character out of the yeast as possible, and I still can't taste it under the mountain of hops. The other option would be to dial back the hops across the board to allow for more balance with the yeast strain.