My own recipe

[mikerada6]

I have brewed a couple of the recipes found on this forum and other sites and i think i am ready to brew a recipe of my own creation. I was hoping ot get some advice from the members here. I am looking for a strong beer with a strong nose and a full-body sweet malty taste. Below is my recipe. Let me know what you all think

Grain Bill:
13 lbs 2-Row Belgium Pilsner Malt
2 lbs Caramel Wheat Malt
1 lb Aromatic Malt

Hops:
.75oz Hallertau Magnum 60 min
.5oz Amarillo - 15 min
.5oz Amarillo - 5 min
.5 oz Orange Peel, Sweet - 5 min

Mash:
20 qt of water at 122 for 30 min
Raise to 156 for 30 min
Mash Out at 168

Yeast:
Belgian Golden Ale (White Labs #WLP570)

Target OG: 1.083
Target FG: 1.023

Let me know what you all think. Thanks

 

[motorneuron]

Although you are welcome to part company with the traditional way of doing things, it may be helpful to note that traditional Belgian styles often finish pretty dry, even when the beers are strong. Many traditional dubbels, tripels and quads all attenuate at 85-90%. There are many factors that contribute to achieve this--Belgian yeast tends to be quite attenuative (and alcohol-tolerant), and many of the grain bills use a lot of simple sugar.

I see in your description that you want something full-bodied, which I understand. But I personally find that strong beers with a lot of residual sweetness can be hard to drink. Remember that the higher your OG, the higher your FG will be. So you will get some additional sweetness just from having a strong beer.

So if I were you, I'd cut the crystal down and mash at 152 for the second step rather than 156. I would also use about 10% sugar in place of some of your pils. But hey, it's your call!

Anyway, aside from sweetness, I think this looks good. I have not personally used 570, so I can't tell you too much about it, but it looks like a good yeast strain. If you want to play up the citrus notes, you could add a little coriander in addition to the orange peel. You might also consider using half biscuit and half aromatic rather than a full pound of aromatic, which would provide a somewhat more complex malt profile (including some serious toast).