Belgian Golden Strong Recipe Tweaks (LONG)

[Normans54]

Ok, this is gonna be one heck of a post, so please bear with me. I submitted a Belgian Golden Strong Ale to three competitions in the past year and got great feedback, and now I am looking to tweak the recipe. The original 5 gallon recipe was:

11 3/4 lbs Belgian Pilsner
8/10 lb Aromatic Malt
8/10 lb German Wheat Malt
1 1/16 lb White Table Sugar (added at flame out)
2.08 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker (4%) added at 60 mins
WLP 570 Belgian Golden Ale yeast (2 vials)
4.75 oz corn sugar (bottle conditioning)

Single step infusion mash @156°F for 45 mins (though to be fair I had some difficulty keeping it at a constant temperature)
No-sparge method
60 min boil
No temperature control in fermentation

OG: 1.080
FG: 1.011
IBU: 23
SRM: 6.1
ABV: 9.0%

As to be expected, there was some considerable variation in the feedback I got, but the judges consistently commented on a few things. Among other things, the judges said:

Aroma
*Noticeable/elevated alcohol aroma
*Light fruity esters with hints of apple and pear
*Light spicy phenols
*Little/no hop aroma

Appearance
*Large, thick head with very good head retention
*A bit dark for the style
*Some cloudiness

Flavor
*Considerable esters
*Medium phenols/somewhat peppery
*Medium-low bitterness with faint hop flavor

Mouthfeel
*Creamy
*Medium body
*Alcohol warmth
*High carbonation
*Dry (though some noted that it should be drier)

Overall
*Lacks complexity
*Possibly under-pitching

From these comments, I decided to address the alcohol warmth/aroma, hop flavor/aroma, color, the ester/phenol flavors, and the overall complexity of the beer in version 2.0. Fortunately since I brewed the batch in question, I considerably overhauled my equipment so I now have a stir plate, a temperature-controlled fermentation chamber, a HERMS system, a kegging system, and a chlorine/chloramine water filtration system. Over the past few days, I have been doing some research and I have come up with several tweaks to the recipe that I hope will address the aforementioned concerns:

10.25 lbs Belgian Pilsner
3/4 lb Biscuit Malt
2 1/2 lbs Table Sugar (added at flame out)
1 tbsp of pH stabilizer
1.85 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh (4%) added at 60 mins
1.25 oz Saaz (3.75%) added at 20 mins
1 whirlfloc tablet
WLP 570 Belgian Golden Ale yeast (1 1/4 L starter with stir plate)
4.5 oz corn sugar (conditioning in the keg)

Step mash
133°F for 10 mins
145°F for 40 mins
154°F for 20 mins
168°F mash out
Fly sparge
90 minute boil
Ferment at 70°F

OG: 1.081
FG: 1.008
IBU: 28
SRM: 5
ABV: 9.7%
(These are Beersmith estimates)

I came up with the changes that I did for several reasons. Firstly, I figured that fermenting it at the lower end of the temperature range for the yeast I selected (68-75°F) would limit the alcoholic and estery flavors/odors. Secondly, I figured that slightly decreasing the amount of hallertauer (and changing it to the more traditional mittelfrueh) and compensating for the corresponding decrease in bitterness by adding saaz with 20 minutes left in the boil would not only bring the bitterness up, but also give the beer the low to moderate spicy hop flavor/aroma that the style guidelines say is desirable. Thirdly, I dropped the german wheat and aromatic malt because they likely affected the overall appearance of the beer (with the wheat affecting the clarity and the aromatic malt darkening the beer). Fourthly, I think that increasing the boil time to promote hot break and adding the pH stabilizer will help keep the phenols in check (not to mention the fact that filtering out chlorine and chloramines and using my HERMS system to maintain constant temperatures will likely help with that as well). Fifthly, I added the small amount of biscuit malt and increased the boil time to 90 minutes in order to add some extra complexity to the beer (which I would imagine would also be aided by adding a well aerated 1.25L starter). Sixthly, I heavily increased the amount of table sugar that I am using because all the recipes seem to call for significantly more table sugar than I was using (thereby making it more true to the style). Finally, I moved to a step mash for three reasons: a) I read that all true Belgian beers do multi-step mashes; b) I am concerned that eliminating the aromatic malt will adversely affect head size and retention and I read that using a short protein rest at around 133 will aid in head retention when using well modified malts. c) I wanted to make sure that I didnt thin my beer out too much with all the sugar so I figured that I would be able to keep a medium body by employing this mash schedule which is based upon the schedule that La Chouffe uses for its Dobbelen IPA Tripel (a beer that I feel has a body that is quite similar to the beer that I am trying to brew).

What do you guys think? Am I missing/off base on anything? Should I make any other changes? Will my increase in table sugar dry out the beer too much? Do you think that my step mash will compensate for the loss in head retention that the aromatic malt gave me? Thanks so much for any help you guys are willing to give!

P.S.-What do you guys think about the "creamy" mouthfeel that a few of the judges noted in their evaluations? I have no idea how that got into my beer but I would like to keep it in if at all possible

 

[joshesmusica]

1. instead of jumping into a step mash, you could just try mashing at the temps that you did, but instead mashing longer. the point of the mash isn't necessarily just focusing on starch conversion, especially not for a style that you want it to end dry. A longer sacch rest should help those longer chain sugars break down, especially since you've got a better setup and should have more stable temps. though, i will say if you're willing to give the step temps a go, this might get you the best results.

2. from what i read pH stabilizer is a joke. if you're worried about the pH of your mash, you need to figure out your water's properties. then you can post that on here and get tons of help. i personally have pretty high pH, but i don't like the idea of messing with the minerals (because they're expensive here, and i'm just not at that level yet), so i just add some adiculated malt. this has helped to dramatically improve my paler ales.

3. i think the malt bill change is for the better. though, i would think about looking into some candi sugar. most of these types of belgian ales use some type of candi sugar to get complexity in the flavors and still keep it dry.

4. for the hops, it's a good idea to stick with the noble hops if you're trying to really nail it on the style. so good choice with the saaz, but you could also think about using tettnang. i think you def need that 20 min addition.

5. a 90 min boil is recommended with mostly pilsner malts. though just know that it can also add some color.

6. as far as ferment temps and you having too much of the desired off-flavors (you need some of the esters and phenols for this style): i would try to pitch it around 68F, and allow it to rise on its own, or if you're really worried, allow it to slowly rise with your temp control. you need those esters and phenols, so don't completely do away with them. i think your biggest problem for having too much was not your temps, but rather the fact that you (i think?) didn't have a good handle on pitching proper amounts of healthy and vital yeast. all of these three factors combine to determine how much of the off-flavors you'll get.

here's a good (albeit long) read about ester formation, and you could just skip to the section called "factors influencing ester sythesis."
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.2050-0416.1990.tb01039.x/pdf

lastly, i would also look into cold conditioning or lagering your beer after primary fermentation is finished. most of the commercial examples go through something of the sort for no less than 2-3 weeks. for the size of your beer, i would suggest at least 3.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

I would keep the wheat malt. It would be sad to put all this work into re-working the recipe and when you go to pour the first one it doesn't have any head retention. I have a barebones basic Belgian tripel thats only pilsner/acidulate malt/table sugar and it tastes perfect, but the 9.5% alcohol burns off any chance for head retention. If you want to keep the OG the same just lower the pilsner a little and replace that reduction with wheat malt.

Also as joshesmusic mentioned some candi sugar/syrup. Very light blond/gold candi sugar could add that tiny bit of complexity the judges might be looking for. If you are comfortable making it at home you could replace 8oz of the table sugar with a very light straw colored candi sugar/syrup. Though this part is entirely optional the next time I do a strong Belgian ale I think I'm gonna go for the golden strong and I was going to use approximately 1lb of home made candi sugar in the 7-10L range.

One other optional part, moving the Saaz to the 10 minute range. I think either 10 or 20 minutes would be similar but the 10 minute addition may add some more flavor rather than just bitterness. For my personal tastes with noble hops in German/Belgian styles that have generally low hop presence I like a 10 minute hop addition, it ups the "beer" flavor of the beer.

 

[m00ps]

I would add the sugar aftet the beer is already in the fermenter to stress the yeast less and retain any aromatics from the sugar (if you end up using candi sugar)

I think the perceived alcohol warmth is likely due to yeast stress. Did you make a starter the first time? Ive found the rule of thumbs fro most belgians is to pitch at the mid 60s and let it free rise. This will get you higher yeast performance and more esters to cover up the alcohol character. The last trippel I made was 9% and people dont believe me when I tell them how strong it is. This should also up the "complexity" from the yeast character

personally, Id up the wheat. This will get you more of a creamy character. I usually like as much as 20% in my saisons and pale belgian ales.

 

[Normans54]

lastly, i would also look into cold conditioning or lagering your beer after primary fermentation is finished. most of the commercial examples go through something of the sort for no less than 2-3 weeks. for the size of your beer, i would suggest at least 3.

Thanks, joshesmusica for the very detailed response. I definitely incorporated some of your advice when I brewed on thursday. One question though: What would the purpose of cold conditioning for two to three weeks be? Clarity? I was considering doing what amounted to a three stage fermentation where I do a primary fermentation, rack to secondary, then transfer to a keg and adding priming sugar. After the beer primes (1-3 wks), I was going add gelatin to the keg, then cold crash it for 24-48 hours. After crashing it, I would drink the first 3 beers from that keg (to remove the cloudy beer from the bottom of the keg that always occurs when you add gelatin) and then transfer it via a jumper line to another keg, thereby leaving behind any yeast that grew during priming. I figured that would clear and brighten the beer up quite well. Are there any other advantages to lagering and if so, should I lager before or after priming (I figure after priming, no)? Thanks again for your help!

 

[joshesmusica]

here's a pretty good set of articles on the subject of lagering:
https://www.homebrewing.org/Lagering--Chapter-1-Common-Misconceptions_ep_58-1.html

your primary fermentation should be done in 7-10 days, especially if you're getting the fermentation parameters correct. then when you rack to secondary is when i would consider cold conditioning it (as per the instructions on that link). then if you cold condition it for 2-3 weeks (if you have time and patience, the longer the better here, even up to 4 weeks), there really shouldn't be much need for the gelatin because the point of the gelatin is one of the points of lagering. then if you're going to prime it instead of force carbing it, you would want to do that after you use gelatin (but again, the gelatin is unnecessary). you will want to prime it at room temps for 2-3 weeks. then chill down to serving temps. then there's shouldn't be any need to transfer to another keg, because everything should settle to the bottom/get poured out in your first couple of pints and will remain undisturbed unless you're planning on moving the keg around.

the way a lot of the belgian/trappist/monastery breweries are brewing this style goes something like this:
-primary 5-7 days (though they have very tight control on the fermentation parameters)
-secondary/cold condition/lager 3-4 weeks (depending, usually, on abv. the higher the abv, the longer they seem to do this step)
-bottle refermentation (aka bottle conditioning) at no lower than room temps, usually around 76F, for 2-3 weeks
-ship out