I am planning to brew a Belgian Golden Strong ale this Saturday and I've been reading several threads spread out on HBT about different techniques for achieving really great character from belgian style beers.
I'll caveat this by saying I don't actually like most Belgian style beers made in the US. I find yeast phenolic to be unpleasant at any level above a whisper, and some of them seem to have a "cooking pinto beans" flavor to them that I think is how my palate interprets phenols and banana esters in equal proportions (I don't like hefeweisse beers either). HOWEVER! I do like Chimay beers, Piraat, Duvel, and several other of the imported ones.
In reading through the HBT threads on cloning these types of beers, it seems like the consensus is that the fermentation technique is absolutely the key to achieving that perfect balance between honey sweet, faint peppery phenol, fruity esters, and smooth alcohol character.
So for my brew this weekend I plan on a process I found in one of the Duvel clone threads with modifications to fit my system. This is apparently how Duvel described their fermentation process some years back. I was hoping to discuss different techniques that other's have tried, as well as get a sanity check on this process since it sounds crazy.
wort Recipe is dead simple:
Pilsen
Simplicity syrup
Golden syrup
Saaz and Perle Hops'
I'm doing a 90 minute Hockhurz mash, mashing in at 130, ramping to 143 and holding for 30 minutes, then ramping to 160 slowly over the next 60 minutes.
At the end of the boil is where things get really different, so here goes:
So how crazy am I?
My main concern is that the US-05 is going to process all the esters produced by the WLP570 and I'll end up with a totally clean beer.
I'd love to get some feedback and start a good discussion about advanced fermentation techniques that people have had good luck with.
I'll caveat this by saying I don't actually like most Belgian style beers made in the US. I find yeast phenolic to be unpleasant at any level above a whisper, and some of them seem to have a "cooking pinto beans" flavor to them that I think is how my palate interprets phenols and banana esters in equal proportions (I don't like hefeweisse beers either). HOWEVER! I do like Chimay beers, Piraat, Duvel, and several other of the imported ones.
In reading through the HBT threads on cloning these types of beers, it seems like the consensus is that the fermentation technique is absolutely the key to achieving that perfect balance between honey sweet, faint peppery phenol, fruity esters, and smooth alcohol character.
So for my brew this weekend I plan on a process I found in one of the Duvel clone threads with modifications to fit my system. This is apparently how Duvel described their fermentation process some years back. I was hoping to discuss different techniques that other's have tried, as well as get a sanity check on this process since it sounds crazy.
wort Recipe is dead simple:
Pilsen
Simplicity syrup
Golden syrup
Saaz and Perle Hops'
I'm doing a 90 minute Hockhurz mash, mashing in at 130, ramping to 143 and holding for 30 minutes, then ramping to 160 slowly over the next 60 minutes.
At the end of the boil is where things get really different, so here goes:
- Transfer 2.5 gallons of boiling wort into a clean keg, purge with CO2 thoroughly, and roll it around to sterilize the inside of it.
- Allow that wort to cool overnight, and stash that keg in my keezer at 40F
- Chill the remaining wort
- Transfer the remaining 2.5 gallons of chilled wort into a 6 gallon fermenter (lots of headspace)
- Pitch WLP570 yeast and allow that beer to fully ferment for 10-14 days. at 72F
- Cold crash to 35F and allow to cold condition for 4-5 days.
- Pull the unfermented wort out of the keezer and allow both vessels to warm to 65F
- Pressure transfer the fermented beer to the keg and mix thoroughly with the unfermented wort
- Pitch 1 packet of US-05 into the new beer
- Allow this to ferment at 65F for an additional 10-14 days until terminal gravity is reached
- Pressure transfer to a clean serving keg, chill, carbonate to 3.0 Vols of CO2 and serve
So how crazy am I?
My main concern is that the US-05 is going to process all the esters produced by the WLP570 and I'll end up with a totally clean beer.
I'd love to get some feedback and start a good discussion about advanced fermentation techniques that people have had good luck with.