Skip to main content

In the Fermentor: Abbey Quad Round 2

I've been doing some research on everyone's favorite Trappist beer: Westvleteren XII (a.k.a. Westy 12). Rumor has it that the beer's grain-bill is fairly simple. No specialty grains, just a couple of Belgian base malts. The real key fermentable is the Candi Sugar the monks use. It apparently provides much of the beer's complex dark fruit, chocolate and coffee flavors.

This provides the perfect opportunity to experiment some more with Candi Sugar making. Since I'm using the Westvleteren beers as inspiration, rather than trying to clone them, no one can tell me I'm doing it wrong. Instead, I'm going to have some fun and hope that the end results are worthy of sharing with friends.

The experimental part here is that you're not simply boiling sugar and water for a set time and calling it good. Instead, you get to rely upon your senses to tell you when the desired sugar is achieved. Since my senses aren't the same as everyone else, my idea of the "perfect" sugar will probably be different from yours. Also, there's far more flexibility with the finished product than will ever be obtained using off-the-shelf sugars and syrups. As an added bonus, you can make up to five pounds of your own Candi Sugar for the price of a pound of the stuff at the homebrew shop.

My first experiment is with making darker sugars. One of the biggest thing I noticed is that after nearly two hours of boiling, the sugar wasn't getting much darker. I feared letting the syrup boil long enough to get really dark would result in undesirable burnt flavors. A little online research told me I was actually on the verge of making caramel. Since I didn't use any dark specialty malts, I'm probably going to have the palest Quad ever. Only time will tell.

The recipe below is also part of a broader experiment that I'll be writing more about in a future blog. I actually started this beer a few weeks ago so it would be ready during Lent, which seemed appropriate given its monastic pedigree. Here is the recipe for five gallons:

Grains:
7 lbs Castle Pilsen
6 lbs Castle Pale Ale

Hops:
0.25 oz Magnum (14.9% a.a.): 90 min
1 oz Styrian Golding (3.8% a.a.): 20 min
1 oz Styrian Golding (3.8% a.a.): 7 min

Extras:
3 lbs Homemade Candi Sugar: 5 min

Total Boil Time:
90 min

Yeast:
Safbrew T-58

Mash Schedule:
Protein Rest: 124F for 20 min
Saccharification Rest: 150F for 60 min
Mashout: 168F for 15 minutes

Original Gravity:
1.090
Estimated Final Gravity:
1.020

IBU: 21

Fermentation Schedule:
2 Weeks Primary
2 Months Secondary
2 Weeks Bottle Conditioning

Quadrupel Cost: $20 per case
Commercial Equivalent: Avery Reverend: $80 per case
Savings: $60
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In the Fermentor: Bohemian Kölsch

Being a brewer on a budget, I don't have an extra fridge to lager in. That poses a bit of a problem, because I love a good Pilsener on a hot Summer day. To my palate, the closest style to Pilsener in the ale department is a German Kölsch . To that end, I've wedded a Bohemian Pilsener influenced recipe with a Kölsch yeast strain to create my Bohemian Kölsch pseudo-lager. I realize that the finished product won't be as clean, crisp and clear as a traditional Pils, but I'm hoping to come close. I want a full five gallons of this beer. Since my kitchen setup isn't conducive to five gallon all-grain batches, I've taken the partial-mash approach. I've also thrown in a bit of Irish Moss toward the end of the boil to help with clarity. Here's the five-gallon recipe: Grains: 3.5 lbs German Pilsener 8 oz Munich 8 oz Crystal 10L 4 oz CaraPils Hops: 1 oz Saaz: First Wort Hopping 0.5 oz Merkur: 60 min 1 oz Saaz: 7 min Extras: 3 lbs Pilsen ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Out of the Bottle: Porter vs Porter

My Beer My attempt to clone Samuel Smith Taddy Porter is ready to pour. For a change of pace, I've picked up a 4-pack of the real deal to compare and contrast against my efforts. Since I'm not exactly an impartial judge, my girlfriend agreed to blind taste test the two beers side by side in identical, unmarked glasses. I've mixed her notes in with mine. First off, I must say that the beers look remarkably similar. Taddy pours with a slightly larger head, but the beers share the same deep garnet hue. Mine has a bit more carbonation going on. Both beers have good head retention and leave some lace behind. My girlfriend's first comment was that my beer was very similar, but finished quicker than the Samuel Smith. She also noted that the Samuel Smith is slightly more bitter, with more depth of flavor. The first thing I noticed was that my beer has a more roasted edge and is a bit nuttier. It also lacks the unique dark fruit esters that I sense in all of the Samuel...
Post a Comment
Read more

In the Fermentor: Grodziskie

I'd never even heard of Poland's Grodziskie, until I read about it in a Zymurgy article. Not content to simply read about the beer, I've decided to go ahead and brew one. Besides, who wouldn't want to try a beer made entirely from Smoked Wheat? I've mostly followed the plan laid out in the Zymurgy article. The Mash schedule and hop addition times are as prescribed. However, I don't have easy access to the Lublin hops used in the magazine brew, or the correct yeast strain. In place of the Lublin hops, I've used Polish Sybilla. The beer also calls for a clean ale yeast. I've turned to White Labs ,Dusseldorf Alt yeast to fill the role. In a few weeks my efforts will be rewarded. Here's the five-gallon brew: Grains: 5 lbs Weyermann Oak Smoked Wheat Hops: 0.75 oz Sybilla (6.4% a.a.): 105 min 0.5 oz Sybilla (6.4% a.a.): 30 min Total Boil Time: 120 min Yeast: White Labs WLP036 - Dusseldorf Alt Mash Schedule: Acid Rest: 100F for 30 min ...
Post a Comment
Read more