BJCP Style: 26D - Belgian Dark Strong
This is #4 in my trappist brews preceded by the Single, Dubbel, and Tripel. However, I may have just made another Tripel. The candi sugar I ordered states that it is 275°L, and when I enter it into the recipe in BrewersFriend I do indeed get a darker beer. However, the final product does not seem to be so. It's really light for a "Dark" strong ale. So I might be taking another run at this style if this one doesn't fit.
Full recipe is on BrewersFriend but here's the TL;DR
- Brewday: 2019-10-6
- Fermentables: Colorado Proximity Pils, Dark candi sugar, white sugar
- Hops: [Magnum] (Styrian Goldings, Fuggles)
- Yeast: 4th generation Abbaye ale
- OG: 19.6; FG: 2.3°P: ABV: 9.5%
- Kegged: 2019-10-24
Getting started with the pot fill
Water line for mash - ended up being a bit too much. Still had some leftover drippings.
100% CO Proximity Pilsner malt
crushed
Floor Manager Steve
Mash Temp
Bag out
Sugars weighed out: 400g dark candi and 600g white
Hops - I used the remainder of the Styrian Goldings and added some Fuggles.
Hops weighed out
Into the fermenter
And it's more than a bit too light... we'll see how the final product looks but right now it's looking more like a tripel.
OG looking good at 19.6 (Not quite the 20.7 I had hoped for but I'll take it)
Away we go
2019-10-09 (+4): Since I didn't want to make 'just another tripel' I milled up 200g each of Special B and Chocolate malt to be mashed, reduced, then added to the fermenter.
Mini mash
Boiling down for a couple of hours
Final reduction. This is what was added to the fermenter. Boiled down to 800ml of dark stuff.
2019-10-25 (+19): kegged, carbonated, gelatined, and sampled:
2019-10-26 (+20): fancy portrait shot
2019-11-17 (+42): really shaping up. slight spiciness, dried fruits, a bit boozy but mellows as it warms. Color is spot on and there doesn't seem to be any negatives to adding the specialty malts post-brew.
2019-12-10 (+65): 5oz is a nice sized pour for this beer.
Water line for mash - ended up being a bit too much. Still had some leftover drippings.
100% CO Proximity Pilsner malt
crushed
Floor Manager Steve
Mash Temp
Bag out
Sugars weighed out: 400g dark candi and 600g white
Hops - I used the remainder of the Styrian Goldings and added some Fuggles.
Hops weighed out
Into the fermenter
And it's more than a bit too light... we'll see how the final product looks but right now it's looking more like a tripel.
OG looking good at 19.6 (Not quite the 20.7 I had hoped for but I'll take it)
Away we go
2019-10-09 (+4): Since I didn't want to make 'just another tripel' I milled up 200g each of Special B and Chocolate malt to be mashed, reduced, then added to the fermenter.
Mini mash
Boiling down for a couple of hours
Final reduction. This is what was added to the fermenter. Boiled down to 800ml of dark stuff.
2019-10-25 (+19): kegged, carbonated, gelatined, and sampled:
2019-10-26 (+20): fancy portrait shot
2019-11-17 (+42): really shaping up. slight spiciness, dried fruits, a bit boozy but mellows as it warms. Color is spot on and there doesn't seem to be any negatives to adding the specialty malts post-brew.
2019-12-10 (+65): 5oz is a nice sized pour for this beer.
