Monthly Archive for January, 2010

Belgian Dubbel – Secondary

Published
by
Steve
on January 17, 2010
in beer
. 0 Comments

Today I racked to secondary. In my hydrometer sample, I tasted a bit of spice, some minor fruitiness but couldn’t put my finger on it. I’m relieved that it was a syrup-like as the Tripel that didn’t turn out quite right. Primary was held at 74 degrees. I’m letting it secondary at room temp which is currently 59. I plan on leaving it in sit until late February (45 days).

OG – 1.065

FG – 1.008

ABV = 7.6%

Belgian Dubbel – brew day

Published
by
Steve
on January 1, 2010
in beer
. 0 Comments

I told Kel to pick this next style from the Norther Brewer catalog. She is a fan of the Belgian styles and I haven’t done a dubbel, so we thought it would be a good brew to make. We’ve tried a some dubbels from the store in the past (Ommegang, Westmalle and Affligem), which we really enjoyed.

Belgian Dubbel Quick Overview (from Norther Brewer)

Dating back to monastic breweries in the middle ages, Dubbels are still produced at abbeys and monasteries in Belgium. This kit yields an authentic Trappist-style ale with a russet color, dense off-white head, and a host of flavors and aromas – spices, flowers, dried fruit, plums, raisins, rum, and toffee – arising from the interaction of grains, sugar, and yeast. A medium-full bodied, complex beer that pairs with everything from cheese to stew to dessert. Recommended: 2-stage fermentation and yeast starter.

Belgian Dubbel
Extract kit from Northern Homebrewer, Milwaukee, WI

Target OG: 1.065

Malt 1: 6 lbs. Gold Malt LME (60 min)
Malt 2: 1 lbs. Golden Light DME(60 min)

Adjunct: 1 lbs. Dark Belgian Candi sugar (60 min)

Grain 1: .25 lb Dingmans Caramunich
Grain 2: .25 lb Dingmans Special B

Hop 1: 1 oz Hersbrucker – alpha 2.4% (60 min)
Hop 2: 1 oz Czech Saaz – alpha 3.9% (1 min)

Yeast: #1762 Belgian Abbey II w/ decanted starter using stir plate (65°-75°F)

Boiling Schedule:
Collected 3 gallons of water. Steep grains at 155°F for 20 minutes. Bring to a boil. Sparge grains with 1/2 gallon of boiled water. Remove water from heat and mix Malt 1, Malt 2 with Adjunct 1. Bring water back to a boil and add Hop 1 @ 60 minutes and Hop 2 @ 1 minute left in the boil.

Notes:
Transfer to secondary fermenter after about 14 days or begin taking daily hydrometer readings – when hydrometer readings are the same on consecutive days, primary fermentation is complete. Proceed to secondary fermentation for 1 months. Bottle with .75 cups of corn sugar. Bottle condition for up to 1 month.

My OG was 1.065. Little hickups along the way were that I didn’t mix my wort well enough and there was major stratification for the first hour until I discovered it and shook it up again like crazy. I’ve attached photos of this stratification.

I also used Fercaps to prevent a lot of foam action from the proteins bonding during the boil. I’ve read a lot about this product and have faith in what it is supposed to do. It didn’t disappoint and I’ll use it again. I also used the carboy for primary fermentation instead of the bucket because of the higher gravity blow off issues I experienced last brew. I also saw a lot of hot break in this brew which I also attached a photo of.