Drink Belgian or nothing at all!!!!

Dwayne_Delaney · Post by **Dwayne_Delaney** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 2:46 pm

sirgiovanni wrote:I'm kegging the 7.8% blond tomorrow so it should be drinkable Saturday night but it will be in diapers.

A Blonde in diapers.....................kinky.

sirgiovanni · Post by **sirgiovanni** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 3:30 pm

The Blond finished higher than I'd of liked so it is only about 7.6%.

Just finished cooking and cooling down the trappist 12. I tried to go 148 to maybe see if it would help with the fermentables a bit more than the blond and exteded the mash time to comphensate. It finished at 1.103. It ought to be a beast!

Don · Post by **Don** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:54 pm

My next brew (planned for this weekend) is a Belgian wit

Recipe: Blue Belgian Wit
Style: Witbier
TYPE: All Grain
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.25 gal
Boil Size: 8.09 gal
Estimated OG: 1.043 SG
Estimated Color: 3.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 17.6 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68.00 %
Boil Time: 75 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item
.75 lbs Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM)
4 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Ale (Crisp) (3.0 SRM)
4 lbs 8.0 oz Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM)
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.50 %] (60 min)
0.75 oz Coriander Seed "cracked" (Boil 5.0 min)
0.5 oz fresh Orange zest (Boil 5.0 min)
1 Pkgs Belgian Wit Ale (White Labs #WLP400)
Mash Schedule: 1.28 qt/#
Total Grain Weight: 10.00 lb
----------------------------
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 13.50 qt of water at 168.6 F 154.0 F
10 min Mash Out Add 12.00 qt of water at 188.0 F 168.0 F

Chris Alvey · Post by **Chris Alvey** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 10:32 am

I got a snuggie once, and man did it hurt...

Saturday from 9ish am to 2 pm is a safe bet for when I'll be brewing the Trappist 12 clone if anyone is interested.

I saw this a day too late, I would have come by. Keep me posted ... I think the next one for me will be this take on Russian River's Temptation (sour blonde.)

http://www.brew365.com/beer_russian_riv ... tation.php

sirgiovanni · Post by **sirgiovanni** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 12:44 pm

looks intense!

sirgiovanni · Post by **sirgiovanni** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 7:06 am

http://cgi.ebay.com/6-Westvleteren-12-B ... 240%3A1318

sirgiovanni · Post by **sirgiovanni** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 2:30 pm

2 weeks for the 12 clone in the primary and it's still beating up the airlock once every 4 seconds.

sirgiovanni · Post by **sirgiovanni** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 6:12 am

3.5 weeks and it's still hitting every 16 seconds.

I dumped some yeast out the bottom this weekend and it was like a pearly white foamy snake winding out until it hit the dark beer. Crazy. I'm going to try and slightly cask condition in the kegs for giggles if it ever slows down.

sirgiovanni · Post by **sirgiovanni** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:32 am

Well the 12 dropped to around 30 second hits so I'm going forward with the keg/cask conditioning tonight to free up the fermenter. The first blond I brought to the meeting really started changing this week. I'm definately going to condition the next one. The alcohol content really started changing that beer. Fun stuff.

Chris Alvey · Post by **Chris Alvey** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 5:26 am

When you were in Belgium, did you get a chance to try any of the newer beers influenced by American IPAs? I do not have any specific examples but I had read in a couple of places that the style was gaining popularity and the Belgians were starting to brew some.

I ask also because I split a batch of American style IPA yesterday between regular California Ale yeast and White Labs Belgian Ale yeast (WLP 500) just to see what happens.

I also have a Belgian Golden Strong that five gallons are getting soured as of yesterday as well. Should be fun...

sirgiovanni · Post by **sirgiovanni** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:58 am

We did not visit the Southernmost part, nor North like Antwerp so I can not speak for there. And you can't imagine how small distances show big changes. But across the 3 main cities in Belgium and Amsterdam/Belgian pubs, I never saw anything resembling beer I was more accustomed too except at Delirium and Dutch bars in Amsterdam. But not any other belgian pubs. The only American kind of beers I saw Flying Dog at Delirium, that's it (only a couple). And I never saw (on tap) things like belgian pale ales and such. It big Wit, Lambic, Blond, Dubble, Tripple, Quadruple, and specialty beer country. However I did see where a few Belgian breweries had started playing with American hops. But, like I talked about before, they age hops quite a bit so I think there were more about flavor and aroma than bitterness.

sirgiovanni · Post by **sirgiovanni** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:15 pm

Chris, I picked up a Chouffe IPA tripple tonight. No idea what that means. I'll try it this weekend.

Chris Alvey · Post by **Chris Alvey** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 4:31 am

Hmm ... Triple IPA ... intrigued.

sirgiovanni · Post by **sirgiovanni** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 5:10 pm

sirgiovanni wrote:Chris, I picked up a Chouffe IPA tripple tonight. No idea what that means. I'll try it this weekend.

Awesome beer. States Amarillo, Tomahawk and Saaz hops on the bottle and 9%. I would say the aroma is still dominated by the belgian yeast but it is more bitter than any other Tripel I've had. Nowhere near the bitterness of most your micro IPA's. Much hazier than regular Tripels. I could drink this about any day.

Chris Norrick · Post by **Chris Norrick** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 2:52 pm

I seen the Chouffe IPA Tripple at Liquor Locker and picked one up on your recommendation. I'll be sharing it tonight along with several other Belgians/Belgian inspired beers I picked up there as well.

My uncle brought be a Lagunitas Sirius. Label says it's a "Hi-Gravity Cream Ale". 40 IBU and 7%. We'll see tonight!