Current Status - Recipes #2-5

It's a damn beautiful sight, seeing four carboys going at the same time.

Recipe #2 - Belgian Winter - This guy will be ready to bottle come the weekend. It's in the plastic secondary.

Recipe #3 - Hibernation Clone - I noticed some slight roiling in the carboy, so there could still be some fermentation going. The krausen is all but gone, and the airlock activity seems to have slowed to a stop. I believe we are leaning towards bottle conditioning, instead of racking into a secondary. We need that small carboy for the Rye Ale!

Recipe #4 - Saison - No activity noticeable in the carboy yet. LOTS of trub, though. Aerated a second time yesterday, so hopefully it'll jumpstart. This is our second batch that is out of the gates slow, and both times it was a Belgian yeast strain. Might want to double that up, or use a starter process.

Recipe #5 - Pumpin Porter - Heavy activity in the airlock. Big foam head, that seems to have peaked already, and is starting to retract. Looks like a black hole, it's so dark. Heavy, almost fruity, aromas out of the airlock.

Liquor in the Secondary of the Winter Belgian?

So my interweb voyages brought me to a thread on homebrewtalk.com regarding liquor additions to beer. Everyone in the thread who has used this method has seen positive results. One of them went so far to say it was the best beer he'd ever made. This got my brain churning about our Winter Belgian. If we did use this method we would probably add about 10oz of a very dark rum such as Gosling's Black Seal or possibly a spiced rum like Sailor Jerrys(just personal preference, I fear i may be burnt out on Captain Morgans for the remainder of my days). 10oz is a fairly conservative amount compared to what others have used. I feel this would give the beer added dimension and just the right amount of warmth. What do you guys think?!?

Still no activity...

The Winter Belgian may be fermenting, but it's not doing so in any obvious manner. Experts, literature, and leveler heads are telling us not to worry, so here's hoping this is just part of the process for this particular brew.

-Ron

Testing out Beersmith on the Winter Belgian

Ok, here's the skinny on our Belgian.

Beersmith pretty much had all of our ingredients, except for nutmeg.  I estimated the spices, in general, but it doesn't look like that does all that much to the estimated numbers.  This program is pretty damn cool.

It estimated an original specific gravity of 1.065, based on our ingredients.  We measured 1.063.  It estimates a final gravity of 1.015, which would net us out somewhere around 6.27-6.51 ABV.  If we got that down to 1.010, we'd be at 6.92%. 

We're looking at 283 calories per pint (whoa). 

IBU estimate is 18.3, which is midrange in what the program thinks this style should have (15-40 IBU's).  The boil volume (i.e., the amount in the pot) seems to drive the IBU's significantly.  We should see if we can boil more liquid in the pot, safely (or get a bigger pot!). 

The estimated color is pretty dark.  It could be my computer screen, but it looks to me like it's black.

It also estimates cost of the recipe...it has default costs, and predicts 32.82 for this particular recipe.  These can be adjusted, to match local prices.  There is also a calendar, which helps you see when things need to be racked, etc. 

To Whom it May Concern:


Seasonal beers are not something to be taken lightly. They bring about excitement, hope, and variety just as winter blossoming into spring. As the days darken and winter sets in, one of the things i look most forward to is settling down in the evening with a nice dark, warming brew. Like a good friend I haven't seen in 9 months, I am welcomed by a dark malty body and spicy pallet. Ahh, it sure is good to be reacquainted again.

Now that we have completed brewing our first batch of winter brew, I can't help but wait with a bit of trepedation. As far as i can tell, we have crafted the ultimate winter brew. The wort was brewed with tlc and spiced to perfection. All that's left to do is wait. And damnit it's not as easy as it sounds!! Seasonal beers are serious business to me and that why i feel that weight of winter beers past on my shoulders as i wait this one out.

-Andrew

Recipe #2 - Winter Belgian

3 lbs of Traditional Dark DME (LD Carlson Co brand) (half at 60 minutes, half at 20 minutes)
3.3 lbs Amber LME (Briess brand) (half at 60 minutes, half at 20 minutes)
1 oz Saaz hops (45 minutes)
1 oz Hallertau Tradition hops (20 minutes)
1 oz Hallertau Tradition hops (10 minutes)
1 lb orange blossom honey (10 minutes)
1 lb dark candy sugar (15 minutes)
1 lb crushed grain (Belgian blend) - 20% Crystal, 20% Belgian Aromatic, 30% Munich 20, 30% Special B
1 vial White Labs Trappist Ale
Spice mixture (2 oz fresh ginger, zest of 2 large oranges, tsp Ground Cinamon, tsp ground nutmeg, 1.5 tsp organic mulling spices (cinnamon, orange peel, allspice, ginger), sprig of rosemary) (5 minutes)

Steeped grains at 150 degrees for 45 minutes. Removed from heat.

Half of LME and DME added at minute 60. Brought to roiling boil.

Saaz hops added at 45 minute mark.

At 20 minute mark, other half of extracts added, along with Hallertau hops.

At 10 minute mark, honey, candy sugar, and more Halltertau hops added.

Boil over at approx 8 minute mark.

At approx 3 minutes, added spice mixture (going 60 + 2 minutes, to compensate for coming off burner for boil over).

Pot moved to ice bath for wort chilling. Wort chilled for 35-40 minutes. 3 Gallons of cold water added to carboy. Transferred at 68 degrees. Original Specific Gravity taken at 1.061. Adjusting for temperature, OSG is 1.062. Yeast pitched at 68 degrees.

-Ron

I tasted the wort. The orange zest and cloves were very prominent. It had a bitter aftertaste. I could tell that even before the guys tested the alcohol level that it was going to be high. This is going to be a good Christmas beer! - Morgan