I realize that Pilsner malt is more traditional, but I recently had a bottle of St. Bernardus Prior 8 which had more bready malt character than most of the American brewed dubbels I have tasted. While I love the complex caramel and dark fruit that dark candi syrup brings to a beer, I have not been satisfied with the flavor it gives a dubbel without the addition of dark crystal malt. I was sad that I didn't get around to ordering anything for Candi Syrup Inc to make it a completely American beer.
Much of the work that used to be done in the brewery with step mashes and decoctions (dealing with excess protein, and poorly modified malt etc...) is now largely taken care of by the maltster. Few modern malts require anything more elaborate than a single infusion rest at the desired saccharification temperature. I was told by the homebrew store owner who sold me the malt that Valley Malt's malts benefit from a short protein rest. The mash didn’t look or run-off any different than any other pale malt, but while the wort was coming to a boil it did inflate one of the densest protein foams I have ever experienced.
American Malt Dubbel
Recipe Specifics
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Batch Size (Gal): 10.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 23.00
Anticipated OG: 1.058
Anticipated SRM: 20.8
Anticipated IBU: 20.9
Brewhouse Efficiency: 69 %
Wort Boil Time: 75 Minutes
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87.0% - 20.00 lbs. Valley Pale Malt
4.3% - 1.00 lbs. D2 Candi Sugar Syrup
4.3% - 1.00 lbs. D Candi Sugar Syrup
4.3% - 1.00 lbs. Valley Dark Crystal
Hops
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1.75 oz. Hallertauer Tradition (Pellet, 6.00% AA) @ 60 min.
Extras
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1.00 Unit(s) Whirlfloc @ 5 Min.
Yeast
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White Labs WLP545 Belgian Strong Ale
Water Profile
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Profile: Washington DC
Mash Schedule
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Protein Rest - 25 min @ 128 F
Sacch Rest - 60 min @ 153 F
Notes
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10/21/11 Made a 3.5 L starter with a one month old tube of yeast, shook intermittently to aerate.
Brewed 10/23/11 with Luke
Collected 9 gallons of 1.060 runnings. Added candi syrups as it came to a boil. 2 gallons of final runnings boiled separately and added back at cooling. Chilled to ~70 F, racked into two carboys onto half of the starter in each. Shook to aerate.
Added dregs from Anchorage Love Buzz Saison, Russian River Consecration, Wine Barrel Solera, and De Dolle Oreabier Reserva to the short fill. Accidentally added the dregs from a Bourbon Barrel Sour Porter to the clean portion... might add a hint of tartness funk as the beer ages.
Quick start to fermentation in the low-60s ambient.
10/27/11 Put the clean half into a pot and onto a heating pad set to high to boost the temperature to ensure complete attenuation and a bit more Belgian yeast character.
10/31/11 Fermentation appears complete so I turned off the heating pad.
11/6/11 Down to 1.015, big nutmeg aroma. Racked the "clean" portion to a keg. Racked the sour potion to a 3 gallon and a 1 gallon fermentor.
12/21/11 Great tasting result, especially for only two months old. The malt and candi sugar work together really well, complex without making the beer too sweet.
8/22/12 Racked the three gallons of the sour portion onto four pounds of mixed plums including Methley and a slightly lager darker variety I didn't catch the name of.
1/24/13 Bottled 2.75 gallons with 2 3/8 oz of table sugar. Also added a splash of rehydrated Premier Cuvee (Champagne yeast). Plums really meld nicely with the dark fruit of the grain and candi syrup.
6/13/13 Tasting of the plum-aged portion. The flavor nicely blends the dark fruit from the malt and the fresher character from the plums. Solid sourness, moderately funky.
4/13/14 Finally bottled the 1 gallon of plain/sour with .75 oz of table sugar and a splash of rehydrated champagne yeast.
I love your blog. But I'm curious as to your opinion on home-made candi-sugar and bought candi-sugar. Have you ever made your own? (boil sugar water with ammonium phosphate) or do you always buy your own? If you've done/heard of both, which do you prefer?
ReplyDeleteI did a number of experiments a few years back and never got a homemade candi syrup that I though matched up with the commercial version (nowhere near the same intensity of color/flavor contribution). The amazing thing about the “real” stuff is that it is 100% refined sucrose (according to the importer). The homemade stuff is a good addition to a more complex malt bill, but what I made wouldn't carry a dubbel so so little specialty malt.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Oh I love Valley Malt. Really good products in my experience. My last several batches have been all or mostly Valley Malt.
ReplyDeleteI've had the same problem with pebbles in my malt the only 2 times I've ever ordered Belgian Pils from Northern Brewer. Very frustrating.
ReplyDeleteYour beer reminds me of Telegraph Gypsy Ale. It is made with plums + Brett and was extremely complex and delish. The plums gave the beer this great jam flavor.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious to see how yours turns out.
Hello Mike,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate all of the work you put into this site, it is an amazing resource for adventurous homebrewers. Very much looking forward to your book.
Question about your experience with fruited sours. I racked a year old blond sour onto blueberries a month ago. There was a period of visible fermentation for about 10 days but has subsided and been dormant for about 2 weeks. I know there are a lot of theories on length of aging on fruit. Just curious if you have any insight on when/how you decide your fruited sours are ready to bottle. Unfortunately my wine thief is just out of reach to take a sample. Any info is appreciated.
Thanks again,
Bryan
Sorry I didn't respond sooner, for some reason your comment was caught in the spam filter.
ReplyDeleteA stable gravity is the best indication. I'd say two months on fruit is a good target for most beers if they had a stable gravity before the addition. Sounds really tasty, good luck!
Ever try using a (new, clean) frying pan splatter shield to skim the protien with? A kitchen strainer also works well. By the way, love the blog and follow it regularly. Keep it up!
ReplyDelete