Brew a Belgian Dubbel! - Small Batch BIAB!

[@CascadesHomebrew]

Dominion Cup Update: This beer scored 35 which was not enough to place. Feedback from the judges was mixed. They seemed to like the malt character, yeast character, attenuation level and carbonation. A judge mentioned a "solvent" aroma, another comment on "muddy brown" appearance (which does not match my bottles), maybe too sweet fruity character, and lacking in complexity. Personally I love this beer. I am debating if I will change anything on the next rebrew, or I want to lower the sweetness a touch. I am sure a higher level of carbonation would have helped out this batch.

[@rodrigog.m.3555]

Maybe the beer was under carbonated and sweet because there wasn´t enough yeast to eat the sugars. If I remember correctly, in "Brew Like a Monk" it was mentioned that due to the higher attenuation of Belgian beers, the remaining yeast after fermentation isn´t strong enough to do the carbonation. You could add more yeast at bottling and see if that helps. To avoid having too much yeast tho you could finish fermentation at low temp (6 - 8 °C) to make sure there is no yeast in the bottle other than the new added at bottling. Would love to read your thoughts on this. I'm not that experienced yet when it comes to homebrewed Belgian beers (I surely want to)

[@CascadesHomebrew]

With my last Quad I added CBC-1 at bottling and I had much better carbonation. I thought that with this beer being "only" 8% ABV that bottle carbonation would not be an issue, but I have seen a few other forum posts about people having issues with WLP530. Adding some yeast like CBC-1 or a champagne yeast at bottling seems like simple insurance to ensure consistent bottle carbonation.

[@rodrigog.m.3555]

​@@CascadesHomebrew That's great. Hope to see that Quad video soon!

[@Bigfrank145]

Cool video!

[@batutasci]

Nice content bro Loving belgique beers, craftsmanship they are 🔥

[@CascadesHomebrew]

Much appreciated!

[@russflynn]

Thanks for making these videos! I had primed with sucrose in each bottle for a very long time and I was never happy with my results. 6 months ago I switched over to batch priming with precise compensation for temperature and I've been nothing but happy with my results. I use Cambro vessels, that you would find in the restaurant industry, as my 'bottling bucket'. They provide me with an accurate volumetric measure of exactly how much beer I'm dealing with once I transfer it from the fermenter. I fully dissolve my priming sugar in a small amount of boiling water and add it to the Cambro once it's cooled. I'm never going back to any other way of priming.

[@CascadesHomebrew]

Thanks! I have not hear of people using a Cambro for bottling but it make sense.

[@shanethoroughgood]

Fermentingg my first Belgian with Lallemand Belgian ale yeast. My favorite Belgian beer is Chimay blue. Fingers crossed I get something in the realm.

[@CascadesHomebrew]

Good luck. Let me know how it turns out.

[@shanethoroughgood]

@@CascadesHomebrew Turned out very well. It's not to style in any way but the Mangrove Jack M41 Belgian yeast brings an array of complex flavours. Will be experimenting more with this yeast in future.

[@Whatisgoingonhere2021]

Why did you put the sugar in so early? I've only come across instructions to add it near the end. I wish I saw this a couple of days ago because I just made a double I would have tried it out.

[@CascadesHomebrew]

Good question. Overall, I doubt it matters much. Additions with volatile flavors, such as spices or honey, are added at the end of the boil to preserve aromatics. I suspect any volatile compounds have been boiled off in the creation of the syrup. I theory, the higher gravity wort from adding the sugar early might produce more caramelization or Maillard reactions during the boil, but I suspect that is limited. Note, I have also seen recommendations to add simple sugars into the fermenter. I have done that once for a Quad, but again, I doubt it matters much.

[@irrlicht6997]

I've never really been drinking Belgian beers. I tried some many many years ago before/or at start of/ my interest in "beer drinking" and didn't like them that much back then. I started homebrewing some 3-4 years ago and not until this year I tried brewing a saison and a triple, just to give the styles a chance and see if my taste for it has changed. Can't say they made me a great fan, I still have to be convinced .... I might give your recipe a shot. Can you give me the fermentation schedule?, How long do you let it condition?

[@CascadesHomebrew]

Some people say to hold the temp cool for the first 3-4 days then rise, but I have had good luck with WLP530 pitching around 68F and letting it free rise during active fermentation up to 75F to 80F. I then hold it around 78F to complete fermentation. This one fermented for about 2.5 weeks before bottling. This beer would probably age well in the bottle, but at the 3 month mark I only have a few bottles left. In theory, bottle conditioning most Belgian styles should be the way to go. The next time I will be sure to add a yeast like CBC-1 at bottling time and try to hit my target carbonation level.

[@irrlicht6997]

@@CascadesHomebrew Thanks!

[@kingquesoIV]

I think if you rated 38 and they rated 35 then youre pretty good on judging yourself without over inflating too much