How to Make Beer - Brewing a High ABV Belgian Quad Recipe

[@MoritzSchorn]

Hey guys, in Germany, there is no ABV limit. As long as it is fermented naturally, it is legal. And to get even higher, you can freeze it :)

[@noelvandenbogaard5509]

You mean ice Bock.

[@0Clewi0]

Though can you even add extra sugar in Germany or are they limited to the 4 ingredients?

[@Stolpskott100]

@@0Clewi0 There are no penalties for refusing to follow the beer purity law (Reinheitsgebot), and the only real issue is that if you are not following that law, you cannot put the Reinheitsgebot label on your beer.

[@the1ultimatet1u49]

@@0Clewi0 you can still brew it, but you legally can't call it beer. you can call it fermented hop juice or whatever you want but the name beer requires the purity law (a few exeptions exist but generally thats it)

[@dddpvt]

Deutschland Uber Alles!!!

[@DjDolHaus86]

My dad used to make beer, cider (hard cider as you'd call it in the states) and wine but had pretty much stopped drinking by the time he'd had kids. He used to make a little run of beer every now and then for friends and family and when I was in my teens I used to steal a few bottles away for parties and whatnot (getting drunk in your mid teens is fairly normal in the UK, getting booze before you're 18 takes some creativity). He'd obviously cottoned on that I was stealing beers so he made a batch to teach me a lesson, it was in the same brown 1 litre bottles with the same caps he always used but apparently it was somewhere in the low to mid teens abv strength. I of course only worked this out after drinking 3 bottles while out with my friends and waking up in a bush in the middle of nowhere covered in cuts and bruises with only second hand tales to tell me what had occured that night.

[@burgerbait]

He did that to teach you a lesson? When I was drinking in my teens that would have been a treat haha

[@Gr3nadgr3gory]

Was the lesson to drink the good stuff all the time? Because thats why I drink liquor.

[@DjDolHaus86]

@@burgerbait I think it was perhaps supposed to be a 'too much of a good thing' kind of lesson kind of like when you get caught smoking and you're forced to smoke the whole pack. Either that or he was hoping I'd get unexpectedly shitfaced and embarrass myself? I'm not sure if it was an effective teaching technique 😂

[@DjDolHaus86]

@@Gr3nadgr3gory Well I never got into habitual drinking once I was past the binge drinking phase so I'd have to say no to that one.

[@Gr3nadgr3gory]

@@DjDolHaus86 yeah, I don't usually overindulge but I never grew to like the taste of beer.

[@brutusmaximumus]

I brewed a high ABV imperial stout, named Lucifer's Ball Sweat, and I fermented in a 6 gallon bucket with an air lock and the fermentation was so strong that the chud clogged my little weanie airlock and in the middle of the night exploded all over my kitchen. There was a blast radius on my ceiling lol.

[@morpheusgreene2704]

that is a great name

[@Jittalang]

@@morpheusgreene2704 honestly 😂Lucifer’s ball sweat geeks

[@caiusmadison2996]

Yeah! 💥

[@SaintLewisMusic]

That's awesome! You're my hero

[@brutusmaximumus]

@@SaintLewisMusic lol its all fun and games until you are on a ladder scrubbing your ceiling at 3 in the morning :/

[@jimjewell9438]

As most of us probably know bottling your boozy brew and cellaring it for 24 to 36 months will mellow that boozy burn and allow your brew to develop an even more complex character. Anyone that has tased a properly aged beer can attest to the miraculous benefits that can only come with time. Great video. Worthy of both a like and subscribe. Cheers!

[@gregisbased5205]

I have brewed a modest Imperial Stout, I anticipate it ending up in the 8% range and around 60 IBUs, by Christmas it will have 4 months of age in the bottles. Are you suggesting this more for barely wines or would it be a good idea to keep this brew racked for another year?

[@hlessiavedon]

That depends greatly on the style of beer. Super hopy beers are usually going to be better when young, and lose their fruity and floral notes withing 3 months of bottling.

[@trappenweisseguy27]

If it truly is in the 8% range a further year of storage will smooth it out providing you have a cool storage through the heat of summertime.

[@donaldneill4419]

Lived in Belgium for two years and became addicted to Chimay Bleu. My hat is off to you gentlemen, you've done a wondrous thing!

[@Spetulhu]

I prefer the red one. Tasty brew and the voltage isn't so insane that I end up on the floor after having two of them. But to each his own.

[@Marco_Onyxheart]

I like Chimay Blanche better, the white one. Tastes more earthy. But all Chimays are very good.

[@coreytaylor1673]

Just ordered a system! Sold my old clunker this morning. Went to work and thought about it all day. Came home, drank beer, watch video, place order. Super excited!!!!! 🍻🍻

[@ClawhammerSupply]

Hahaha. Nice!

[@danc3693]

The video did its job!

[@jakobperkin7417]

VERY HYPED TO SEE YOU GUYS POST A ACTUAL BREW DAY VIDEO AGAIN!!!!!

[@ClawhammerSupply]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4TFqYZ6isaMpqs

[@deanwilliams2374]

Brewed one of these last year... I call it my COVID Quad as I had covid when it was fermenting. So actually missed the original bottling date, so it was left for an extra week. Still an amazing beer thought. Hit 11.2% ABV. It's really big in flavour and one is more than enough. A year later and the beer is still good

[@ptdlg8698]

it will be good in 2025 too.

[@davidrogers6262]

I brewed a quad in December and let it secondary ferment for 6 months. I ended up with a 11.5%. I don't know if I will wait 6 months for a homebrew ever again but patience did pay off. I compared it to a Boulevard quad and both are quite boozy but what dark fruit flavor! It did take a yeast starter of harvested Imperial Double/ Trippel and a pack of abby ale yeast. The only downside to the final pour was a lack of carbonation. I think all the yeast dropped out completely before bottling.

[@frazierinsuranceagency]

been waiting for another Belgian brew. Great Job! I've had this idea for a few months imma gonna send it and give it a go.

[@graefx]

I remember at the end of college we had transitioned out of our ipa triple hop hipster phase and I got exposed to high grav beer. The malty and darker the better. This penta sounds like something I could only dream about.

[@TheBruSho]

Loved the timelapse on the fermentation, that was fascinating to watch!

[@wastedbottle175]

haha you didn't catch the last peek of the foam getting out😂

[@BroswithBeerandPants]

I always add the candi sugar after fermentation is almost done. Usually 3-4 days into fermentation when the majority of the grain sugars are consumed by the yeast. This allows the more complex grain sugars to be eaten before the simple sugars are added. Works a charm every time, yeast seem to have no problem with it.

[@paddlelikemad3584]

When the passion breeds madness! Well done gentlemen.

[@RickyDeaguero]

Just ordered a system! Sold my old clunker this morning. Went to work and thought about it all day. Came home, drank beer, watch video, place order. Super excited!!!!!

[@benjaminhurmx]

Oh Emmet how I wish I could lay you in my lap and brush your beard. Ross, so sad to hear your leaving. Best of luck in your future endeavors!

[@paul6719]

What? Not seen that?

[@Duci1989]

Ross leaving? Wasn’t in the vid.

[@benjaminhurmx]

It was in the podcast last week. I think its called Hoppy Hour.

[@thegingerpowerranger]

Ahhh that sucks. Ross is my favourite

[@ausfoodgarden]

Here in Australia afaik there's no alcohol limit on home brew beer so long as it's "brewed" (no distilling or making ice beer) There's even a commercial beer available here that is over 29% but I've no idea how they make it. (Pirate's Life Eisbock) I'm guessing ice beer (freeze distilling) A very entertaining video guys 👍

[@rw-xf4cb]

Fortified beer? Like ports are sweet wines with added alcohol...

[@DavidMiller-dt8mx]

It's freeze-distilled. That's exactly what an eisbock is. :)

[@ausfoodgarden]

@@DavidMiller-dt8mx Well the name should have told me. Tks mate, was just a senior moment I guess.

[@DavidMiller-dt8mx]

@@ausfoodgarden All good. I have them every day. :)

[@ben10mama]

Honestly video feels like something from the discovery channel or sometime, great quality!

[@aphexart]

I love quads! My favorite kind of beer! It's so incredibly rich in flavor, sweet and delicious.... Once i bought a bottle bottle of westvleteren out of a cellar find, and. Nobody knew how old it was... So i got in contact with the westvleteren brewery and by looking at the Etikett they thought it was about 40 or more years old! We opened it up... No gas of course... But it tasted incredible! Like a portwine or sherry... Unfortunately the taste evaporated quickly after the air touched it... But it was an amazing experience nonetheless... Who can say they drank a 40+ year old beer!? I have some more westvleteren in my cellar and it's coming up on 15 years... That is going to be a treat!!!

[@Marco_Onyxheart]

40 year old Westvleteren? I am jealous! Westvleteren is already tough enough to come by, but an aged Westvleteren? That's something else altogether. I have aged Gulden Draak before. Made it a bit more vinous. Interesting flavour development.

[@happyhourk12]

Having been to the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Scourmont for a conference of Abbots with my former abbot maybe 10 years ago when I was a junior (I was his helper/luggage guy for the trip )….I can say that TRUE monk made and table reserved beer is amazing.

[@adityanadgauda]

Whoever makes your thumbnails deserves a raise.

[@pabrowncoatbrewer7154]

Here in Pennsylvania, I brew a Sami Claus clone that I named after a brew in Firefly…. Mudder’s Milk. It’s also quite bumped up with sugars so I get an 18% ABV Doppelbock in the end and it takes a year from brew day to bottle day. Literally no one cares about your home brew ABV here. Cheers y’all!

[@hddm3]

I love this type of beers. So beautiful

[@shadowspy81]

I have done a few high abv beers and I was able to pull off 18%+ by doing a 2 part boil. Spilt the grain bill into 2 mashes and combine after the fact for a 2hr boil. Doing this will give you a better chance at higher efficiency from the grain. Next I used WLP099 yeast and propagate it to 4 times the standard batch. It fermented very violently and took 6 months. Is it boozy? yep. I was trying to make my own version of dogfish 120.

[@joee9027]

I use a starter that has flocculated, decant most of the fluid, and add new wort. Then repeat.

[@johrschejung]

Great video as always :) For all those high abv belgian beers, I am wondering why people actually add the syrup+table sugar right into the boil, instead of into the primary, just after the fermentation started to slow down. I mean, from theory, this should bring some advantages, shouldn't it? (1) Yeast is not so stressed out. (2) You need less yeast, which saves some money. (3) You make sure that the yeast eats the longer chain sugars from the mash, before it actually gets to eat the monosaccharides that are much easier to break down. Is there any study on that? I've been happy so far with my belgians that got their sugar into the primary...

[@kenwortht6809]

Beautiful color and I bet is smells heavenly

[@daviddraper6468]

Love the idea and really dig the Conan shirt! Can't beat that caveman battle doom!

[@madmonkeycycling9098]

Use bordeaux wine yeast for refermentation, it'll help with higher abv

[@noahcarver6072]

This was pretty interesting. You are some wild and crazy guys.

[@Stolpskott100]

Great to see home brewers aiming for beers in the 13-15% region, which is where things really start to get difficult unless you are freeze-distilling, which cuts WAY down on the amount you can physically produce in a home-brew setting. I have tried a few very strong beers, and despite Belgium having a (well deserved) reputation for strong beers, they do not even crack the top 10 as far as I know for the World's Strongest Beer. The list is actually dominated by Scotland, with Germany (neighbour to Belgium), The Netherlands (also a neighbour to Belgium), and Italy making the list. The strongest Belgian beer that I can think of would be Black Damnation VI, from De Struise Brouwers, which comes in at a lightweight and easy-drinking 39% ABV. It tastes really nice, but it is an Imperial Stout, and I am not sure I have ever tasted a bad one. And yes, it is about as alcoholic as Jack Daniels Old No. 7. The strongest beers in the world are nowadays up over 60% ABV, with Snake Venom from Brewmeister in Scotland being the strongest that I know of, at 67.5%, and there is no way in hell that I would order a pint of that. My personal favourite though, is the one that really started the beer brewing arms race a bit over a decade ago. Brewdog's Tactical Nuclear Penguin, which these days is almost alcohol-free, at a pretty low 32% ABV.

[@sdtok527]

What is the dutch one?

[@Stolpskott100]

@@sdtok527 "Start the Future" which is 60% ABV, and "Obilix" which is 45% ABV, both from Koelschip. Although Obilix was a very limited edition, which was a shame because I only managed to snag a single bottle and it was nice enough that I wanted more :) Not tried Start the Future yet, but I am told it is also a nice one.

[@bobfells]

Good stuff, dudes! I have found that yeast are lazy. They go after the easiest sugars to eat first which are the simple sugars like honey, and other basic sugars. If you add these later in fermentation you'll get better attenuation since the yeast will eat the sugar from the grain first before the simpler sugars. Cheers, bros.

[@iansberg850]

I had good results from adding some of the sugar mid ferment too (high krausen). Will continue to do that going forward

[@bobbybooshay8641]

Law? You're telling me I can't make any kind of alcohol I want at home?

[@Tanktanium]

Can you guys do a video on a reiterated mash (making massive beers like this easier on 10gal systems efficiency-wise)? Thanks!

[@anthonysamuel4790]

Amen to this comment

[@kevinmcewen1760]

First video of yours I’ve seen and it’s a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing your passion

[@frankwaldeck2359]

I remember waking up on my front porch once. I still can’t recall those 4 days before. I remember leaving one place and 7:00am waking with a cement pillow.

[@TroubleBrewing]

Never brewed a Quad before, if I did I definitely would keep it to a 3 gallon batch. A good winter sipper! Cheers!

[@Kaleb.D.Watts97]

been waiting for another Belgian brew. Great Job! I've had this idea for a few months imma gonna send it and give it a go.

[@oasismike2]

Thank you, once again for brew day p*rn. Very satisfying. Notes from the peanut gallery: Beano...if mouth feel doesn't matter. Not that any enzymes'll convert unfermentables, but.... Also, why add the sugar up front? (If sugars exceed 15% the yeast yada yada, better to add later)

[@kerbygator]

I'm addicted to St. Bernardus Abt 12 quad.I see it on the shelf, I buy it.

[@joebonaiuto5554]

Try a gulden drank, it is a step above. Love the st Bernard's abt 12 though!

[@burtmacklin6443]

Legal limit in Ohio is 22%, 13% is pretty impressive but not barley legal and lays well within our threshold. Clickbait aside this was a fun video. Cheers!

[@GentleGiantFan]

You guys should do a part two and see if you can hit the limit. I've got faith in you guys. I think you can do it.

[@gregjobes9138]

They can't because there is no limit, it's clickbait. Colorado has no limit on ABV for homebrew. Most states don't have any limit, some have insane high limits like 80% in Nevada and 60% in California.

[@CGrahamWorks]

There is a beer from the Madlin islands in Québec that is a 19% beer

[@jwize386]

Have you ever heard of Buckfast Abbey? Its about 15 miles down the road for me and the monks there do wonderful work and have been doing so for over a hundred years. Grab a bottle of Bucky I promise you will not regret it.

[@petercarparelli]

Emmitt is the oracle, the great one, the wisest wizard.

[@RussInGA]

nice.. Gotta step up the mill (I totally went overboard on my mill setup.. loll.. keep it up!)

[@RussInGA]

yay WLP500.. love that yeast. in all my belgians this season.. one packet for I think different beers. maybe 7. :P yeast management for the win! I hope.

[@modernbrewlife]

I love monestary yeast. I use it for my yearly pumpkin pie dessert ale

[@ethanandrews_360]

"more alcohol, is more fun" these are the words of a wise man.

[@TononoGuedes]

The video was great, but the fail with the recipe makes it even better!

[@knoetzel8818]

Favorite ones with Eislager brews

[@iknomorethanu]

Love Belgium Quads. D-180 is candy.

[@derkp1146]

"I don't count the other channels" 😂 you guys are fun to watch

[@martinerhard8447]

We recently got up to 46%!!! We made what we call Eisbock in germany using liquid nitrogen

[@sheitane]

Dude, it has to be the most entertaining video you ever made. I think you should have your show on netflix at this point 😂 This is fine editing too! and I'm kind of interested in this style of beer now, but not so much but maybe.... at least more than before "I should look at the recipe I DESIGNED" "Yeah, what did it say?" "I designed a 13% beer" At this point I was kind of literally rolling on the floor 🤣 Love you Clawhammer.

[@iansberg850]

What did you carbonate to? About to brew one and high carbonation in bottles makes me nervous

[@MichaelClark-uw7ex]

I've taken EC-1118 yeast to over 20ABV for my Mead. 18 lbs of honey in 5 gallons water in 3 feedings. IF 1118 won't ferment it, I don't want to drink it.

[@JTBCOOL1]

I love beer and never had mead but the abv, history, lore behind mead makes me want to make some and drink to my bellys content. Ever hear of Skyrim mead. I want to make some of that. I think it's called a cyser mead.

[@ManOfTheWildWoods]

Awesome Conan shirt!

[@danielreiss3443]

I think some of your last comments were the best: try to achieve a balance. Being new to brewing, for this type of beer what would be a good balance target?

[@ronsbeerreviewstools4361]

A very good brewing video. Yipes quite the ABV, its a good looking brew, thumbs up I subscribed, cheers !

[@NicholasDMcCoy]

Try using the alternate abv formula with this beer. Brewers Friend has an easy option to make the switch. I think you will be happy.

[@theblobfish9614]

Its not like you cant squeeze your mash, its just that sparging is that much better for your efficiency.

[@christianriel8040]

You should have cryo concentrate to bump up to 15% abv.

[@AwakeAtTheWheel]

The monastery beers in Germany were the absolute best! And that’s saying something when compared to other German beers. Not sure how they stack up against their Belgian counterparts.

[@paul6719]

1 view 1 comment, 100% engagement baby

[@deckerhand12]

The only place I have heard don’t squeeze the bag was from Mr. Beer company. They also don’t mind insulting there customers. So I stopped use them along time ago

[@berthzy537]

The plot twist, lol! Love it.

[@peppersadventure]

If its inside your home and they have no idea, then its not illegal.

[@mikedavis1476]

🤔🤔🤔....true...going to get my crack pipe now

[@jeremyyoung9051]

I have not seen this channel before, was my first video to watch. I have to ask, was the "Allowable by Law" just clickbait? I am not aware of an ABV limit for homebrew nationally, and locally in TN I have not found that defined either. However I will readily admit I only did basic searches for this, so would be interesting to know what that legal limit is and by what governing authority. I've brewed Dogfish Head 120 IPA clone before at 19% (different fermentation methods than outlined in this video), so you had me wondering if I home-brewed an illegal beer. However I'm not seeing evidence that I did anything illegal (based on my state). I should also say this was a well produced video, very good quality and pace.

[@jtap4874]

You should edit this title to BARLEY Legal.

[@bcgm3]

3:28 Speaking of barely legal... Isn't it illegal to drop acid?

[@thecaptain3773]

Since we break all kinds of laws just going around town, I'm not worried about brewing a quad. I've already gotten a 18% mead, and I doubt the alphabet bois will worry about me.

[@johnathanpenczek5499]

I ordered a Belgian triple thinking it was a normal Belgian white ale. I was rosy cheeked after 2

[@jasperm740]

Reppin' that Conan shirt, nice!

[@ajmarshall1021]

It's a thing of beauty !

[@wastedbottle175]

haha it's funny to see you guy explaining squeeze the grain is fine. cause I do that ALL THE TIME! and my beers are just fine~

[@kellyrick4365]

Looks good! I hope you all go for the 15% at a later date :)

[@facesoffearbrewing1229]

I think a yeast starter would've definately done something more. Not always, but sometimes it just gives it a bit extra of fermentation.

[@dddpvt]

Laws where the Least of what I worried about when I was a home brewer.

[@TTweten77]

Missed opportunity to call it barley legal

[@CarbonSolutions]

This.

[@dougkenney1348]

What is the logic of having a legal limit on ABV for beer?

[@BigEzzy619]

Last time I squeezed the grains I got a visit from the annunaki in my kitchen.

[@wldtrky38]

"More alcohol is more fun" 👍👍 Yep 😁

[@xecoq]

Not a fan of the tv over editing but cool to see the process

[@josephmolion4345]

Question: Why didn't you guys start w/ about 1/2 the water, then wash the wort with the 2nd half? I bet you left a lot of nice sugars in the squeezed grain.

[@kolobus101]

pretty sure If i am homebrewing, I can make it what ever strength i want...

[@Lundis919191]

Imperial Dark by Gouden Carolus is probably my absolute favorite.

[@glennismade]

There is no legal limit on ABV for anything in the UK. (technically you can't sell pure ethanol without a specific license. But that's not really a thing). We have some pretty well known breweries that put out 10%+ beers on the regular. Brewdog from Scotland frequently put out 15%+ beers just to mess with the alcohol regulators and excise boards. its kinda funny honestly. They put out a 21% beer a few years ago after being winged at by anti-alcohol groups for encouraging binge drinking due to their 18% double imperial porter Nuclear Penguin. So they made a stronger one.. haha which I find brilliant. the most I've ever been able to get out of a home brew is 12%, but that's purely down to physical limitations of my brew set-up I think. SO its interesting, as most craft brew bars/pubs have beers easily sitting in the 9%+ range and no-one bats an eye. the alcohol laws in the US are complicated...

[@nightspy1365]

Thats a "blackout stout", if I've ever seen one!

[@bigdealbrewing8439]

Great work lads. I’m wondering if anyone knows what refractometer and all they are using, and what glasses are they using ?

[@andvil01]

I am planing to make a Tokyo* clone. OG 1.157. About 16-19% abv. They use wlp099 that can go to 25%. I will make a starter. Then a pre wort, 3 l. Then brew and add the main wort while the fermentation is at its peak. Add pure oxygen. Some of the grain will be substituted with DME. Pressure carbonation. The strongest I ever brewd. No max abv in Sweden as long it is just fermented. Only destilling is prohibitted.

[@nowzthetime]

The best sugar to use is just white table sugar like you did

[@CUDA1970Terry]

Seems to be missing coffee, chocolate and chilies. THAT would top off that nice dark brew.

[@sethhahn4109]

Do you guys order directly from LD carlson? I work for them and its great seeing the product I've personally pulled and stock out in the wild

[@ClawhammerSupply]

We buy from our local homebrew shop.

[@rustedrootbeer]

Ross with the Buck 110 yeast opening tool 💯

[@gammaraygaming3306]

Funny this came up in my recommendations, as yesterday I started a 13.5% pale ale with mandarina Bavaria and cascade hops. Here's hoping I won't end up on somebody's porch with no pants 😆

[@JTBCOOL1]

Maybe if you drink more than a couple back to back. But one bottle should keep you from losing your pants

[@danielreiss3443]

There is so much fiber left in these grains; can the used ones be repurposed into bread?!

[@ClawhammerSupply]

Yes

[@MorbiusTheMenace]

Belgium baby!

[@Weezulguy]

Had er sitting in the secondary for about two months now, reckon I can keg it?

[@pegoossens]

monastic ale Yeast. Aka The one Wyeast sells als trappist High gravity. This is actually the yeast strain from Westmalle. This is indeed a very powerful yeast. However 15% ABV is a lot to ask of any beer yeast. you can go higher using champagne or port yeast.

[@94Vape]

I just brewed a 6.6% hazy IPA that was supposed to be 5.2% lol sometimes shit happens. But I want to do a belgian quad for next winter, I've been doing a bit more extract because I find that my AG system, a 35lt brewzilla can't really handle large grain bills, unless you do a double mash, which is potentially something I'd do but there's a brew store I order from here in aus that has a recipe kit for a belgian triple when added 500g brown sugar and reduced from 18 to 15lt it becomes a 10% ABV quad, and alot of people in the reviews say its really good.

[@tommanning7337]

Still…..AWESOME!!!!!!! 🤘🏻🤘🏻🔥

[@cwwisk]

Now the real question we are all asking on brew day... "Where the hose at?"

[@kine6452]

needs more foam when in the glass :)

[@moody5271]

Awesome vid im subscribe real quick