# Belgian Dubbel



## Doc (30/12/04)

I'm looking to brew a Belgian Dubbel that will of course be named Abbey's Dubbel.
This is what I've come up with so far.
Anyone brewed one and have any comments ?

Beers,
Doc

*Abbey's Dubbel*

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

18-B Belgian Strong Ale, Belgian Dubbel

Min OG: 1.062 Max OG: 1.075
Min IBU: 15 Max IBU: 25
Min Clr: 20 Max Clr: 28 Color in EBC

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (L): 24.00 Wort Size (L): 24.00
Total Grain (kg): 7.30
Anticipated OG: 1.072 Plato: 17.59
Anticipated EBC: 20.5
Anticipated IBU: 28.0
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 10.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 28.24 L
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.061 SG 15.09 Plato

Formulas Used
-------------

Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used.
Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points.
Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg
Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis.

Color Formula Used: Morey
Hop IBU Formula Used: Rager

Additional Utilization Used For Plug Hops: 2 %
Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 10 %


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential EBC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
78.1 5.70 kg. JWM Traditional Ale Malt Australia 1.038 7
8.8 0.64 kg. JWM Wheat Malt Australia 1.040 4
4.4 0.32 kg. Weyermann Caramunich I Germany 1.036 100
4.4 0.32 kg. Weyermann Carapils (Carafoam) Germany 1.037 3
4.4 0.32 kg. Weyermann Caraamber Germany 1.037 70

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
84.00 g. Hersbrucker Plug 2.50 24.0 60 min.
42.00 g. Hersbrucker Plug 2.50 4.0 20 min.


Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 Tsp Irish Moss Fining 15 Min.(boil) 


Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP550 Belgian Ale


Water Profile
-------------

Profile: 
Profile known for: 

Calcium(Ca): 0.0 ppm
Magnesium(Mg): 0.0 ppm
Sodium(Na): 0.0 ppm
Sulfate(SO4): 0.0 ppm
Chloride(Cl): 0.0 ppm
biCarbonate(HCO3): 0.0 ppm

pH: 0.00


Mash Schedule
-------------

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain kg: 7.30
Water Qts: 21.60 - Before Additional Infusions
Water L: 20.44 - Before Additional Infusions

L Water Per kg Grain: 2.80 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 67 Time: 90
Mash-out Rest Temp : 72 Time: 10
Sparge Temp : 80 Time: 60


Total Mash Volume L: 25.31 - Dough-In Infusion Only

All temperature measurements are degrees Celsius.


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## big d (30/12/04)

never having brewed one doc im curious if you should be including belgian candi sugar for more authenticity.

cheers
big d


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## wessmith (30/12/04)

Doc, the real trick with Belgian beers is to get a well attenutaed finish - even a dry finish. With your suggested grain bill, it will be difficult to achieve this. ALL belgian beers above 5% ABV have sugar in them. You need to have about 8 to 10% sugar (added in the kettle) in the brew and cut back the wheat to 5% and the rest from the TAM. Candi sugar would be nice - Grain and Grape have some in stock now - but otherwise I would use commercial Invert Syrup or as a last resort, cane sugar.

Also think about the ester profile you want from the yeast - a long lag is great for ester development, or build the starter up a bit for a shorter lag and a cleaner lower ester ferment.

If you want to develop a more reddish hue, think about some munich malt or melanoidin malt or even replace the Caramunich with Carared. Any which way it shoukd be a very interesting brew! Good luck.

Wes.


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## Doc (30/12/04)

Fantastic. Thanks for the recommendations Wes.
I'll change the Caramunich for Carared which I have in stock.
I don't have any candi sugar, or time to order or make it.
I think I will add 500gr of Billingtons Dark Muscovado Sugar ( i don't have any light in stock).
Finally I'll drop the wheat back to 5% and up the base malt.

This give the following:

Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential EBC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
76.4 5.50 kg. JWM Traditional Ale Malt Australia 1.038 7
6.9 0.50 kg. Brown Sugar (dark) Generic 1.046 118
5.0 0.36 kg. JWM Wheat Malt Australia 1.040 4
3.9 0.28 kg. Weyermann Caraamber Germany 1.037 70
3.9 0.28 kg. Weyermann Carapils (Carafoam) Germany 1.037 3
3.9 0.28 kg. Weyermann Carared Germany 1.036 48

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
84.00 g. Hersbrucker Plug 2.50 23.8 60 min.
42.00 g. Hersbrucker Plug 2.50 4.0 20 min.

Beers,
Doc


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## THE DRUNK ARAB (30/12/04)

Doc, maybe some CaraAroma for that raisiny flavour as well, it is supposed to be a replacement for Special B.
Here are a few recipes on that style on this website:

http://www.specialtymalts.com/tech_center/dubbel.html

C&B
TDA


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## Doc (1/1/05)

Great link thanks TDA.
After another update here is the first version I'll be going with tomorrow.
Of course I wouldn't really want to nail it on the first try  

Beers,
Doc

Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential EBC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
76.4 5.50 kg. JWM Traditional Ale Malt Australia 1.038 7
6.9 0.50 kg. Brown Sugar (dark) Generic 1.046 118
5.0 0.36 kg. JWM Wheat Malt Australia 1.040 4
3.9 0.28 kg. Weyermann Caraamber Germany 1.037 70
3.9 0.28 kg. Weyermann Carapils (Carafoam) Germany 1.037 3
3.9 0.28 kg. Weyermann Carared Germany 1.036 48

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
42.00 g. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 4.50 23.1 60 min.
42.00 g. Hersbrucker Plug 2.50 4.0 20 min.


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## Barry cranston (1/1/05)

Good Day
All this talk about dubbels got me interested so yesterday I brewed a dubbel and trppel for the first time in 3 years. I felt great making something different for a change though the stickiness of homemade candi sugar remindered me why it has been 3 years. So thanks for the inspiration Doc.
All the best, Barry.
PS Doc you deserve a medal for brewing for 4 days in a row. I brewed twice in the last week and along with bottling, racking, hopping, yeast starters etc there is not enough hours in the day.


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## Doc (1/1/05)

Barry cranston said:


> PS Doc you deserve a medal for brewing for 4 days in a row. I brewed twice in the last week and along with bottling, racking, hopping, yeast starters etc there is not enough hours in the day.


 I know what you mean with the starters Barry.
Here is a picture from my fermentation freezer this morning.
All the starters are down the end, and there is room for two more fermenters. One space will be taken in about an hour, then another tomorrow. Then I start brewing to fill up the lager fermentation freezer.

Beers,
Doc


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## Snow (5/1/05)

Doc,

how did you go with your dubbel? They are definitely one of my favourite styles of beer. I brewed one on Boxing day. FWIW here's the recipe:

2.5kg German Pilsener
150g Melanoidin
150g Caraaroma
250g Caramunich
150g Amber
30g Chocolate
700g Belgian candi sugar - 60 mins
1.5kg light DME - 15 mins
7g Goldings pellets (4.1%AA) 60 mins
33g Tettnanger pellets (4.7%AA) 60 mins
20g Goldings pellets (4.1%AA) 15 mins
20g Hersbrucker pellets (3%AA) 15 mins
1 tsp Irish Moss - 15 mins
1 tsp Yeast nutrient - 15 mins
Slurry from 2L starter of Wyeast 1214 Belgian Ale yeast

60min mash @ 65C. 90 Min boil. 

I'm fermenting this one at 16-17C to keep the esters down. Will let you know how it goes in a few weeks.

- Snow


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## Doc (5/1/05)

Hey Snow,

Your recipe looks quite different from mine, and I'm sure it will be a great beer. That is the beauty of the Belgian styles.

Mines is fermenting well.
In fact it tried its damdest to crawl out the airlock.
Fermenting at around 20 deg with 550 Belg Ale Yeast.
Whe I rack it to secondary it will be there for a while as I've done a lot of brewing lately and it is back in the queue for kegging :lol: 
I'll let you know how it tastes when I rack it in another 10 days or so.

Beers,
Doc


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## Snow (6/1/05)

Half your luck Doc! I'm at the other end of the scale - I completely misjudged my pre Christmas brewing/drinking schedule and now I have 3 empty kegs!!  I've got another 2 weeks before kegging my Pilsener and I'm racking the dubbel tonight, so another 2 weeks CC there. I might actually have to resort to buying a carton of commercial beer to tie me over!  Never again....

- Snow


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## Doc (6/1/05)

Only a little luck.
Lots of planning and hard work actually  
I had the brew kit all setup for nearly a week. After yesterdays brew I put it all away, but was saying to my wife I wish I had made another lager yeast starter as I still had one empty fermenter and room for it in the lager fridge.
I got the unexpectant reply (after brewing almost every day for 6 days) of if you made a starter now would it be ready for Saturday ?
Well I made a 920 Bav Lager starter last night using three starters in the hope it will take off quick and be ready for Saturday, so I can brew again. Thinking either Munich Helles or Oktoberfest. Then everything will be at capacity for the first time in months and my grain stores will be the lowest :huh: .
I'll probably pour a beer tonight and have another empty keg though <_< and have to brew another ale as well ( of which I have plenty of yeast ready to go ). Where does it end  

Doc


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## Snow (6/1/05)

Jeez I want a wife like yours! Last night after stepping up my Irish Ale starter, I was just popping a tray of 2 row into the oven to make some brown malt and SWMBO says "look, I don't mind you having a hobby, but I think you're taking it too far. You can find time to brew but you can't find the time to iron your shirts!" Well, I told her I'm happy with wrinkled shirts but not happy with three empty kegs. It wasn't the time to tell her I'm brewing an Irish stout tonight and an APA next Tuesday. No ironing for at least another week...  

- Snow


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## Doc (6/1/05)

hahahaha, if I was toasting grain in her oven that might be overstepping the mark  
I'm still on holidays so she sees it as getting stocks up now, which will leave most of the weekends more flexible for the next few months.

Doc


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## Snow (7/1/05)

Well i racked my Dubbel last night and had a sample. Oh man is it a nice beer  . Those Belgian yeasts are amazing - it tastes like a completely different brew from when I tasted it in primary. I'll post another report when I keg in a couple of weeks.

- Snow


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## Doc (17/1/05)

I racked mine tonight and just like you Snow, said aloud to myself in the brauhaus WOW.
This is going to be a beauty of a beer.

Beers,
Doc


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## Doc (22/3/05)

Its been on tap now for a while, and I'm having a pint of it right now.
This is a really drinkable great Belgian Dubbel.

My daughters christening is this weekend, so I'll be encouraging the guests that aren't driving to get stuck into Abbey's Dubbel.

Beers,
Doc


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## Snow (23/3/05)

Well done, Doc! 

I racked another Dubbel last night, which came out at around 7%. It's got lot of spicey and fruity notes to it. it's a bit green atm, so I'm going to cold condition it for 2 weeks, then bottle and condition for 2 months before drinking. I kegged my last one but found I wasn't drinking it fast enough for it to take up valuable keg space. I've found these beers really benefit from a few months in the bottle, anyway. I polished off my last bottle of Belgian Raspberry Dubbel (with the Wyeast 3787 Trappist yeast) the other day after 14 months in the bottle. It was wonderfully smooth and complex.

Anyway, for anyone interested, the brew I racked last night goes like this:

1.7kg German Pilsener
500g Light Munich
250g Amber
250g Melanoidin
400g Caramunich
400g Caraaroma
500g Dark Belgian Candi Sugar
2kg Light DME
30g Hallertau (3.4%AA) - 60 mins
25g Saaz (2.8%AA) - 60 mins
10g Goldings (4.7%AA) - 30 mins
10g Saaz (2.8%AA) - 10 mins
1 tsp Yeast nutrient - 2 mins
1 pinch Sodium met - in mash
500ml slurry of Wyeast 3944 Belgian Wit from primary of previous batch.

Mashed 90 mins at 66C. Fermented 10 days at 18-21C.

Cheers - Snow


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## Wreck (23/3/05)

Snow, 

What's the sodium met in the mash for?


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## barfridge (23/3/05)

wreck: apparently it helps prevent HSA (hot side aeration), that is oxidisation of the beer, which results in cardboard-like flavours in the beer.


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## Wreck (23/3/05)

Didn't realise it could be used in the mash. Thought it was used for sterialisation.


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## warrenlw63 (24/3/05)

Wreck,

If you do use it in a mash. Don't be heavy-handed. 1/8-1/14 of a teaspoon maximum per mash is all that's required. Can't really verify if it makes any difference. Careful handling of the mash and runoff would probably work just as well.

Be mindful that some people have allergic reactions (asthmatics) to sodium met.

Warren -


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## THE DRUNK ARAB (24/3/05)

warrenlw63 said:


> Wreck,
> 
> If you do use it in a mash. Don't be heavy-handed. 1/8-1/14 of a teaspoon maximum per mash is all that's required. Can't really verify if it makes any difference. Careful handling of the mash and runoff would probably work just as well.
> 
> ...



How do you measure 1/14th of a teaspoon Warren :blink: !

I brewed a Dubbel on Monday. Looking forward to drinking it over winter.

C&B
TDA


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## warrenlw63 (24/3/05)

Gulp :blink: 

Supposed to be a quarter. My bad. :huh: 

Warren -


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## Doc (24/3/05)

Doc said:


> Great link thanks TDA.
> After another update here is the first version I'll be going with tomorrow.
> Of course I wouldn't really want to nail it on the first try
> 
> ...




This is getting better and better by the day. 
It has that really subtle but not over the top belgian flavour.
Looks like I might have nailed it on the first attempt.

Abbey is being christened this weekend and if the family is nice to me I might let them have some of Abbey's Dubbel :lol:

Beers,
Doc


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## Snow (24/3/05)

Barfridge is right. I use it to prevent HSA. I also put a bit in the bottling bucket, too, as I hear it reduces oxidation risks. This was recommended to me by Graham Sanders from Oz Craftbrewers. 

Doc,

what fermentation temps did you use for your dubbel? The use of Caraamber and Carared is good. Particularly caraamber, as I hear it gives that subtle buiscity flavour. Unfortunately I can't get it here in Brisbane. I might have to order some up from G&G or Grumps, etc.

- Snow.


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## Wreck (24/3/05)

Thanks guys.

Doc, congrats on the beer and all the best for the christening.

Wreck.


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## JasonY (19/6/05)

Well I thought I would have a crack at one of these since the weather is a bit cool and some bigger beers would be nice. Hopefully it wont need too long to mature! Pretty much put a recipe together with what I had and from reading various threads around here. Ended up at 1.080 which was a bit bigger than I was expecting and it is definately a bit light. Seemed a good way to use the last of the kirin malt.

Made some 'candy' sugar (I know its not the real deal) using Graham Sanders instructions. I didn't have a candy thermometer so it ended up only a lighter (golden) color and did not set well at room temp (wether that is because I didn't get it to 150degC or because the citric acid inverted part of the sugar I don't know). Next time I will make this nice and dark, it tasted nice anyway.

Will be airating the crap out of it when it is about 20deg and pitching Wyeast 1214 belgian ale. Hopefully the yeast can eat through it. Hope it comes out tasty.

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (L): 23.00 Wort Size (L): 23.00
Total Grain (kg): 7.04
Anticipated OG: 1.074 Plato: 17.91
Anticipated EBC: 14.4
Anticipated IBU: 27.8
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 75 Minutes

Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name  Origin Potential EBC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
57.2 4.03 kg. Kirin Pilsner Malt Australia 292.97 3
19.9 1.40 kg. Weyermann Pilsner Germany 317.42 4
9.9 0.70 kg. Candi Sugar (clear) Generic 384.25 1
4.3 0.30 kg. Hoepfner Munich Malt Germany 317.42 18
2.8 0.20 kg. Hoepfner Melanoidin Germany 309.07 40
3.0 0.21 kg. Weyermann Caraamber Germany 309.07 70
2.8 0.20 kg. TF Caramalt UK 284.01 38

Potential represented as IOB- HWE ( L / kg ).


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
48.00 g. Czech Saaz Pellet 3.50 17.4 60 min.
28.00 g. Perle Plug 3.20 8.6 60 min.
14.00 g. Hallertau Hersbrucker Plug 2.50 1.7 15 min.


Yeast
-----

WYeast 1214 Belgian Ale


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## kabooby (4/10/07)

I am planning on making another Belgian Dubbel. Last time I made this with Pumpy we used brown sugar and added it towards the end of the boil. Is there any advantages/disadvantages to adding it earlier in the boil.
I am thinking that if it boils for longer that you will get a more caramelised flavour. But boil it for to long and you could lose all the flavour.

I guess what I am asking is, what is the ideal boil time for sugar in this style?

Kabooby


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## kabooby (4/10/07)

kabooby said:


> I am planning on making another Belgian Dubbel. Last time I made this with Pumpy we used brown sugar and added it towards the end of the boil. Is there any advantages/disadvantages to adding it earlier in the boil.
> I am thinking that if it boils for longer that you will get a more caramelised flavour. But boil it for to long and you could lose all the flavour.
> 
> I guess what I am asking is, what is the ideal boil time for sugar in this style?
> ...



Anyone?


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## Stuster (4/10/07)

I've always added sugar to the boil about 10 minutes before flame out. No real need to add it any earlier, and avoids any hop utilisation loss (though it's probably not a big deal anyway). I doubt you'd lose much from boiling it longer, but it depends on what kind of sugar you are aiming to use. I also doubt you'd get much more caramelisation happening by adding it earlier.


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## braufrau (4/10/07)

There's a basic brewing podcast on an experiment with different sugars in belgian ales in the 2006 archives
here

Might be worth a listen.


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## tangent (4/10/07)

agree! 
i think one of the guys in that episode is a HBS owner (although he didn't seem weird!) and he mentions about never bothering to order a certain kind of specialty sugar again.


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## kabooby (5/10/07)

Thanks guys and gals for the feedback. The podcast was a good listen. Might just have to make some candi syrup 

Kabooby


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## jimmy01 (5/10/07)

Just listened to the Podcast. Excellent info

Can't wait until my copy of Brew Like a Monk arrives to learn more.

Cheers


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## SJW (5/10/07)

This is my Belgian Dubbel, well its really Docs, but its a great beer. Just cant have too many.

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU 
7500.00 gm Pilsner (Weyermann) (3.3 EBC) Grain 70.56 % 
750.00 gm Wheat Malt, Pale (Weyermann) (3.9 EBC) Grain 7.06 % 
350.00 gm Amber Malt (43.3 EBC) Grain 3.29 % 
350.00 gm Carafoam (Weyermann) (3.9 EBC) Grain 3.29 % 
350.00 gm Carared (Weyermann) (47.3 EBC) Grain 3.29 % 
45.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.20 %] (60 min) Hops 13.2 IBU 
10.00 gm Northern Brewer [9.90 %] (60 min) Hops 6.9 IBU 
55.00 gm Saaz [2.50 %] (30 min) Hops 7.4 IBU 
0.50 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc 
1000.00 gm Brown Sugar, Dark (98.5 EBC) Sugar 9.41 % 
1 Pkgs Belgian Strong Ale (Wyeast Labs #1388) Yeast-Ale 



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.087 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.087 SG 
Est Final Gravity: 1.020 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.016 SG 
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 8.73 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 9.31 % 
Bitterness: 27.5 IBU Calories: 845 cal/l 
Est Color: 26.1 EBC Color: Color


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## jimmy01 (5/10/07)

SJW said:


> This is my Belgian Dubbel, well its really Docs, but its a great beer. Just cant have too many.
> 
> Ingredients
> 
> ...




Looks good SJW. What batch size?


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## SJW (5/10/07)

Sorry mate. 28 litres in the kettle after boil, that puts approx 24 litres in bottles after racking ect. But now I have a couple of kegs I need to review my batch sizes!

Steve


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## jimmy01 (5/10/07)

SJW said:


> Sorry mate. 28 litres in the kettle after boil, that puts approx 24 litres in bottles after racking ect. But now I have a couple of kegs I need to review my batch sizes!
> 
> Steve



Thanks SJW
My mate & I are planning to try a Belgium next week based on the Drunk Arabs "Fly Blown Ale". 

We have only done one Belgium so far. I think we fermented it too warm as it is a bit fuselly. Will try the fridge this time at about 19C. Then stoke it up to 22 after a few days.

Good luck with the Dubbel

Cheers
Jimmy


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## bindi (21/10/07)

braufrau said:


> There's a basic brewing podcast on an experiment with different sugars in belgian ales in the 2006 archives
> here
> 
> Might be worth a listen.



How did I miss this subject? :huh: Thanks for the link braufrau.


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