Belgian Strong Dark Ale

[crakaz]

I have recently put down a Belgian Strong Dark Ale;

1.7kg Brewmaster Belgian Ale
1.5kg Coopers Amber Malt
1.0kg Light DME
500g Candy sugar

250gms Dark Crystal Malt
200gms Cara Munich Malt
(steeped 30mins @ 67deg. C)

30gms Dried orange peel (15mins boil)
15gms Cracked Coriander seeds (15mins boil)
12gms Hallertau (60mins boil)
12gms Cascade (10mins boil)

OG 1.074 - 19 litres

Yeast - White Labs Belgian Abbey IV liquid yeast pitched @ 21deg. C.

Question - After 5 days at a temperature controlled 21degs. the SG has dropped to 1.040 which to me seems a little high still. Initially the yeast were doing a fine job with the air lock bubbling like crazy but has now slowed to almost nothing. Yeast attenuation is supposed to be very high 72-84%, so I'm hoping SG will come down further. Will keep checking SG. I was hoping to get down to around a FG of 1.018. How long do I wait? Is it finished or just stuck? Any help would be appreciated. Does taste pretty good already! :unsure:

 

[Adamt]

It won't hurt giving the fermenter a gentle rouse (no splashing), or even crank the temperature up. Most Belgian yeasts are meant to be fermented with rising temperatures, I have no experience with that particular yeast, but i do know quite a few Belgians are started at low 20s and are brought up to mid-high 20s late in the primary fermentation.

 

[sinkas]

Rouse yeast, and bring up the temp to 23-24, probably would have had a better results with a starter, and yeast nutrient for this brew,

 

[Stuster]

Many Belgian yeasts are a bit slow. Patience. It'll get there in the end. Now, stir it if you have to. Temp could come up a bit as Sinkas says. Then leave it alone and come back to it in a week. :lol:

 

[Heath Streak]

crakaz

Looks like a great recipe - might give it a bash this weekend! Where sis you nab it from?

I love to do a good Belgian - and I always increase temp of the primary during fermentation. Never had any worries but I do use a starter for my bigger brews

Cheers :beer:

 

[Erikkokken]

Hi.

Your recipe looks really good. Recently I made a Chimay Clone, cultivating yeat from a bottle of chimay blue label and recipe is qite similar to yours, and it turned out great.

Like Stuster is saying, you must be patient. Belgian beers need a lot of time and I fermented my Chimay for 4 weeks. After 2 weeks I moved the beer to another fermenter to get rid of the yeast at the bottom of the fermenter, which can give the beer "off tastes" if it is too much of it for to long. There will be enough yeast left in the beer, too keep on fermenting. Even though the air lock stops to bubble, it will still ferment slowly and develop. (Pay great attention to hygiene and sanitation if you are switching fermenters)

You must get your S.G down further, it is still to high. It should not be over 1.020. Just give it time, if there is one beer you cannot rush, its belgian beers. But you will be happy that you waited when it is ready to drink, because you will end up with a great result.

Good Luck!

 

[bconnery]

The specs for this yeast recommend a max of 22 so I wouldn't go heaps higher than that.

I would say an aeration is the go. Take the fermenter and rest the bottom half on your foot and half on the ground. Then gently start to rotate it, slowly increasing the speed but never too fast so you get a whirlpool going but minimise splashing.

I read this technique in a book somewhere and I use it give any yeast a bit of a hurry up...

Time will be your friend though as others have said. I'd think about 1.5-2 weeks primary and then a week in secondary as being enough.

Then I'd bottle for at least a month. My belgian dark didn't really go from a good beer to one I consider one of my best until about 4 months...

 

[brettprevans]

I have recently put down a Belgian Strong Dark Ale;

1.7kg Brewmaster Belgian Ale
1.5kg Coopers Amber Malt
1.0kg Light DME
500g Candy sugar

250gms Dark Crystal Malt
200gms Cara Munich Malt
(steeped 30mins @ 67deg. C)

30gms Dried orange peel (15mins boil)
15gms Cracked Coriander seeds (15mins boil)
12gms Hallertau (60mins boil)
12gms Cascade (10mins boil)

OG 1.074 - 19 litres

Yeast - White Labs Belgian Abbey IV liquid yeast pitched @ 21deg. C.

Question - After 5 days at a temperature controlled 21degs. the SG has dropped to 1.040 which to me seems a little high still. Initially the yeast were doing a fine job with the air lock bubbling like crazy but has now slowed to almost nothing. Yeast attenuation is supposed to be very high 72-84%, so I'm hoping SG will come down further. Will keep checking SG. I was hoping to get down to around a FG of 1.018. How long do I wait? Is it finished or just stuck? Any help would be appreciated. Does taste pretty good already! :unsure:

5 days is very short, I have a Muntons Heavy Ale which had been fermenting for 2 weeks and is at 1.020. Ive just used a similar technique as suggested by Bconnery to give it a kick start again. Leave for a total of 2 weeks and then transfer it (cc). you might get a better result.

 

[crakaz]

I have recently put down a Belgian Strong Dark Ale;

1.7kg Brewmaster Belgian Ale
1.5kg Coopers Amber Malt
1.0kg Light DME
500g Candy sugar

250gms Dark Crystal Malt
200gms Cara Munich Malt
(steeped 30mins @ 67deg. C)

30gms Dried orange peel (15mins boil)
15gms Cracked Coriander seeds (15mins boil)
12gms Hallertau (60mins boil)
12gms Cascade (10mins boil)

OG 1.074 - 19 litres

Yeast - White Labs Belgian Abbey IV liquid yeast pitched @ 21deg. C.

Question - After 5 days at a temperature controlled 21degs. the SG has dropped to 1.040 which to me seems a little high still. Initially the yeast were doing a fine job with the air lock bubbling like crazy but has now slowed to almost nothing. Yeast attenuation is supposed to be very high 72-84%, so I'm hoping SG will come down further. Will keep checking SG. I was hoping to get down to around a FG of 1.018. How long do I wait? Is it finished or just stuck? Any help would be appreciated. Does taste pretty good already! :unsure:

Well it's been in the primary for almost 3 weeks now, the S.G. is now 1.022 and tasting great! I'll give it til the weekend, batch prime then bottle. Thanks for all the tips guys.

 

[Stuster]

Wait till the gravity is steady for 2-3 days before bottling it. It may still be slowly fermenting so it may overcarbonate or even give you bottle bombs if you bottle it too soon. Some yeasts can be quite slow to finish and while three weeks should be fine, you never know.

 

[neonmeate]

i agree, 1022 is still pretty high for a belgian beer. that yeast will probably keep chewing through slowly to under 1015 if you let it (though the amber extract and the crystal malts might give you a higher FG than normal). i'd give it another week or two.