Belgian Super Dark Strong Ale

[j1gsaw]

Man that is a huge starter and with all that feeding I reckon the 3787 will dry it out enough but I have no idea with a beer of that OG. But I have been able to dry big beers out using double and triple sugar additions. I have never used the dema sugar, is it possible to invert it??

Brad

I havent used the dema sugar myself either, only just discovered it.
I will probably stick with just the dark belgian candy sugar for feeding.
I think the turbo yeast will get the arse.. seems the champagne yeast gets a bigger thumbs up.
Though, seeing they come in a 5g packet, should i be adding two?

 

[dgilks]

A number of commercial beers use Champagne yeast to help ferment them out but are nonetheless fairly full bodied. For example, the Mikeller Brewdog Collaboration Barleywine uses Champagne yeast but retains an appropriately full body. Furthermore, a dry finish (with a relatively full bodied beer) is not out of place for style.

But champagne yeast are proven to dry right out, the last thing i want is a 20% beer that is dry like asahi!
I need some residual sweetness to balance out. Maybe the turbo will do that too.. i dunno.
Im sure whatever path i go will be a suck it and see effort.. (like chappo's brewday) HAHAHA

 

[dent]

Why would it taste crap?

Generally I find the bigger the beer the longer it will take to reach its peak. Refer to the Palmer bible:

Generally, the higher the Original Gravity, the longer the conditioning time to reach peak flavor. Small beers like 1.035 Pale Ales will reach peak flavor within a couple weeks of bottling. Stronger/more complex ales, like Stouts, may require a month or more. Very strong beers like Doppelbocks and Barleywines will require 6 months to a year before they condition to their peak flavor.

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Also, with a big beer in that style you would probably want the result of chemical reactions that take a very long time in conditioning - kaiser here refers to it in his doppelbock recipe.

After lagering rack the beer to a serving keg or bottle and age at cellar temperatures ( 10 C / 50 F) for another 2-3 months. During that time most of the dark fruit notes will be formed by reactions between the alcohols (especially the higher alcohols) and acids in the beer. Some oxidation processes contribute to that as well. Since it is a chemical process, it works better at higher temperatures. Hence the suggestion to lager only for 2-3 months and then take it off the yeast completely and age for another 2-3 months. When I brewed this beer last, I happened to bottle some of it from the lagering keg. These bottles were stored at 10C (50F) and developed the dark fruit notes quicker than the beer that was still kept at lagering temps.

I will vouch for this too, I found the same effect in my own doppelbock after four months or so of conditioning.