La Fin Du Monde Clone

[len]

G'day,

I had the opportunity to sample more than a few La Fin Du Monde belgian strong golden ales when I was in Quebec a year or two back, and I thought I'd have a go at an AG clone.

Here's BeerAdvocate's info page on this excellent beer.

I found a recipe here, reproduced below:

The fermentation routine is 42 days, then filtered, re-yeasted and carbonated in the bottle. This is a beer that gets more complex with time, just use care in sanitation and handling.

5 gallon Recipe:

10 lbs. Pilsener Belgium
1.50 lbs. White Wheat Malt
1/2 lbs. Belgian Aromatic Malt
2 lbs Belgian Candi Sugar, Clear
1 oz. Styrian Goldings Pellet 5.25% AAU, 60 min
0.75 oz. Styrian Goldings Pellet 3% AAU, 25 min

2 Tsp Ground Coriander Seed Spice 10 Min
1 Tbsp Fresh Grated Orange Zest Spice 0 Min

WYeast 3864 Canadian/Belgian

Mash:
120F, 20 min
155F, 90 min

OG 1.085

Primary Fermentation: 12 days at 70F (which is 'cold' for this yeast).
Secondary Fermentation: 30 days at 75F, to finish and develop phenols.
Bottle with 1C corn sugar and allow to age up to 30 more days (about 12 to 15 for carbonation alone) at 70-80F.

I've got the WY3864 yeast, which I believe is the actual yeast used by Unibroue for this beer.

For the rest of the ingredients, I'm planning on substituting JW Wheat Malt for the White Wheat Malt, Weyermann melanoidan for the Belgian Aromatic Malt, and EK Goldings for the Styrian Goldings, because that's what I've got in the freezer. I was thinking of checking a supermarket in Chinatown for clear rock sugar for the clear candi sugar, or making my own according to these instructions on Craftbrewer.org.

Here's the promash recipe I've come up with:

La Fin Du Monde

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------
18-D Belgian Strong Ale, Belgian Golden Strong Ale
Min OG: 1.070 Max OG: 1.095
Min IBU: 25 Max IBU: 35
Min Clr: 4 Max Clr: 6 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------
Batch Size (L): 23.00 Wort Size (L): 23.00
Total Grain (kg): 7.63
Anticipated OG: 1.085 Plato: 20.54
Anticipated SRM: 5.2
Anticipated IBU: 26.6
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
70.9 5.40 kg. JWM Export Pilsner Australia 1.037 2
9.8 0.75 kg. JWM Wheat Malt Australia 1.040 2
3.3 0.25 kg. Aromatic Malt Belgium 1.036 25
16.0 1.22 kg. Candi Sugar (clear) Generic 1.046 1

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
32.00 g. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 5.25 20.4 60 min.
24.00 g. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 5.25 6.2 25 min.


Extras
Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.20 Oz Corriander Seed Spice 10 Min.(boil)
0.60 Oz Sweet Orange Peel Spice 0 Min.(boil)


Yeast
-----
WYeast 3864 Canadian Belgian Ale


Mash Schedule
-------------
Total Grain kg: 6.40
Total Water Qts: 15.32 - Before Additional Infusions
Total Water L: 14.50 - Before Additional Infusions

Tun Thermal Mass: 0.00
Grain Temp: 22.17 C

Step Rest Start Stop Heat Infuse Infuse Infuse
Step Name Time Time Temp Temp Type Temp Amount Ratio
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sacc 5 90 67 67 Infuse 74 14.50 2.26
mashout 5 10 74 74 Infuse 99 4.96 3.04

Total Water L: 19.46 - After Additional Infusions
Total Mash Volume L: 23.73 - After Additional Infusions

Notes
-----
actually 2 Tsp ground coriander seed, 1 Tbsp grated orange zest

Does that look ok?
Any info of where to get clear rock sugar would be greatly appreciated too.

cheers,
Len

 

[neonmeate]

looks good Len, however:
clear candi sugar is widely considered to be a rip-off - substitute normal white sugar.

EK goldings will not taste like Styrian Goldings (which are in fact fuggles grown in Slovenia), although they will be nice anyway. I'd try to find the proper (Slovenian) styrian if you really want to clone this beer. styrian hops have a nice spiciness that goes well in belgian style beers.

 

[winkle]

The GLS approach to making candi sugar works well if you're keen, just stop proir to it colouring.

 

[Weizguy]

That recipe looks OK to me, esp. with the JW malts (great quality malt, IMHO).

I'm keen enough to have a poke at that recipe myself (modified to the efficiency of my system), and using a reclaimed Unibroue yeast.

The yeast is/was easy enough to reclaim, and I have done well in a state comp (NSW) with it in a Belgian pale a few years back. Hopefully that means that the yeast is true-to-style and is the primary yeast used to ferment the beer.

I'll prob use white sugar (just like the big breweries )

...and some fresh Styrian (which you can prob buy by mail/ email order) plugs.

My fave Unibroue beer.

Seth

 

[DJR]

You are lucky to have the Wyeast Unibroue yeast!

Last time i bought some lump sugar it was about $1.50 for 400g. Pretty easy to find at pretty much any asian shop. I bought mine at Parramatta near the station underground, but most of the asian shops in the city should have it.

I've made some amber candi sugar, not sure it was worth the effort. Too much cleaning up. I now just add cane sugar to the boil or dextrose to the fermenter. Real candi sugar (made from beet sugar dried on twine) might be worth the effort in chasing up, but it's far too expensive.

Looks like a good recipe. :chug:

 

[newguy]

Len,

Maybe cut back on the coriander to 1 tsp instead of 2. I don't find the coriander character in this beer to be very strong, and 2 tsp seems a bit high. If the beer doesn't have the coriander character you desire, you can very easily boil 100 ml of water with another tsp of coriander and add that to the fermenter a week or two into the ferment.

I just brewed 3 beers using the 3864 yeast, and believe me, it's the Unibroue strain. Don't be alarmed by the smell this yeast gives off when it's going - it will dissipate. All 3 of my beers (Belgian Pale Ale, Belgian Dark Strong, Wit) all stank like geraniums in the fermenter for the first couple of weeks. Very strong too.

This yeast should give you the stated attenuation (75 - 79%), and if it stalls just add some yeast nutrient/yeast energizer. Boil about a tsp of each in 100 ml of water in the microwave, and add the works while it's still hot. Fermentation will pick up again. The first two batches I brewed stalled at about 60-65% attenuation, but the 3rd did fine on its own. Must have had enough yeast by that time.

Hope this helps.

 

[winkle]

Don't forget to let us know how it turns out, might have to add it to the ever increasing to-do list

 

[len]

Thanks to all for the good feedback. I probably will reduce the coriander, as I don't remember it as having a strong coriander character either.

I'm having trouble sourcing Styrian Goldings in Sydney before brewday on Saturday, so I'm considering using Fuggles instead, which is apparently a closer match than EK Goldings (source).

The price I've seen on candy sugar is $5/500g, so $1.50/400g is a big improvement if I can find it. Another possibility I'm thinking of is dextrose - shouldn't that also give a neutral flavour?

Really looking forward to trying this one - it was incredibly drinkable for a 9% beer.

cheers,
Len

 

[Weizguy]

At the risk of being impertinent, you could prob phone order some Styrian from MHB in Newcastle or Ross in Carbrook, Qld, and have it sent by overnight express tomorrow.

It's just a phone call away. Should be there in time, although I usually just shop in person.

Best of luck. U may wanna brew it for the next NSW case swap. (Who said "case swap"?)

Seth out

 

[len]

At the risk of being impertinent, you could prob phone order some Styrian from MHB in Newcastle or Ross in Carbrook, Qld, and have it sent by overnight express tomorrow.

That's an idea. But I can't find MHB - do they have a web site?

thanks,
Len

 

[len]

That's an idea. But I can't find MHB - do they have a web site?

Aha! Found em!

 

[len]

I found La Fin Du Monde in 1st Choice bottleshop in Ashfield! Stoked! Apparently they normally have it in stock. It was $28 for a four-pack, though. I've just had one and I'm going to keep the rest to compare to my brew when it's ready in a few months.

 

[Quintrex]

So.... How'd you go Len? Any News?
Did you follow a similar fermentation regime to that mentioned in that recipe you referenced?

I found La Fin Du Monde in 1st Choice bottleshop in Ashfield! Stoked! Apparently they normally have it in stock. It was $28 for a four-pack, though. I've just had one and I'm going to keep the rest to compare to my brew when it's ready in a few months.

 

[///]

Yeast, Ferm Temps and Sugar, seems all to easy ;-p

Do not doubt the use of ordinary sugar, beet, cane or otherwise, would not be much else.

Brew like a Monk gives excellent reading and info.

Scotty

 

[len]

I only bottled it last weekend so it's still carbonating. I missed the OG by 10 points and made up the difference with dextrose, so it fermented down to 1.004 - about 10.5%. I've just had a small taste and it's pretty toxic stuff - I'm calling it Belgian Death Ale . I'll post again when it's carbonated - maybe it will improve.

As far as temperatures go, I didn't have much in the way of temp control when I brewed this one (just got a fridge + fridgemate), so it was in an esky with cold water for the first few weeks and then in a cube under the house for secondary.

I've still got the yeast so I'll have another go in a few months, maybe cutting back on the sugar and mashing lower.

 

[uneekwahn]

G'day Len,

How did your beer turn out in the end? Have you drunk any yet?

I only bottled it last weekend so it's still carbonating. I missed the OG by 10 points and made up the difference with dextrose, so it fermented down to 1.004 - about 10.5%. I've just had a small taste and it's pretty toxic stuff - I'm calling it Belgian Death Ale . I'll post again when it's carbonated - maybe it will improve.

As far as temperatures go, I didn't have much in the way of temp control when I brewed this one (just got a fridge + fridgemate), so it was in an esky with cold water for the first few weeks and then in a cube under the house for secondary.

I've still got the yeast so I'll have another go in a few months, maybe cutting back on the sugar and mashing lower.

 

[len]

Uneekwahn,

It turned out well in the end. I've drunk all but a few (maybe four) stubbies. It would have been less, but I didn't label them at the time and I often opened one of them when I was looking for an APA I did at the same time.

It's definitely mellowed over the months, becoming very drinkable after about six. It doesn't have the same lemony refreshing taste as the real thing, which is something I was really aiming for. Good none-the-less.

We did a side-by-side tasting with the real thing during the Belgian class of our BJCP course here in Sydney the other night, so I'll see if we did judging sheets - unfortunately it was about the 3rd-4th Belgian of the night on an empty stomach and I was a bit hazy, so I can't remember.

I think I've lost the yeast, since it was the first liquid yeast I'd ever used. I see that Wyeast has just announced they're going to re-release it for their October-December VSS series : http://www.wyeastlab.com/vssprogram.cfm?website=2. You can bet I'll trying again with a slightly lower OG

Len