Mountain Goat Rapunzel Recipe

[chrisso81]

I recently shot the guys at MG an email for a few pointers on knocking out a Rapunzel and Dave was more than happy to give me a basic rundown on their recipe. I love the fact that these guys skip the pretentious bullshit and actually give pretty detailed information as far as their recipes are concerned, however, it is clear that there are a couple of subtle points left out. I was pretty surprised at the basic recipe.

Here's the response I received:

"Here's a basic rundown of how we brew it.

100% German Pils Malt
We add about 15% of the malt bill in Belgian Candy Sugar.

Mash at 65C

Hallertau hops - 30 IBU

Wyeast 1388 yeast - Belgian Strong Ale

Ferment it up to 26C if you can - this yeast loves it warm and creates some great esters at that temp. Make sure it ferments right out so its not too sweet - might take up to 12 days.

Starting gravity should be around 18.5 P (1.075 OG).
Finishing 3.0 P (1.012 OG).
Giving you around 7.5% abv.

Good luck! Let us know how you go..."

I have knocked up a recipe in Brewmate that hits about 7.8% and 31 IBU and while its a pretty simple recipe I'm sure the finer details are all in the ferment temps and candy sugar additions. I love the esters (pear and vanilla) and alcohol warmth of this beer (commercial version is 8.3%) and would love some input on creating a good clone recipe.

From what I have read I'm thinking that the temp should probably ramp up over the course of the ferment (beginning somewhere high like 22C and heading to 26C) and that it would be beneficial to feed the wort incrementally during the ferment as opposed to adding all the candy sugar to the boil.

Thoughts, opinions, recommendations and pointers are all more than welcome as I am hoping to put this brew down in the next few weeks. Would be nice to knock out a double batch and add some oak to one of the cubes as MG have released an oaked version in the past.

Cheers, Chris

 

[slash22000]

1.075 OG with only 30 IBU? That will be the sweetest beer of all time. Of all time!

 

[chrisso81]

Umm, no, my crazily under-attenuated stout is the sweetest beer of all time. 1.064OG - 1.028FG and 32 IBU's. Have you actually tried Rapunzel?

 

[slash22000]

Yep. I couldn't drink it. The only beer I've ever tried that I couldn't finish even half the bottle. Honestly though I'm not trying to give a review of the beer, I cannot stand Belgian beer, it just happened that I ended up with a bottle. I do remember it was absolutely ludicrously sweet, like drinking syrup.

 

[chrisso81]

Can't stand Belgian beer, yet gives opinion in Belgian beer recipe thread.

 

[slash22000]

Yep. It's a crazy sweet beer. You don't have to love the beer to make an observation do you? Serious business apparently.

 

[tiprya]

I've had this beer and I thought it was nicely balanced with great esters. I'd start 18-19 and ramp up quickly to reach 26 after 3-4 days.

To be honest though, it might be worth following their advice and trying it at 26 off the bat? They seem to be doing something right.

I've been thinking of making a Tripel-ish recipe for a while - thanks for posting that advice.

 

[Muscovy_333]

1.075 OG with only 30 IBU? That will be the sweetest beer of all time. Of all time!

Finishing at 1.012 I'd of though it wouldn't be that sweet with 30 IBU???

I'd love to know of some others opinions (secret weapons) on how to fine tune this recipe as well...

Need some 'old school' Belgian brewing expertise to chip in

 

[Adr_0]

Finishing at 1.012 I'd of though it wouldn't be that sweet with 30 IBU???

I'd love to know of some others opinions (secret weapons) on how to fine tune this recipe as well...

Need some 'old school' Belgian brewing expertise to chip in

I hear adding the candi sugar late in the ferment will help it dry out a bit as it gives the yeast something easy to chew on. Adding it at the boil means that it will be chewed first, then the maltose/etc. so it can slow down at the end.

I'm joking when I say this, but I got the impression the yeast had been slapped around a lot in that beer because of the sickly pear... maybe pitch a very low cell count of yeast to help with this? Joking of course. I read the bottle that they do let the temperature float around a bit and "up to 28°C" from memory. I guess that if you control a fridge/space to 24-26°C you will probably get that.

Sort of goes against most guides to 1) have the temperature so inconsistent; and 2) have it so high; and I guess you get the resulting beer.

If you are trying for a copy of it, it is probably the way to go. I believe they've aged it for about 6mths as well.

 

[mrc1985]

How did you go with brewing this? I'm interested to hear