ok, so a few people PM'd me to ask for the Westy XII, Quadruppel, Westvleteren 12 recipe I used and commented on. So... I am going to post it here after doing a search and noticing that this thread came up first (hence the triple naming for future searchers).
This post
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/17200-rochefort-10/#entry234240 looks interesting - "Inside Rochefort."
I've read the stuff in BLAM, and the notes I'm posting here are largely other people's notes, with links etc. I made my own candi syrup / candy syrup / candi sugar (search terms) - about three batches / four batches of around 1kg or more each. I would encourage you to make a lot if you do it as if you invert it correctly and raise the temp a final time you will get a nicely thick (condensed) syrup that is shelf stable and tastes great. I experimented with a bunch of recipes... actually - I'll post my notes on it here as well - also largely from other people, but hopefully it will save people research and time.
having trouble uploading. Will post and try to edit.
upload/attach isn't happy:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9mb769oyy5vw1ic/LaelsWestyXII%20notes.docx?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/y5s1ml98bqo7zbs/LaelsCandySyrup%20notes.docx?dl=0
With the Westy XII I used the top recipe - pious xii. It is delicious. Start with a big pitch (3787 into a 2L starter stepped 3 times for mine) and use a blow-off tube into sterilised water. Collect the 'top-cropped' yeast for bottling / re-pitching after the first lot starts to lag. Step the fermentation slowly to create the flavour profile and encourage full attenuation.
I didn't do anything special in the brewing process - standard mash (low for dry body) and stepped using the Brauduino controller. I put in most of the candi syrup during the boil and around a 1/3rd at flameout / a few mins before the end. (appx 5mins @100 + 5mins until it gets below 80C for me when chilling - works fine maybe throw it in 10mins if you are concerned about bacteria etc).
Candi syrup - I've found the best flavours are from triple heat to 290F (instructions were from USA and that is what I remember). If you go above 295/300 you will start to get acrid flavours from burning. You need to be attentive! I was reasonably liberal with the DAP - in the later batches putting in a tbsp just before it would hit maillard temps. One problem I did have was that you can get a layer of candi syrup forming on the temperature probe which insulates the probe and gives you false readings. Total time for a small batch or large was roughly similar (45mins to an hour) and large are easier to manage the temperature.
I didn't find much difference between using yeast nutrient vs using DAP, though with one batch of yeast nutrient it brought out stronger vanilla and chocolate flavours at lower temps. I found that once you heat through those flavour layers, that flavour disappears a little. From memory I was getting sugar, vanilla, light fruit, red wine, chocolate, plum, oakey combinations of the below with deep wine and plum as the rough progressions of flavour. Different sugars produce different flavours. I would recommend the organic brown sugar from woollies as cost effective and the best range of flavours (of course the process for each was not entirely identical). I haven't done it yet, but Bollington's is out now with muscavado and turbinado sugars (less processed - ie: not white sugar with molasses added back in) which should give better flavours (more $$). Palm sugar gave an interesting flavour. The one thing I didn't do, which I may do over Christmas is to make some with dehydrated date powder - apparently it amps the flavour up a LOT.
As I made a few batches, I mixed the three of them to get a flavour profile I liked and was quite liberal with it in the batch (it's a thicker syrup than you buy from D2 or CSI if you finish the syrup @ 240F ) - using appx 1.3 times the amount stated in the recipe. I'll probably make a very large batch (3-4Kgs) next time and pull a portion of the sugar at different flavours and blend them to see if it retains a more distinct flavour profile. It is time consuming and sticky to make, and relatively easy to destroy batches. I think I planned to spend an afternoon making a batch once and finished in the evening after some burnt batches and a couple of good ones. It is fun, and delicious though!
I'm pretty sure the FG is slightly higher than in the beer - as I was a couple of points higher than expected on both batches I've made. I think the commercial syrup may give a better result in that regard. In terms of saving money. To be honest - it is messy and time consuming to make your own. It's fun and you will save money and you can easily make more, but if you can get the syrup relatively easily with another brew order, it will be easier for sure.
Have fun!
