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Post by Scott H on Nov 30, 2013 23:53:11 GMT -5
Belgian Special Ale by mavus
Recipe: 9 lbs Pale 2-row (US) 4 lbs Maris Otter 1 lb Carared 8 oz Crystal 40
1 oz Tettnang @ 60 min 1 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker @ 60 min
Wyeast 1214 (Belgian Abbey)
OG: 1.061 FG: 1.010 ABV: 6.7%
Notes from the brewer: The yeast should shine through with a nice red color and decent body for a winter version of a beer I've tried before.
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Post by carboywonder on Dec 1, 2013 17:14:39 GMT -5
Jesse,
Quite enjoyed your beer. Great start to what's sure to be a month of solid brews. Nice banana esters with just the right amount of residual sweetness. What temp did you ferment at?
This one reminds me of a lower gravity take on Unibroue Maudite. I think it might be a tad undercarbonated for the style, but all in all very solid. Nicely done.
Brian Q
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Post by antonia on Dec 1, 2013 17:29:19 GMT -5
Jesse,
Good stuff - LOTS of that great Belgian banana aroma and taste in this beer - the yeast definitely did a nice job on this. Like Brian, agree the carbonation may be a bit low, but not terribly so. It's a good one to start this advent project off with - thanks!
Antonia
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Post by Chris Creech on Dec 1, 2013 18:21:56 GMT -5
Kicking the month off with a pretty good one. Nice work.
My only critique would be that it seems a bit 1-dimensional for a belgian specialty ale. I get banana esters (smells just like banana bread!) up front, but the flavor doesn't have many complex ester/phenolic flavors - there is definitely a hint of spice from the yeast as it warms up, but the predominant flavor I get is a caramel/toffee flavor. Next time you brew it, try diversifying the malt bill a touch and maybe pitch a larger yeast slurry to help it really dry out (but I'm picky - I like my belgians really dry, others may prefer them sweeter).
Otherwise, this is a quite enjoyable belgian brew. Let's be honest...I finished the bottle before I finished typing this comment! Again, good work!
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mavus
Contributor
Posts: 17
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Post by mavus on Dec 1, 2013 18:55:09 GMT -5
Jesse, Quite enjoyed your beer. Great start to what's sure to be a month of solid brews. Nice banana esters with just the right amount of residual sweetness. What temp did you ferment at? This one reminds me of a lower gravity take on Unibroue Maudite. I think it might be a tad undercarbonated for the style, but all in all very solid. Nicely done. Brian Q Thanks, I am always worried about over carbonating my beer, I will be a bit more liberal with the sugar next time. I fermented at around 70 degrees but I didn't use any fermentation control for this beer so it could have climbed early on. --Jesse
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mavus
Contributor
Posts: 17
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Post by mavus on Dec 1, 2013 19:02:48 GMT -5
Kicking the month off with a pretty good one. Nice work. My only critique would be that it seems a bit 1-dimensional for a belgian specialty ale. I get banana esters (smells just like banana bread!) up front, but the flavor doesn't have many complex ester/phenolic flavors - there is definitely a hint of spice from the yeast as it warms up, but the predominant flavor I get is a caramel/toffee flavor. Next time you brew it, try diversifying the malt bill a touch and maybe pitch a larger yeast slurry to help it really dry out (but I'm picky - I like my belgians really dry, others may prefer them sweeter). Otherwise, this is a quite enjoyable belgian brew. Let's be honest...I finished the bottle before I finished typing this comment! Again, good work! Thanks, I was trying for a bit more body on this one for winter but I may have over done it. I usually prefer a drier belgian but decided to try something a bit different for this one. Thanks for the suggestions, this was the first time brewing this recipe, I will be brewing it again for sure and will tweak it a bit. --Jesse
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mavus
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Posts: 17
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Post by mavus on Dec 1, 2013 19:03:31 GMT -5
Jesse, Good stuff - LOTS of that great Belgian banana aroma and taste in this beer - the yeast definitely did a nice job on this. Like Brian, agree the carbonation may be a bit low, but not terribly so. It's a good one to start this advent project off with - thanks! Antonia Thanks, I am glad you liked it. --Jesse
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Post by spidermonk on Dec 1, 2013 19:04:26 GMT -5
Nice aroma, great color, a little more carbonation, really nice taste, clean with the typical Belgian fun plus extra banana. I really like the clean simplicity of it and could drink a couple or 3 in one sitting . Great beer and I love Belgians.
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mavus
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Posts: 17
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Post by mavus on Dec 1, 2013 19:18:36 GMT -5
Nice aroma, great color, a little more carbonation, really nice taste, clean with the typical Belgian fun plus extra banana. I really like the clean simplicity of it and could drink a couple or 3 in one sitting . Great beer and I love Belgians. Thanks I am glad you enjoyed it! --Jesse
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Post by Allen H on Dec 1, 2013 19:52:02 GMT -5
I'm about to post my full thoughts on my blog in an hour or two but I agree with Chris Creech for the most part. A solid beer to start off with.
Nothing turned me off on this beer. The yeast character definitely controls it though. I love the banana esters and the breadiness works well here, but it seems pretty one dimensional. Like he said, also, I'd look at the grain bill and see if there are minor tweeks. I also agree about the larger yeast count, not sure if you made a starter or not.
You said it is 6% or so but only about half way in I'm feeling good lol
Is this on untappd?
Cheers!
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mavus
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Post by mavus on Dec 1, 2013 20:06:18 GMT -5
I'm about to post my full thoughts on my blog in an hour or two but I agree with Chris Creech for the most part. A solid beer to start off with. Nothing turned me off on this beer. The yeast character definitely controls it though. I love the banana esters and the breadiness works well here, but it seems pretty one dimensional. Like he said, also, I'd look at the grain bill and see if there are minor tweeks. I also agree about the larger yeast count, not sure if you made a starter or not. You said it is 6% or so but only about half way in I'm feeling good lol Is this on untappd? Cheers! Thanks for the comments, it is closer to 7% and was definitely meant to be yeast forward, I haven't put it on untappd yet, I will add it shortly under Dubious Brewing. I did make a yeast starter but smaller then called for, I was trying to stress the yeast. --Jesse
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Post by klinger on Dec 1, 2013 20:28:49 GMT -5
Hi Jesse,
I enjoyed your beer. It definitely had a sweet character, but I think a lot of that comes from the 1214 yeast. It produces a sweet character in beers I've brewed. I mean, heck, this did finish down to 1.010 which isn't bad for a 1.061 beer. I definitely got the banana, but a little pear character, too. Not much spice, though -- all fruity yeast character. As others said, it was a bit low in carbonation, but overall, this was a tasty beer. Thanks!
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mavus
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Posts: 17
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Post by mavus on Dec 1, 2013 20:31:11 GMT -5
Hi Jesse, I enjoyed your beer. It definitely had a sweet character, but I think a lot of that comes from the 1214 yeast. It produces a sweet character in beers I've brewed. I mean, heck, this did finish down to 1.010 which isn't bad for a 1.061 beer. I definitely got the banana, but a little pear character, too. Not much spice, though -- all fruity yeast character. As others said, it was a bit low in carbonation, but overall, this was a tasty beer. Thanks! Thanks, How did you get the spicy notes out of the yeast? Did you ferment at a higher temperature? --Jesse
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Post by klinger on Dec 1, 2013 20:41:33 GMT -5
When I've used it, I've always used big starters or repitched from a lower gravity batch (especially if it's a big beer). I usually ferment with it at around 68F. I don't ferment Belgians high, except for maybe saisons, but even then only if it seems to be stalling out (which the French Saison yeast doesn't seem to do). For weizens, the wisdom is higher temps = more banana, lower temps = more clove. Not sure how these translate to Belgian yeast. I'd be interested in knowing your pitch rate & fermentation temp. Hope that helps,
Mark
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Post by Christina on Dec 1, 2013 22:00:54 GMT -5
This was very yummy. I liked how strong the banana was. It was a bit under carbonated, but it definitely didn't ruin it for me thanks Christina
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