2021 Batch 13 - Belgian Dark Strong

If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you're probably aware that I'm really fond of Belgian ales, especially the Belgian Dark Strong Ale. A few weeks back, I purchased a large container of Briess Sparkling Amber liquid malt extract (LME) at a discount. I wondered if this extract could be used to produce a reasonable Belgian Dark Strong Ale with a relatively short brew day. This batch is my attempt to prove or disprove that theory.

Ingredients

6 pounds of Breiss CBW Sparkling Amber LME
16 ounces Crystal 80L malt
2 ounces Special B malt
12 ounces Brun Fonce candi sugar
0.5 ounces Hallertau Magnum @ 11.6%AA (FWH)
1.0 ounces Hallertau Mittelfruh @ 3.8% AA (5 min.)
1.0 ounces Czech Saaz @ 3.8% AA (5 min.)
1/2 tsp. Brewtan B (boil)
3/4 tsp. Irish Moss
1/2 tsp. Yeast Nutrients
Dublin Ohio tap water

According to Brewfather, the beer will have the following qualities:

Batch Size: 3.0 gallons
Original Gravity: 1.095 SG estimated (1.095 SG actual)
Final Gravity: 1.024 SG estimated
IBUs: 31 estimated
ABV: 10.6% estimated
BU/GU Ratio: 0.32

Brew schedule:

Heat 2.5 gallons of water to 150F
Add Special B and Crystal 80L malt inside muslin bags
Hold temperature at 150F for 20-30 minutes, then remove the grain
Turn off heat and gradually stir in the LME to dissolve it completely
Turn heat back on and add Hallertau Magnum as first wort hops
When a boil is reached, begin a 60-minute countdown

Boil schedule:

60 minutes: No addition (note Hallertau Magnum was already added)
20 minutes: Add Brewtan B
15 minutes: Add Irish Moss and Yeast Nutrient
5 minutes: Add Saaz and Hallertau Mittelfruh hops in muslin bags

Fermentation plan:

Wyeast 1726 (Belgian Abbey II Ale Yeast) prefers a temperature in the 65-75F range.
My plan is to begin fermentation at 70F and allow the yeast to free-rise until approximately 65-70% of fermentation has completed. At that time, I'll increase the fermentation temp one degree per day until at the maximum temp of 75F. I'll hold it there until fermentation is complete.

Post-Brew Observations and Notes

08/22/2021: The brew day went off without a hitch. I ended up with the expected original gravity and fermenter volume, with just a bit higher temperature. I had to wait for the temperature to drop to approximately 70F before pitching the yeast. The packet of 1762 yeast needed time to swell up anyway.

08/25/2021: Unfortunately, the original package of 1762 yeast must have been dead, despite its November 2021 best-by date. I had to purchase and add another today. There are early indications that this new package is working, but it's too soon to tell yet. I may have to resort to a dry yeast. (Not that I have anything against dry yeasts, but for this recipe I really wanted 1762.)

08/29/2021: When I opened the fermenter earlier in the week to pitch dry yeast, I found mold growing on top of the wort. I was too busy at the time to deal with dumping the batch and cleaning the fermenter, so I left it alone, knowing I'd need to go back later and do that. In the meantime, it seems the 1762 yeast has come to life in side the beer, as the Tilt Hydrometer has been showing rapid drops in gravity consistent with yeast. I'm planning to dump the fermenter and beer today, the clean the fermenter well.

Yellow Label Angel Yeast vs. Typical Brewing Yeast

I currently have my second batch of rice wine fermenting with the "magical" yellow-label Angel Yeast from China, and wanted to share some of the more unusual aspects of using it. If you've never seen or used this yeast, I suspect you're not alone. It ships in a 500 gram package that looks like this: What makes it "yellow label" is that yellow box you see in the upper left corner of the package. This implies that it's yeast for distilling (though you do not need to have a still or distill the output to use it). As I understand it, inside the package is a mix of yeast and other materials which will convert starch into sugar and directly ferment it, without the need for a traditional mash step. This can radically shorten your brewing time. For my most-recent batch of rice wine, I heated 3 gallons of water to 155F, poured it over 13+ pounds of uncooked rice straight out of the bag, let that soak for an hour, rehydrated some of this yeast in warm water,

2021 Batch 1 - Rice Wine made with Yellow Label Angel Yeast

I've become a big fan of the Still It channel on YouTube. About a month ago, Jesse posted a video about how he made rice wine using nothing more than water, rice, and a purported "magic" yeast from China called Yellow Label Angel Yeast. Perhaps even more amazing was the fact that he was able to make the rice wine without gelatinizing or mashing the rice. He shows three batches in the video. One was made by cooking the rice before adding the yeast mixture. Another was made by adding uncooked rice to boiling water. The last was made by adding uncooked rice to room temperature water. All three fermented out to roughly the same amount of alcohol in about two weeks. He was amazed by this, as was I. I resolved to buy some of this magical yeast from Aliexpress.com and try it out. In the Still It video, the rice is ground up in the grain mill into smaller chunks to make it easier for the enzymes in the yellow label yeast to convert and ferment. I'm changing this up s

Making Alton Brown's Immersion Cooker Fennel Cardamon Cordial

Alton Brown's "Good Eats" series is my favorite cooking show. I love the way he explains the "why" and "how" of a recipe in detail, which helps you understand (if things don't go right) where you may have gone wrong. In his episode on immersion cooking (also known as sous vide), he shows you how to make a cordial in an hour using an immersion cooker. It took me a while to locate all the ingredients here in Columbus. I ended up getting the fennel and vodka at Giant Eagle. The cardamom seeds, pods, and anise stars came from Amazon. The Fennel fronds and bulb came from Trader Joe's at Easton. Ingredients 32 ounces of 80-proof vodka 2 cups of fennel fronds 10 green cardamom pods 3 ounces granulated sugar 1 tablespoon fennel seeds 1 teaspoon black cardamom seeds 1 whole star anise Begin by loading your sous vide vessel with hot water and set your immersion cooker to 140F. While the cooker is getting up to that temperature, meas

Begin Brewing!

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