Mizzle Dubbel
Based loosely on Two Bits Abbey Dubble in Radical Brewing. A lot of odds and ends in this batch.
Recipe
Batch size: 5 gallons
Grain bill:
- 7 lb Marris Otter
- 1 lb Munich 10
- 1 lb Crystal 60
- 1 lb Pilsener
- 4 oz Pale Chocolate Malt
- 2 oz Carastan
Other:
- 1.65 lb Jaggery
Hops:
- 2 oz homegrown mix @ 60
Target gravity: 1.065
Yeast: Wyeast 1762 -- Belgian Abbey II
Prep
November 11, 2011: Mashed overnight with 7 gallons of water. Hit 60 C after some stirring.
Brew Day
November 12, 2011: Wow, I got a lot of beer out of this one: 6 gallons, 1.060. Originally I was going to only add 1 lb of jaggery, but the gravity was only 1.055 and I wanted to compensate. All that sugar made the wort taste a lot like iced tea.
The yeast was an Activator pack -- 100 billion cells. I didn't have anything to make a starter with, so I'll see how well it does.
Fermentation
About 1 cm of kreusen 24 hours after pitching. The temp is 16C, and it seems to be fairly steady -- something of a miracle given I don't have temperature control.
I'm going to try to keep it this low to see how the character of the yeast changes. I've used this yeast in the past and have been overwhelmed at times with the Belgian character. Also, I couldn't make a starter, which probably will stress the yeast given the gravity. That gives me a few reasons to keep the temperature lower than the 18-22 C that I think most people would ferment at.
The fermentation kicked off again about a week later after I moved the fermenter around; I'd been thinking of bottling, but turns out it was not done. I ended up leaving it for three weeks, though I think two might've been enough.
Bottling
December 4, 2011: Later than I intended, but given the constant here-we-go-again w/fermentation probably for the best.
FG 1010, which puts it at 7% ABV. Strong Belgian/Rochefort aroma, which OMG I'm digging. Tastes wonderful and sweet. I think I've finally found a good use for the 1762 yeast -- previous efforts, I think, did not really show it off very well. I am really looking forward to this, and may mail a bottle to some friends for a treat.
Probably close to 19 litres or so yield; I used 120g of dextrose to bottle because a) higher carb for Belgian and b) it was the last of the dextrose.
Tasting
December 10, 2011: Early, but couldn't resist. Not bad! It's definitely got the boozy-sweet aspects of the Rochefort 8 that I like. Not very carbed yet, but I guess that's to be expected. There's a bitterness in there that's a bit out of place; not sure where it came from, but given the dog's breakfast of hops I guess that's as likely as anything. Not bad at all.
January 2012: This has only got better. There's maybe a touch of bitterness in there I don't like -- not hop bitterness, but maybe the chocolate malt -- but other than that, it's great.