Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Strong Ale
I want to put my new Maelstrom stir plate to the test so I want to make a big beer. What better big beer than a strong Belgian.
Ingredients
Malts
13 lbs Franco-Belges Pilsen Malt
1 lb Munich Malt
1.5 lb Caramunich Malt
Hops
4 oz Hallertau Middlefruh Hops (4.4% AA)
Yeast
1 package WLP545 Belgian Strong Ale Yeast
Other
1 lb Candi Sugar (90 SRM)
1 lb Table Sugar
7 oz Extra Light DME
1 tablet Whirlfloc
1/2 tsp Wyest Yeast Nutrient
Brewing Instructions
1. Heat 5 gallons of strike water to 161°F
2. Add 5 gallons of water to the mash tun
3. Add all grains to mash tun and confirm temperature of 148°F
4. Steep grains for 60 minutes
5. While steeping, heat 3.5 gallons of water to 170°F for lautering
6. Extract first runnings into boil kettle
7. Add 3.5 gallons water and wait 15 minutes
8. Extract second runnings into boil kettle
9. Total wort volume should be 6.5 gallons
10. Bring water to a boil and wait for the hot break
11. Begin boil
12. At 0 minutes add 15 drops FermCap to reduce foaming
13. At 0 minutes, add 1.5 oz Hallertau hops
14. At 45 minutes add 1 lb candi sugar
15. At 45 minutes add 1 lb table sugar
16. At 50 minutes, add 2.5 oz Hallertau hops
17. At 50 minutes, add one tablet Whirlfloc
18. At 50 minutes, add 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
19. At 60 minutes, chill the wort to approx. 65°F
20. Aerate with pure oxygen for 1 minute
21. Move to the primary fermenter
22. Pitch yeast from yeast starter
23. Ferment at 68°F
24. At 6 days, raise fermentation temperature to 72°F
25. At 10 days, lower the temperature to 69°F
26. At 13 days, cold crash to 35°F
27. At 15 days, keg beer
Yeast Starter
1. Boil 7 oz DME in 2 L of water for 10 minutes
2. Let cool to 68°F
3. Pitch 1 package WLP545
4. Start stir plate