Saturday, 15 February 2014

Belgian Dubbel

Think of a dubbel as a Belgian dark strong ale's laid back little brother. There's still a rich malt character complemented by the yeast's fruit and spice—and not an insignificant amount of alcohol—it's all just a little less intense in a dubbel. The beer style originated in monasteries in the Middle Ages, though the style reemerged as something close to a beer we'd recognize around 150 years ago.
A dubbel is a fantastic entry point for those not familiar with Belgian beer and an even better partner for food. The beer's characteristic aromas of plums, raisins, caramel, and warm bread are inviting; the brew is chewy and medium bodied, and it finishes dry and warming. It's a malt parade with a restrained bitterness keeping the whole thing in check.

Brewing your own dubbel is a good exercise in piecing together different specialty grains to create a complex yet coherent malt profile. Let's break down the beer's different elements.

The recipe is modified slightly for brewing at home.

Original Gravity: 1.071
Final Gravity: 1.013
ABV: 7.6%
Bitterness: 25 IBUs
Color: 21 SRM (ruby brown)

YIELD: makes about 6 gallons (5 gallons in the carboy)

ACTIVE TIME: 5 hours

TOTAL TIME: 2 to 3 months

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: 10 gallon mash tun, 8 gallon kettle, basic equipment, oxygenation stone (optional)

Ingredients:
7 pounds Belgian Pilsner malt
3 pounds light Munich malt
8 ounces pale wheat malt
8 ounces Caramunich
8 ounces aromatic malt
4 ounces special B malt
4 ounces chocolate malt
1/2 ounce Magnum hops, 15% AA (first wort hop)
1 pound Dark Candi Inc. D Belgian candi syrup (60 minutes)
1 tablet Whirlfloc (15 minutes)
1/2 teaspoon Wyeast yeast nutrient blend (10 minutes)
Wyeast 3787 Trappist High Gravity yeast

Procedures:
1) Heat 15 quarts tap water to 160°F and add to mash tun.
2) Mash-in slowly, adding all grains to the mash tun while stirring to prevent clumping. The mash temperature should equalize to 149°F.
3) In a separate container, heat 9 3/4 quarts tap water to 202°F.
4) Mash out by adding 9 3/4 quarts of 202°F tap water to mash tun, while stirring, after allowing the mash to rest for 60 minutes. Temperature should equalize to approximately 168°F.
5) Leave at mash out temperature for 15 minutes. In a separate container, heat 2 1/2 gallons tap water to 172°F.
6) Slowly drain off wort and add back to mash tun, recirculating until the wort runs clear and free of grain particles.
7) Drain mash tun to boil kettle, sparging with 2 1/2 gallons of 172°F tap water. Add hops.
8) After all mash runnings are collected, add sugars and record preboil gravity. Bring wort to boil.
9) Allow wort to boil 60 minutes, adding Whirlfloc and yeast nutrients as noted above. (If your brewing system doesn’t produce a vigorous boil, consider extending the boil to 75 or 90 minutes and adding the hops at 60 minutes.)
10) Chill wort and transfer to a sanitized carboy or bucket with an airlock. Aerate by shaking or oxygenate with an oxygenation stone.
11) Pitch yeast and allow to ferment at 64°F to 66°F for 2 to 3 days, then allow fermentation temperature to free rise.
12) Rack beer to second sanitized carboy or bucket and allow to condition, tasting periodically to check on flavor development.
13) Bottle or keg at 2.5 to 3 volumes. (Keg if you like, but this will really shine when bottle conditioned.)

Source: http://drinks.seriouseats.com/

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