07.20
So the twitterverse lead me to a pretty cool experiment/competition called Iron Brewer. The basic idea is a cross between iron chef and top chef. There will be numerous rounds where each participant in the round has to use three required ingredients in their beer. The winner of each round going through to the final. So I was lucky enough to get in the first round along with fellow tweeps Nate Wilson, Joe Postma, Steve Ozga, Kevin Whalen and Chris Hillman.
The first round required ingredients included Rye, Belgian Dark Candy Sugar and Simcoe hops. What I love about this is the ability to bastardize standard beer styles and come up with something unique. Each of the participants have submitted a completely different beer, what else would you expect from a set of home brewers? Just head over to the Iron Brewer website to see all the rounds, recipes and brewers.
The required ingredients for this round just screamed belgian to me. I’m hoping the rye spiciness will bounce of the belgian yeast and saaz hops. I’ll admit I wasn’t too happy about using the simcoe hops in this beer, so I utilized a small bittering addition for about 100 mins, hoping to drive off some of the characteristic pine notes. Wow, does Wyeast Belgian Abbey yeast love sugar or what? This is about the most active fermentation I’ve ever had, even with the fermcap I had two minor blow offs. I initiated the fermentation in the low 60-65°F range, after approximately 1-1/2 Weeks I raised the temp to 72°F.
The beer has been in the keg for about a week and a half right now and I plan on bottling tomorrow or Thursday. The following Friday we will be having a conference call on skype to discuss and taste each others beers and select a winner for round 1. I can’t wait to sample all these great beers.
….finally here’s the recipe and the brew day photo gallery.
Barney Rubble
18-B Belgian Dubbel
Author: Lee Birkett
Date: 6/13/10
Size: 6.0 gal
Efficiency: 86.0%
Attenuation: 90.0%
Calories: 262.43 kcal per 12.0 fl oz
Original Gravity: 1.080 (1.062 – 1.075)
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Terminal Gravity: 1.008 (1.008 – 1.018)
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Color: 28.7 (10.0 – 17.0)
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Alcohol: 9.53% (6.0% – 7.6%)
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Bitterness: 24.8 (15.0 – 25.0)
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Ingredients:
4.07 kg Belgian Pils
702.0 g Belgian Caravienne
280.0 g Belgian Special B
351.0 g Rye Malt
210.0 g Red Wheat Malt
280.0 g Aromatic Malt
70.0 g Caramel Malt 80L
676.0 g Candi Sugar Dark
337.0 g Piloncillo
14.0 g Simcoe (12.2%) – added during boil, boiled 100.0 min
6.0 g Saaz (6.8%) – added during boil, boiled 30.0 min
1.0 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) – added during boil, boiled 20.0 min
1.0 tsp Wyeast Nutrient – added during boil, boiled 15.0 min
1.0 ea WYeast 1214 Belgian Abbey
Schedule:
Ambient Air: 80.0 °F
Source Water: 60.0 °F
Elevation: 880 ft
00:03:00 Mash In – Liquor: 5.0 gal; Strike: 156.72 °F; Target: 147.0 °F
01:33:00 Sachharification Rest – Rest: 90.0 min; Final: 147.0 °F
01:43:00 Mash Out – Heat: 10.0 min; Target: 168.0 °F
02:28:00 Fly Sparge – Sparge Volume: 4.51 gal; Sparge Temperature: 168.0 °F; Runoff: 8.02 gal
Notes
1) 2L Starter
2) Better than expected efficiency. Clocked in at 86%, this beer is now skirting the Belgian Dark Strong teritory.
Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.11
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- 2L Starter Ingredients
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- Preparing the Starter
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- Starter on stir plate
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- Belgian Dark Candy Sugar
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- Piloncillo
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- Boil Kettle w/Blichmann Hop Blocker attached
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- Heating Strike Water
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- Mash Paddle
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- Recirculating
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- In the PH Sweet Spot
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- Collecting runnings
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- Sparge
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- Sparge
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- Hop Blocker
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- and the rain begins
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- Transfer into Primary
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- Shirron Plate Chiller
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- Shirron Plate Chiller
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- About to Aerate
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- Hop Blocker in Action
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- Primary Fermentation
