Belgian Golden Strong Ale

Today I brewed one of my favorite recipes, that I have been working on for over three years. The Belgian Golden Strong Ale is a style made famous by Duvel, Delirium Tremens, and Unibroue Eau Benite. I have been drawn to this beer style as it is very similar to a tripel, but tends to be lighter-bodied and drier and the focus is more on the malt flavor. For this particular Golden Strong Ale, I like to use just under 4% Victory Malt to give the beer a biscuit finish without overwhelming the flavor profile. Using pilsner malt is recommended to get the authentic european malt flavor, but I only use around 20% because I find a propane heat source cannot provide enough heat and evaporation to eliminate Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) which is prevalent in the pilsner malt. DMS, if not properly eliminated, can lead to cooked corn or buttered flavors to your end product beer.

I recommend a healthy yeast starter and leaving the beer in secondary at least two months for the flavor profile to develop. Cheers!

Belgian Golden Strong Ale (18 D)

Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 10.00 gal
Boil Size: 13.44 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
End of Boil Vol: 11.44 gal
Final Bottling Vol: 9.25 gal
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage

Date: 11 Jul 2014
Brewer: Karl D. Larson
Asst Brewer:
Equipment: Stainless Kegs (10 Gal/37.8 L) - All Grain
Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 79.6 %
Taste Rating: 30.0

Taste Notes:

Ingredients

Amt	Name	Type	#	%/IBU
2.00 tbsp	Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins)	Water Agent	1	-
17 lbs	Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)	Grain	2	63.0 %
5 lbs	Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)	Grain	3	18.5 %
3 lbs	Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)	Grain	4	11.1 %
1 lbs	Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)	Grain	5	3.7 %
2.00 oz	Perle [7.80 %] - First Wort 60.0 min	Hop	6	27.3 IBUs
1 lbs	Candi Sugar, Clear (0.5 SRM)	Sugar	7	3.7 %
1.00 oz	Hallertauer [4.10 %] - Boil 15.0 min	Hop	8	3.2 IBUs
1.00 tsp	Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins)	Fining	9	-
1.00 oz	Hallertauer [4.10 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 0.0 min	Hop	10	0.0 IBUs
2.0 pkg	Abbey Ale (White Labs #WLP530) [35.49 ml]	Yeast	11	-

Gravity, Alcohol Content and Color

Est Original Gravity: 1.072 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 7.9 %
Bitterness: 30.6 IBUs
Est Color: 5.8 SRM

Measured Original Gravity: 1.077 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 8.9 %
Calories: 260.2 kcal/12oz

Mash Profile

Mash Name: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Sparge Water: 7.33 gal
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE

Total Grain Weight: 27 lbs
Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Mash PH: 5.20

Mash Steps

Name	Description	Step Temperature	Step Time
Mash In	Add 40.92 qt of water at 161.8 F	150.0 F	75 min

Sparge: Fly sparge with 7.33 gal water at 168.0 F

Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).