Belgian Dubbel....Need Some Help

Northern Brewer General
1

I made the NB Belgian Dubbel kit this spring and it’s between ok and good but ceratinly not great. Recipie below:

6.30 lb Northern Brewer - Gold (6.5 SRM) Extract 71.59 %
1.00 lb Briess DME- Pilsen (4.0 SRM) Extract 11.36 %
0.25 lb CaraMunich Malt (75.0 SRM) Grain 2.84 %
0.25 lb Special B Malt (120.0 SRM) Grain 2.84 %
1.00 oz Spalter Spalt [4.75 %] (60 min) Hops 16.2 IBU
1.00 oz Czech Saaz [3.50 %] (1 min) Hops 0.5 IBU
1.00 lb Belgian Soft Candi Sugar - Brown (60.0 SRM) Sugar 11.36 %
1 Pkgs Belgian Ale (Wyeast Labs #1214)

I think I had read that Candi as opposed to the syrup would help make a better beer, also I think I may need more carbonation. According to a few place I looked the style should be in the low 2’s…I am at about 2.2 now, should I increase the carbonation? Any other suggestions as to how to make the beer a bit more full?

Mike

2

I think you would have been better off to use dark candi syrup. IMO, it’s the main flavor of a dubbel. Belgian beers are usually highly carbonated, up into the 3+ volumes range.

3

Thank you Denny…I will try and increase the carbonation (it’s kegged) and see if that help a bit. I agree that any belgian I have drank seems to be highly carbonated but it seems as though every chart I looked at said the typical range for a Dubbel is 1.9 - 2.4

4

Denny is right. Syrup is the thing that really nails the dubbel flavor. Nothing like it.
I carb my belgians to 3 or a little above.

5

Interesting. I’ve carb’d mine much lower than 3 from using the calculator at tastybrew.com. It lists the belgians at 1.9-2.5 :shock: and reference BJCP as souce. I like the idea of higher carb level.

http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

what’s up with that?

:cheers:

6

[quote=“StormyBrew”]Interesting. I’ve carb’d mine much lower than 3 from using the calculator at tastybrew.com. It lists the belgians at 1.9-2.5 :shock: and reference BJCP as souce. I like the idea of higher carb level.

http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

what’s up with that?

:cheers: [/quote]

I know Rob, the guy who wrote and owns TB, quite well. When he did the calculators there he didn’t really know a lot. That’s changed in the years since and the new version of TB (opening after the first of the year) will correct a lot of issues.

7

I’m going to brew the AG version of NB’s recipe via the BIAB method in a couple of weeks. I’ve been thinking about ditching the rock candy sugar and going with a syrup. Which candi syrup would work best for this recipe? A single, 1 pound pack of the D-90 in lieu of the rock sugar?

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brew ... -1-lb.html
8

You really need 1.5lb to get the same fermentables since the syrups are 32ppg vs 45 for the sugar. On the other hand a pound of syrup is going to carry a whole lot more flavor than a pound of dark sugar. So maybe a pound of syrup and a half pound of plain table sugar.

D90 or D180 would be the best choices.

9

thanks, Tom.

Denny, you still around? What’s an appropriate substitution; D90 or D180? How much?

10

What temp did you ferment at?

11

[quote=“biggestmuff”]thanks, Tom.

Denny, you still around? What’s an appropriate substitution; D90 or D180? How much?[/quote]

yea, and what amout of syrup is best for flavor? is it a 1:1 swap syrup for rock candi ?

12

I’m going to brew the AG version of NB’s recipe via the BIAB method in a couple of weeks. I’ve been thinking about ditching the rock candy sugar and going with a syrup. Which candi syrup would work best for this recipe? A single, 1 pound pack of the D-90 in lieu of the rock sugar?

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brew ... -1-lb.html[/quote]

I’d recommend the D-180. it has the right flavor and color.

13

I’m going to brew the AG version of NB’s recipe via the BIAB method in a couple of weeks. I’ve been thinking about ditching the rock candy sugar and going with a syrup. Which candi syrup would work best for this recipe? A single, 1 pound pack of the D-90 in lieu of the rock sugar?

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brew ... -1-lb.html[/quote]

I’d recommend the D-180. it has the right flavor and color.[/quote]

Thanks, Denny. Just one pack of the D-180?

14

Yeah, that should be enough for color and flavor. You may need to add some sugar to hit your gravity and total sugar %.

15

I like a blend of D90 and D180. I even like the caramel from D45 although its subtle in a dubbel.

I’d also caution about using too much of a good thing. When I use Special B and lots of syrup I get a slightly metallic/bitter flavor that seems to come from an overabundance of dark flavors.

16

I found that if I don’t use a bit of Special B I can’t get the right body or flavor. But I never go over 1/4 lb.

17

[quote=“Denny”]I found that if I don’t use a bit of Special B I can’t get the right body or flavor.[/quote]+1 Last Dubbel had no Special B, just D180, and it was good but not exactly right.