I’ve been dying to replicate the Brother Thelonious since I normally don’t enjoy belgians (with the exceptions of the aforementioned and Chimay), but had little luck with formulating a recipe. One promising lead has been that it’s been referenced as a Belgian Dark Strong Ale (BJCP) but went easy on the special B malt. Anyone have any recommendations or references that could contribute?
Also, I’m an extract brewer. The more research I do the more concern I’m developing over whether or not I should brew a Belgian style–even with a partial mash. People are routinely emphasizing that I won’t get the right flavors unless I’m using “continental” or regionally appropriate malts. Anyone have any Belgian extract success stories?
did you check on Hopville? They usually have a ton of crowd-sourced recipes, though aren’t typically rated in any useful way. I will try to remember to post Jamil’s recipe in BCS when I get home.
With steeping grains and Pils extract you should be able to make something close. If you can steep, you can mini-mash, and you could them duplicate any given recipe.
did you check on Hopville? They usually have a ton of crowd-sourced recipes, though aren’t typically rated in any useful way. I will try to remember to post Jamil’s recipe in BCS when I get home.[/quote]
Like you said there isn’t any useful rating system. The last time I used a recipe from hopville that looked good it turned out awful. I tried to blame myself, but in the end I had to admit that I can’t simply trust any randomly posted recipe unless an advanced brewing guru will vouch for it.
BTW what research is indicating that you can’t brew Belgian style beers with extract? Most of those beers are more yeast-forward, and many (including the Trappist beers) are very simple grain bills, simple sugar, and proper pitches of yeast fermented @ the right temp. I have never brewed a belgian style with extract, but can’t from my knowledge see why you couldn’t brew an award-winning beer in the belgian tradition with extract.
OG 1.103
FG 1.024
10.6% abv
Steep:
1lb Aromatic 20L
1lb Caramunich 60L
1lb Special B 120L
.5lb Melanoidin 28L
11.5lbs Pilsner LME
2.0lbs Munich LME
.5 Lbs LME
2.4 oz Hallertauer @ 60min
1lb cane sugar added @ flameout
(a $#@!load of) WLP 540
Start fermentation @ 68, then raise to 72 1-2 degrees per day
This made final round of the NHC
Thanks Pietro. This !*#$%load of 540 could be achieved through a 1L starter I’m guessing… ? And the .5 lbs. of LME I’m guessing it’s fine to just use golden?
I think you are ok on the golden lme, but check on yeastcalc or mrmalty for the proper pitch. I’m guessing you need closer to a gallon starter. Step-up is probably your best bet.
I think you are ok on the golden lme, but check on yeastcalc or mrmalty for the proper pitch. I’m guessing you need closer to a gallon starter. Step-up is probably your best bet.[/quote]
Will do. Thanks.
man now I want to brew one of these and age it till next winter!
Oh Goddamnit! I didn’t even consider the aging process. Now I’ll have two buckets (and eventually two carboys) tied up for nearly a year!
… looks like an excuse to hit up the LHBS 
The wife is going to be thrilled.
Oh Goddamnit! I didn’t even consider the aging process. Now I’ll have two buckets (and eventually two carboys) tied up for nearly a year!
… looks like an excuse to hit up the LHBS The wife is going to be thrilled.
Oh Goddamnit! I didn’t even consider the aging process. Now I’ll have two buckets (and eventually two carboys) tied up for nearly a year!
… looks like an excuse to hit up the LHBS The wife is going to be thrilled.[/quote]
u can definitely bottle age it if space is a concern. Loooooong primary though. 4-6 weeks. That beer looks like a raging beast.
Primary should not take more than a month. You definitely do not want to leave it in a plastic bucket for a year. Bottle it, and store it in a cool place after it carbonates. It is also more likely to oxidize if you cannot store it cold. I did not like my last BSD so I just kept it in a closet. I stored a few bottles in the fridge. After a year the bottles in the fridge were great and the bottles in the closet were oxidized.
Primary should not take more than a month. You definitely do not want to leave it in a plastic bucket for a year. Bottle it, and store it in a cool place after it carbonates. It is also more likely to oxidize if you cannot store it cold. I did not like my last BSD so I just kept it in a closet. I stored a few bottles in the fridge. After a year the bottles in the fridge were great and the bottles in the closet were oxidized.
O2-absorbing. caps. IME worth the extra few pennies.
I just tried a side by side of my tripel brewed in November 2011 and you could definitely tell the difference. Stored @ cellar temps. Agreed on not leaving it on the yeast for a year, but err on the side of letting the yeast do their work and giving them time.
I have the caps already on standby for any big beers. Thanks for all the input guys. I’m probably putting this one on the back-burner until I sample a few more belgian dark strongs (the gf and I tried another one, and are now shopping around trying to find more to see if there’s another flavor profile we want to go for). Nothing against Thelonious, but I remembered it being fuller bodied and not so boozy to the taste.
