AG#16 - Chimay Reddish

[Gricey]

So I have been a long time out of the saddle (not brewed since November!) and I have a list of stuff I need to be getting on with. First up is a clone of Chimay Red which I've taken from here and elsewhere, UKified the quantities but it's the same beer. Maybe one day I will even finish my proper brewery

AG#16 Chimay Reddish

Batch Size: 22L (omg lots of little bottles to find!)

Fermentables:
5.0kg Maris Otter Pale (71.4%)
0.5kg Munich Malt (7.1%)
0.5kg Dark Candi Sugar (7.1%)
0.25kg UK Medium Crystal (3.6%)
0.25kg Belgian Biscuit Malt (3.6%)
0.25kg UK Wheat Malt (3.6%)
0.25kg Belgian Special B (3.6%)

Hops:
33g German Spalt Select (4.5%, 13.5IBU) - 60m
16g German Spalt Select (4.5%, 4.0IBU) - 20m

Stuff:
Protafloc, 1 level tsp - 15m
Servomyces - 1 capsule - 10m

Yeast:
WLP500 Trappist Ale Yeast - 2L starter, stir plate

Water Profile: General Purpose (from GW's calculator)

60m single infusion mash @ 66C with mashout

Ferment at 20C

Pictures to follow, I've mashed in and am making the candi sugar now...

[WishboneBrewery]

How long did you have to cook your candi sugar?

[mattybabsy]

am very interested to see how this works out!

good luck

[Gricey]

How long did you have to cook your candi sugar?

LOL - I just checked the timestamps on my photos ... five hours!! Oh my god, the gas bill... (though it was on low...)

[Gricey]

So... events:

I don't know what went wrong, I just plugged numbers into the same calcs I always do, but I ended up with 20L of runoff from the first batch. So I had to boil off about 5L of liquid, and that took aaaaages. I did take the time to make the candi sugar really dark though, which was cool.

Candi sugar, yeah that. I burnt the crap out of my hand. I have a sugar thermometer that clips onto the side of the pan. Anyway, while tipping, it came loose (it doesn't normally. Went to grab it, missed, it fell into the pan. Picked it up, doh, sugar splashed onto my hands, this stuff is over 130 degrees celsius, now I have 4 big ass blisters on my right hand. Damn. This better be good beer!

Missed my OG by about 5 points (hit 1.070). Not too bad considering the SNAFU with the boil. The ferment was bubbling away 12 hours after I pitched though, so must have done something right.

Pictures!


Hops and Water treatment by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Grainses by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

I always forget to do this by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Grain Shot by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Mashin Of The Beast by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Candi sugar by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Candi sugar by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Deathtrap recirc (tm) by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

First runnings by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Candi sugar by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Too much wort. Boil time by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Candi sugar by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Brewers break by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Second runnings by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Clear after recirc by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

60m hops by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Candi sugar of doom by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Few rocks short by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

More brewers break by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

20m hops by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Brewers break again... oh dear by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

OG time by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

1.070 by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

Trub in yer face by The Grice is Right, on Flickr

[WishboneBrewery]

Glad you kept well lubricated to help the flow of the brewday

[Scotty]

Looks like a good brewday. I'm still waiting on pictures of your hand though!

[crookedeyeboy]

Where did you get the sugar thermometer? Mine was rubbish and lasted one batch of Candi before the glass broke off the bottom.

[Gricey]

Where did you get the sugar thermometer? Mine was rubbish and lasted one batch of Candi before the glass broke off the bottom.

It's a kitchencraft one, I got it off amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Craft-C ... B0001IX0DA

So far I've made 3 lots of candi with it and 2 batches of bonfire toffee, so it's pretty sturdy.

Looks like a good brewday. I'm still waiting on pictures of your hand though!

Looks loads better today, i have been at the savlon like a boss:


I've another on the back of my middle finger, some inexplicable cut on my other middle finger and another blister on the thumb of that hand but those are the two worst ones. Ah well, you live and learn, it'll be worth it!

Glad you kept well lubricated to help the flow of the brewday

Always! I waited a looong time, but by that point it was a foregone conclusion...

[crookedeyeboy]

Ive been growing some WLP500 this week, I think im going to give this recipe a go, ill post it later on with the tweaks ill make to the recipe. Wish me luck!!

[monkeyboy]

Looks interesting. Brewing my first attempt a Belgian Pale Ale currently, so am very interested in all the Belgian recipes popping up at the moment. I'm using WLP530 so I'd be interested in how you got on with WLP500. And yes, *lots* of little bottles

[crookedeyeboy]

Right heres what I intend:

Soft water profile

0ml of Lactic Acid 80%
9g Calcium Chloride Flake
9g Calcium Sulphate

Home Made Candi Sugar Amber - 1 kg
Pale Malt - 7 kg
Munich Malt - 500g
Crystal Malt (medium) - 250g
Biscuit Malt - 250g
Wheat Malt - 250g
Special B - 250g

Saaz 2.8% 50g 90 mins
Saaz 2.8% 50g 0 mins 80°C Steep

WLP 500 Trappist Ale yeast

ABV 10.9%
Bitterness - 11.1 BU's
Colour 44.3 EBC

Lets see what happens!!!

[DeadFall]

Where did you get the sugar thermometer? Mine was rubbish and lasted one batch of Candi before the glass broke off the bottom.

I've got the same one, the thermometer itself lasted ages, but it only took a few uses for the scale to rub off enough to make it useless.

[Gricey]

Right heres what I intend:

Soft water profile

0ml of Lactic Acid 80%
9g Calcium Chloride Flake
9g Calcium Sulphate

Home Made Candi Sugar Amber - 1 kg
Pale Malt - 7 kg
Munich Malt - 500g
Crystal Malt (medium) - 250g
Biscuit Malt - 250g
Wheat Malt - 250g
Special B - 250g

Saaz 2.8% 50g 90 mins
Saaz 2.8% 50g 0 mins 80°C Steep

WLP 500 Trappist Ale yeast

ABV 10.9%
Bitterness - 11.1 BU's
Colour 44.3 EBC

Lets see what happens!!!

We should have a swap at some point I bottled mine on the 5th of June so maybe I'll have a poke at it later

[Gricey]

Hmm. Opened one and it was some kind of gushing avalanche. In the interests of insanity, I opened another and it was fine, if not slightly undercarbed. So maybe that was a one-off. I'll be opening future ones outside!

Taste is spot on though