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Ok im gonna do this!I'm a firm believer in at least 6 months at room temperature.
Ok im gonna do this!I'm a firm believer in at least 6 months at room temperature.
An update to my last reply....
Not long after I posted, the fermentation really started to get going. After 6 days, the gravity went from 1.088 to 1.018. Unfortunately, my basement is a little cool and the temp is down to 69 from a peak of 77 on Tuesday. Would it help any if I racked to a secondary tomorrow and then place in a warmer location for a few more days?
I brewed a 5 gallons batch on March 17, 2019, bottled May 27, 2019, then put the cases in the basement, and forgot about them until Thanksgiving 2020. So that's about 1.5 years of bottle aging.
I cooled down a bottle the day before and poured it on Thanksgiving. OMG, it was really enjoyable. Light carbonation. Flavors of burnt sugar, dark fruit, some chocolate & coffee. The alcohol is blended into the other flavors - it's there but not dominant. I am really happy the finish is dry and not cloying, which made me want to keep sipping this big beer.
I need to pull out a few more bottles to be ready for the rest of the holiday season.
Getting the bug again but will bottle about half (2.5gal) this time to age so your experience is encouraging. Copied the exact hop profile (which gives IBU 29 on BeerSmith) from post 1 but changing the candi syrup to 1-D90 and 1-D180 in attempt to match the color better.
My last batch (about 4 gallons) I used 1 lb. D180, 1 lb. D90, and at least at the moment, prefer the flavor profile to the original recipe. I bottled one gallon, kegged the rest and may end up wishing I'd bottled more. I'm giving the keg 7 weeks of aging at room temperature, the bottles (except for the two I've already drunk) I hope to set aside for at least a few months, if not longer.
Do you have any trouble getting 5 gallons in and out of it? I thought about going that route but recently got a Fermzilla and wasn't sure about getting it in and out of a chest freezer.
Yeah, I was thinking along those lines. I cold crash everything to clean it up. Makes sense to simply keg and store at room temp then to add/mix yeast back in to bottle condition. Beer gunning is a possibility once carbed but again, trying to make life easy here. Gives an excuse to buy yet another keg! Did the color come out more equivalent to the authentic Westy12? If you haven't had it, I have a pic a few posts up, #1394.
Guess I missed this. Well true that! I've actually had to start working out again to carry around 40lbs of wort or kegged beer all over the place! ha!
I have a Fermzilla and it is a PIA. Went back to buckets. Fermzilla tube would get clogged. Attempting to dump the yeast/trub was a mess. Pressure transfers used 1/2 my CO2 tank. I made a collar out of 12in board to get the thing to fully fit in the chest freezer also.
How did it go?I'm just starting the process to start brewing this. My brew day is planned for Halloween. Tonight I started the stage 1 of 2 starter. When I purchased the Wyeast 3787, I got 2 right away. I will use one for starter, but the other I want to use for bottling later on. What is the best recommended process and amount? I will be brewing a 10 gallon batch, so could I pitch the whole packet or will I need to split it or even make a starter for it?
Also, I saw a few talking about the boiling of the first runnings. Some say it's not worth the extra work, others have said they think it could have added some flavors. I will be using D-180. Might that be enough? I was thinking at this point that it could be interesting to try out. Any more opinions on this?
I will keep updating as to how it brews and ultimately turns out.
Getting the bug again but will bottle about half (2.5gal) this time to age so your experience is encouraging. Copied the exact hop profile (which gives IBU 29 on BeerSmith) from post 1 but changing the candi syrup to 1-D90 and 1-D180 in attempt to match the color better. BS says it's about 24 currently. In addition, as other suggested will bump up the fermentation temperature in attempt to get those fruity esters I tasted in the original. I always brew a Dubbel first to build yeast cake so won't be till January some time. But @Yeroc , love to see a pic if you don't mind!
Edit:
After reading @jturman35 comments...maybe just bottle and age all of it. Waiting is not my thing tho!
Edit2:
I'm also adding 8oz Melanoidin which supposedly gives the final product that decoction mash character.
I've had problems sometimes getting Brewer's Gold Hops. What's a substitute that people have used for bettering, and has come out great?
I've had problems sometimes getting Brewer's Gold Hops. What's a substitute that people have used for bettering, and has come out great?
Somehow, I am always intrigued by threads from OPs whose description is “Banned”.
I've had problems sometimes getting Brewer's Gold Hops. What's a substitute that people have used for bettering, and has come out great?
Me too. I would like to follow the thread that resulted in that tag.I would like to hear the story behind that.
This is the last batch I made. Came out great. Hops aren't the thing the drives this beer anyway, imho. (Yeast is WY3787)
Thanks for sharing! What flavor differences do you notice between all D-180 and the combination of D-180 and D-45?
No noticeable flavor difference?
No noticeable flavor difference?
Somehow, I am always intrigued by threads from OPs whose description is “Banned”.
I would like to hear the story behind that.
I don't know for sure but I would venture a guess CSI's account was banned for advertising their product in posts but not paying as an advertiser.
Lately I've been substituting either D-90 or D-45 for half the syrup and there's quite a bit of flavor difference. Right now I prefer using 50% D-180 and 50% D-45 for the candi syrup addition. That's totally personal preference and subject to change.
I tasted mine after bottle conditioning a couple weeks. Early, I know, but my initial reaction is that it tastes a lot like the candisyrup.com Rochefort 8 recipe I made which is based on 2 lb. of D-180. To me it seems much more on the pruney and raisiny flavor spectrum than the actual Westvleteren 12, which I remember as having some more caramel-like flavors.
I'm sure it will change, but even at 1 year, my Rochefort 8 was still very heavy on that flavor. Is it less-so with the D-180/D-45 split?On average, it's about the two month mark where I notice a significant mellowing of raisiny or syrupy flawors. I get more caramel when I do the boil down step (boiling down a portion of the wort into maltose syrup) but the difference is subtle, and I go back and forth as to whether it's worth it.
I'm sure it will change, but even at 1 year, my Rochefort 8 was still very heavy on that flavor. Is it less-so with the D-180/D-45 split?
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