Not Quite Westvleteren 12 Brew Session

Brew Session Info

Brew Date 11/27/2019

Notes (Include any important notes from brew day until tasting)

I completely missed the mark on the OG. It was likely due to far too much grain in the paint strainer bag as the grain was very tight in there. I only have one of these bags left and then I am done screwing around with BIAB. I will go back to 2 vessel brewing and use the mash screen. This is a bummer as I really enjoy the time savings that I get from BIAB but missing OG so far is just a shame. I will also focus on better pH control during the mash as I have just been winging it lately with Bru'n water assumptions, which I will stop doing and utilize probe values to confirm proper acidity. 12/12 - I added 1oz of rum barrel chips to the fermenter and will let this soak for about a week. 12/20 - I removed the rum barrel chips and will bottle in a couple days after my night shifts are over. 12/30 - bottling today. Finished 1.0002 so that is impressive; final ABV is 9.58%. Perfect barrel flavor here, present but not overwhelming. It has a dubbel/quad flavor so I'm happy.

Water Infusion

Brew Session Specific

Grain Weight

9.3 lb kg

Grain Temp

°FC

Target Mash Temp

°FC

Mash Thickness

qt/lbl/kg

Total Boil Time

90 min.

Wort Into Fermenter

3 gals liters

Equipment Profile

Grain Absorption

0.15 gals/lb liters/kg

Sparge Grain Absorption

0.01 gals/lb liters/kg

HLT-MT Heat Loss

0 °FC

Mash Tun Loss

0.25 gals liters

Brew Kettle Trub Loss

0.5 gals liters

Boil Loss

1 gals/hour liters/hour

Wort Shrinkage

0.2 gals liters

Calculated Totals

Total Water Needed

6.69 gals liters

Mash Tun Capacity

0.74 gals liters

Mash/Strike Volume

0.25 gals liters

HLT Temperature

0.00 °FC

Strike Temperature

0.00 °FC

1st Runnings

-1.15 gals liters

Sparge Volume

6.44 gals liters

Total Runoff

5.20 gals liters

Mash / Boil

Mash

Mash PH

Mash Start Temp

°FC

Mash End Temp

°FC

Mash Time

60 minutes

Boil

Pre-Boil Gravity

1.055 (estimated)

Boil Volume

gallons liters 5.20 (gallonsliters estimated)

Boil Time

minutes minutes (90 minutes estimated)

Post-Boil Volume

gals liters

Gravity Estimates

Based on boiling 5.20 gallonsliters at 1.055 for 90 minutes, this will decrease your wort by 1.50 gallonsliters, bringing your after boil OG to 1.071.

You wanted an OG of 1.077. It looks like it will be under.

Fermentation

Volume in Fermenter

3.6 gallons liters 3.50 (gallonsliters estimated)

Original Gravity

1.073 (1.077 predicted)

Final Gravity

1.000 (1.008 predicted)

Conditioning

Condition Date

12/30/2019

Bottle/Keg

Priming Sugar Type

sugar drops

Priming Sugar Amount

oz g

Tasting Notes (1)

Tasted on 2/11/2020 by CheeseNips

Notes:

Pours mahogany in color with 1 finger of off-white head. Aroma is dates, brown sugar, yeast phenolic, and bit of boozy wood. Flavor is a blend equal parts yeast phenolic and barrel booze, ending with a barrel booze breath. Body is thin to medium and nucleation a bit sharp. Overall, I really like this as it isn't over the top on the barrel flavor. Balanced would be the word I would use. The base didn't live up to the quad I was hoping for, not enough malt dense flavor. 4 stars.

Recipe Facts

Not Quite Westvleteren 12

Belgian Dubbel

3.50 Gallons Liters Batch Size
4.50 Gallons Liters Boil Size
90 min Boil Time
1.077 OG
1.008 FG
33.8 IBU (tinseth) Bitterness
0.44 BG:GU
20.5° SRM Color
60% Efficiency
8.9% ABV Alcohol
258 per 12oz Calories

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