Belgian or Abby yeast in a NE Brown Ale

[HopRunner]

I've brewed a variety of Nut-Brown ales and I really like the recipes. Some version of a Northern English or American Brown Ale it is my house brew. I normally use the London Ale yeast or the Dry English ale yeast.

I'm thinking about bumping up the British 2-row pale malt bill and other grains to give a final ABV of 8 or 9% and also upping the IBU's to something in the 40's.

All fine and good. I've brewed browns enough to know what to expect.... until I switch yeast... Now if I brew that with a Belgian or an Abby yeast will it be any good? I'm thinking about using the WLP500 Trappist Ale and brewing it @65F for "a less fruity and more earthy beer" or should I go upper 60's for full fruit.

Or maybe the Platinum strain WLP545 - Belgian Strong Ale if my local shop has it in stock.
"From the Ardennes region of Belgium, this classic yeast strain produces moderate levels of ester and spicy phenolic character. Typically results in a dry, but balanced finish. This yeast is well suited for Belgian dark strongs, Abbey Ales, and Christmas beers.
Attenuation: 78-85%"

I'm having a hard time imagining a fruity, hoppy brown ale. Brown ale with Plum... I dunno..

One of my goal for '09 is to break out of the box and make some wilder/weirder brews..... but like brewing radio, homebrew shouldn't suck! At least I don't want them to suck!

Moral support? Words of wisdom from my brewin' brothers and sisters? Should I post the recipe??

[Mills]

I say go for it! Post a recipe, my thought is that if you are shooting for something belgianish you should try to keep the recipe simple. 85% base, 10% sugar, and 5% biscuit, pale chocolate, victory, and then a trace of something darker (Carafa Special II) for color if needed to hit your desired color. I would mash 147-149 for 90 minutes, go with a big starter of the abby yeast and o2 well and ferment that bad boy at about 64 raising it to 72 by the last 1/4 of fermentation.

Beligan Brown

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

23-A Specialty Beer, Specialty Beer

Min OG: 1.010 Max OG: 1.200
Min IBU: 0 Max IBU: 100
Min Clr: 0 Max Clr: 90 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 6.00 Wort Size (Gal): 6.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 16.88
Anticipated OG: 1.076 Plato: 18.35
Anticipated SRM: 22.2
Anticipated IBU: 37.5
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 7.74 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.059 SG 14.43 Plato

Formulas Used
-------------

Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used.
Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points.
Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg
% Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis.

Color Formula Used: Morey
Hop IBU Formula Used: Rager

Additional Utilization Used For Plug Hops: 2 %
Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 10 %


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
85.9 14.50 lbs. Pilsener Belgium 1.037 2
5.9 1.00 lbs. Corn Sugar Generic 1.046 0
3.0 0.50 lbs. Aromatic Malt Belgium 1.036 25
3.0 0.50 lbs. Pale Chocolate America 1.034 200
1.1 0.19 lbs. Carafa Special II Germany 1.030 400
1.1 0.19 lbs. Chocolate Malt Belgium 1.030 500

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.25 oz. Saazer Pellet 4.30 35.2 60 min.
0.75 oz. Saazer Pellet 4.30 2.3 10 min.


Yeast
-----




Water Profile
-------------

Profile:
Profile known for:

Calcium(Ca): 0.0 ppm
Magnesium(Mg): 0.0 ppm
Sodium(Na): 0.0 ppm
Sulfate(SO4): 0.0 ppm
Chloride(Cl): 0.0 ppm
biCarbonate(HCO3): 0.0 ppm

pH: 0.00


Mash Schedule
-------------

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 15.88
Water Qts: 0.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 0.00 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 0.00 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 149 Time: 90
Mash-out Rest Temp : 0 Time: 0
Sparge Temp : 0 Time: 0


Total Mash Volume Gal: 0.00 - Dough-In Infusion Only

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.

[HopRunner]

Damn! I really need to get ProMash this year..... Thanks

From TastyBrew:
OG 1.088
FG 1.018
IBU 46
ABV 9.0 %
SRM 22

Boil Volume 7.75 gallons
Batch Size 6 gallons
Yeast 80% AA


84.2 % 16.00 British Two-row Pale
3.9 % 0.75 American Special Roast
2.6 % 0.50 American Victory
2.6 % 0.50 American Crystal 40L
2.6 % 0.50 British Pale Chocolate
1.3 % 0.25 American Chocolate
2.6 % 0.50 Belgian Biscuit

20.0 % 1.00 Simcoe Whole/Plug 13.0 @ 60
40.0 % 2.00 Goldings Whole/Plug 5.0 @ 15
20.0 % 1.00 Crystal Whole/Plug 4.6 @ 5
20.0 % 1.00 Crystal Whole/Plug 4.6 @ 0

Platinum strain WLP545

[HopRunner]

Anyone else?

[Bugeater]

I don't really have a suggestion for the yeast. I have had a number of really good Belgian Brown Ales and this is basically what you propose to do. I say go for it. I think you will like it regardless of which yeast you go for. My favorite yeast for most belgians is WLP530 which is what I would probably try for this since it is what I am familiar with.

Wayne

[HopRunner]

I don't really have a suggestion for the yeast. I have had a number of really good Belgian Brown Ales and this is basically what you propose to do. I say go for it. I think you will like it regardless of which yeast you go for. My favorite yeast for most belgians is WLP530 which is what I would probably try for this since it is what I am familiar with.

Wayne

Thanks again Bugeater, you always come through! I am going to brew this next weekend and I wanted to make sure none of the brown ale flavors were going to clash with the Belgian yeast flavors. This will be my first brew with a Belgian yeast strain.

I'm wanting to brew more "Artisan" beer this year. Last year I almost exclusively "brewed to style" which was great because I was able to work out the problems in my process. This year I want to switch things up.....

[HopRunner]

Well a cool thing happened. I went to my local brew pub Block 15 to talk to Nick Arzner the assistant brewer about this recipe. They always have a Belgian on tap and as Nick pointed out, this time they had a Brown Ale brewed with White Labs WLP530. I told him about The Brewing Network. He seemed interested but you can never tell. I would love to hear him interviewed on the Sunday Session.

Couple of things were cool. He took the time to tell me about their recipe, which was a stronger version of a Northern English Brown ale and not a traditional "Belgian Brown" recipe. So I got to taste something similar to what I was planning. I liked it enough to buy a bomber of it on the spot! The other discovery was that all the brews at Block 15 are brewed with White Labs yeast. The local HBS only carries White Labs and the dry yeasts so it is great that I can ask what yeast they use and then go buy it.

Last night I bottled my HopTrip (sort of) clone that I am calling Winter Crystal AAA, so I'm ready to brew again!

Oh, the other thing I found out was that the Platinum Strain that I listed is for 2009 Nov/Dec not 2008 Nov/Dec so I'll have to try that next winter. I think I'll use the WLP530.

[Chupa LaHomebrew]

I'm not a huge fan of that WLP 500. Way too much banana at any temperature I've used it at. I just used 530 for the first time and I really prefer that. Also, it could be interesting to try the Belgian mix, I think it's #575.