Beer: Legally Blonde
Brewing Date: 02/05/2014Brewing Breakdown
So the reason I brewed this beer was I wanted to try a Belgian Style, and had picked up some Clear Belgian Candi Sugar so thought lets give a Blonde style a crack. The name was coined by my roommate, who knows I am studying law and thought it would be fitting.
Brewday Specifics
Anticipated OG - 1.066
Actual OG - 1.060
Anticipated FG - 1.015
Actual FG - 1.013
Chilled
Mash (90 Minutes - Stepped Mash: 45°C for 15 min, 60°C for 15 min, 66°C for 30 min, 76°C for 10 min)
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Variety
|
Grist %
|
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German Pilsner
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78%
|
|
Light Crystal
|
5%
|
|
Carapils
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2%
|
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Candi Sugar Clear (Last 10 min of boil)
|
16%
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Boil (90 Minutes)
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Variety
|
Time
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IBU
|
|
Hallertau
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60 min
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20
|
|
Saaz
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5 min
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3
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Yeast
Wyeast - Belgian Strong Ale 1388
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Dark golden hue, when held against the light it is extremely cloudy.
Aroma: Up front smell of pineapple, ending with a funkiness of the yeast.
Taste: Firstly comes an almost fruit bowl like taste, with a hint of hot alcohol (which has mellowed as time has moved on), moving to a strong belgian funk at the end.
Carbonation: On the high end of the scale, the head lasts forever on this beer.
Conclusion: That is the last time I ferment in a carbouy I previously fermented a batch of cider in. I think that is why there is a slight fruitiness to the beer. However, that said, the hot alcohol taste has mellowed over time and it is quite an acceptable beer. At 6.17% it is quite a heavy hitter, and my partner loves it, despite not usually liking Belgian beers. I am quite fond of it at the moment.
Improvements for next time: Next time I would like to use a carbouy without anything but beer in it beforehand, and see how much fruity funk is actually coming from the Belgian Strong Ale Yeast. Further idea's is to actually make my own Belgian Candi Syrup, or even make a Candi Syrup of a half decent bottle of white wine that has had sugar added and reduced on the stove top.
