BeerBorg

15 days since brew day, and I decided to take a gravity reading today to see how things were progressing. 1.012 currently, which makes for 9.4% ABV as it sits. I'm gonna let it go one more week and take a reading then to see if it moves at all, however it's only 2 points away from estimated FG so I doubt it'll move much if at all.

The aroma from this beer was just phenomenal! Hints of banana, apple, and oranges, with a very faint spice. I don't think I have been so anxious to drink a beer since I brewed my first beer a year ago!

Nice Phil....Sounds like your going to have a good one on your hands when it's ready. How long do you think you'll need to condition this for?

I think maybe 3 months in the bottle it should be real nice, but I might try one after 2 months. I've got 16 flip tops, but I've also got a Hoegaarden bottle that I will fill if there's enough left, so I can pop that one open for a taste.

To those of you that have brewed Belgian style beers like this, what volumes of CO2 do you carb them to? BeerSmith shows a range between 2.4 and 3.0 volumes, and a couple of pages I've seen online show that they should be between 2.1 and 2.4 volumes. BJCP's website only states that it should be effervescent, without quantifying the volumes.

I carbed my Golden Strong to 2.5 volumes. Worked out pretty good for my tastes.

Cool. I'll use that as a baseline. Thanks, Chris.

Phil...I posted a pic of a pour of the Golden Strong a little while ago. It's about half way down the first page of the "First Pour" thread. You can get a decent idea how it was carbed by the picture. The pour wasn't overly agressive, but it wasn't a nice slow pour down the side of the glass either. Thought maybe the pic may help you out.

I carb many of my Belgians around 2.7-2.8. Some of my patersbiers even higher because it makes them seem "bigger" and brings out the aromas.

All of the BJCP's guidelines for Belgians that I've seen in the past are um... restrictive... compared to the range real Belgian brewers would follow. That goes for CO2 volumes, as well as many other elements of the style guidelines.

So my honest advice is to "do as you like". That's what a real Belgian brewer would do.

I'm bottling this right now, and FG came out to 1.011, for 9.5% ABV. Glad I let it sit a little longer. The flavor and smell of the sample was out of this world- fruity but dry. Definitely looking forward to popping one of these open in a couple of months.

Looks like an amazing beer Phil!

That it does! Thanks Jim

Curiosity always getting the best of me. It's been about 2 months in the bottle, and I popped one open tonight to see how it was progressing. Very slight alcohol taste, but not very harsh. Actually pretty smooth. Smells like bubble gum, and tastes like heaven! With another couple of months I'm hoping it mellows out real well. Also, I can tell that I'm not used to any beer this strong in alcohol content. Drank half the glass in 15 minutes and I'm feeling a heck of a buzz.

I believe if you like that, then in the spring/summer you should really consider brewing a straight up patersbier - as simple as pilsner, hops, and a Belgian yeast like you used, or 3787, or WLP530 - those always make great patersbiers. 1.042-1.148ish OG, so not as boozy, you can drink them like lawnmower beer. They have just as much of the flavor you are liking if not more. That's why I make 10+ gallons of them every spring/summer.

That sounds like a great idea. Be able to sip on them sooner, and still have the same kind of taste. How could I modify this recipe into a patersbier without losing the flavor?

Remove the pale malt and the sugar (it will be light bodied enough without the sugar). Less crystal or no crystal (if you like what it brings use a little but I never do). If you want to keep a bit of the pale malt then reduce the pils a bit. Just tweak it so you are more like 1.04ish instead of 1.08ish. Adjust the bittering hops proportionally to give you between 20-25 IBUs at the new gravity. You can still use the late spalt, or saaz is good too. You may want to reduce the late hops a bit. Or not. My bet is it's good either way. See what you think of that, and then adjust to your tastes. Some folks brew patersbiers 27-30 IBUs, I like mine with a bit less. Go ahead and use the same yeast, it should make a great beer.