#23 Belgian Single - Brewday

Recipe     -     Brewday     -     Tasting

Brewday 6/7/14:
Sometimes you just have those days where nothing goes right: maybe you miss your mash temps (check), miss calculate your recipe (check), or leave a ball valve open (triple check).  I guess that's apt to happen when you try out a complicated new procedure like decoction mashing, so it's a good thing I didn't jump right into the quad.  I'm not going to craft a whole narrative for the day, but here's the play by play of what should have happened during the mash vs what did:

Plan: -Mash in at 132F to break down large proteins (but not small) and beta-glucans to maintain head while eliminating haze.  Rest 5 min. -Pull first decoction and heat (~10min) to 150F, wait 10min, bring to boil (~15min), boil 10min. -Return decoction to main mash (sacch1 rest), sit for 15min @147F. -Pull second decoction, bring to boil (~15min), boil 10 min. -Return decoction to main mash (sacch2 rest), sit for 20 min @160F. -Lauter

Actual: -Mash in at 138F, stirred to bring it down to 135F over 5 min, held for 5 more. -Pulled first decoction and heat (~10min) to 150F, wait 10min, main mash down to 131F -Bring decoction to boil (~10min), boil 10min. -Return decoction to main mash (sacch1 rest), temp at 148F, sit for 15min. -Pull second decoction, bring to boil (~15min), boil 10 min, main mash at 140F. -Return decoction to main mash (sacch2 rest), sit for 20 min @ 150F. -Lauter

As you can see, I lost heat in the main mash much more quickly than expected considering it was in an insulated cooler.  I think I must have been opening the lid to check the temperature too often.

I also miscalculated the boil off volume (forgot to key in a 90 minute boil for the pilsner malt), so my sparge volume ended up being too small.  Combined with less first runnings than expected and the lower temperatures, my efficiency dropped a solid 10%.  I completed the boil with 3.3 gal of 1.062 wort, but I only had .8 gal of good water left, so I used that to top up.  The result is a little stronger, both in sugar (SG 1.050) and bitterness (41 IBU), but it's still balanced and came in very close to the Westvleteren Blonde, though with all pilsner malt instead of with a little sugar.


Fermentation:
Cooled to 70F, 30sec O2, yeast pitched from Wyeast smackpack, placed in fridge at 68F.

2 Days:  Fermentation looks to be going well, with temperatures edging up around 70F-72F.  Usually that would worry me, but with the Westmalle yeast, it sounds best just to let it ride.  Temp raised to 78F for the remainder of primary to help the yeast finish strong.

8 Days:  Krausen has dropped, but there's still plenty of yeast in suspension.  I dropped the temperature down to 72F to let it sit for the next week.