Trying another new recipe & style, Belgian Abbey Ale. I brew small batches
since I'm the only beer drinker in the house, so I have to adjust recipes
accordingly, I use several methods to calculate grain/grist content and SG,
hop bitterness and so forth but anyway....

(1 US gallon batch)

2 lbs Belgian Pale Malt
1/4 cup Molasses
5 oz 40L Crystal Malt
5 oz Belgian CaraVienne Malt
5 oz Belgian Special B Malt
0.25 oz 11%AA Galena Hops (Boil)
0.125 oz 7%AA Perle Hops (Flavor)
Pinch of Irish Moss
Wyeast Liquid Trappist Ale Yeast

Big Batch SG: 1.035 (Should have been upwards of 40/45 with the Molasses)
Little Batch SG: 1.015 (Again, should have been 20/25)

Single temp infusion, 5 QT sparge, 90 minute boil, cool, yeast, airlock,
nothing unusual aside from forgetting the MOLASSES!!!! GAAH!!

I also remashed the grist and took a 2nd runnings batch at a lower SG, I'm
fermenting both batches seperately and planning on blending them when
finished. Also forgot the MOLASSES!!! GAAAAH!!

Anyway, after 2 days into secondary there was almost 1 full inch of sediment
at the bottom of the fermenters, but the beer itself is still very, very
cloudy (9 days total in fermentation). I racked it into clean fermenters
but haven't checked it yet this morning. I did notice the Big Batch (1st
runnings) had a noticeably hoppy aroma to it (Galena!) and the Small Batch
(2nd runnings) had a VERY pronounced banana scent to it...very nice. I did
use the same amount of hops in both batches. There is also a significant
color difference between the two, the Big Batch is a muddy brown whereas the
Little Batch is a light sand color.

Is this cloudiness normal for a Belgian Ale? All the pictures I see of mugs
full of Abbey Ale appear to be clear with a little bit of cloudiness to it,
perhaps I haven't waited long enough and it just needs more time to settle.

Either way, this is a pretty good recipe and both runnings have a medium
body, would have been better with the MOLASSES but my time machine is in the
shop so....

Thanks!

Kent

Well, if anyone is interested, it cleared up a little more after a few days,
I blended them into a modified 2 gallon thermal jug and I just bottled
tonight using a little priming sugar & that 1/4 of molasses, it smelled very
heavily of alcohol and had a smooth malty taste with a hint of banana, very
full bodied too. When I added the priming mixture it all foamed up to the
rim of the jug, reminded me of the baking soda/vinegar volcanoes we used to
make in grade school.

Even with the bottling wand, it still foamed a little as it filled the
bottle, almost all of them I had to wait for the foam to settle to top off.
2 gallons filled exactly 20 bottles.

Anxious to see how this conditions out after a few days.

Time to finish mashing some wheat.

Kent

"blah" <blah@blah.com> wrote in message
news:NiJfe.21575$vi2.540896@twister.southeast.rr.com...[color=blue]
> Trying another new recipe & style, Belgian Abbey Ale. I brew small batches
> since I'm the only beer drinker in the house, so I have to adjust recipes
> accordingly, I use several methods to calculate grain/grist content and
> SG, hop bitterness and so forth but anyway....
>
> (1 US gallon batch)
>
> 2 lbs Belgian Pale Malt
> 1/4 cup Molasses
> 5 oz 40L Crystal Malt
> 5 oz Belgian CaraVienne Malt
> 5 oz Belgian Special B Malt
> 0.25 oz 11%AA Galena Hops (Boil)
> 0.125 oz 7%AA Perle Hops (Flavor)
> Pinch of Irish Moss
> Wyeast Liquid Trappist Ale Yeast
>
> Big Batch SG: 1.035 (Should have been upwards of 40/45 with the Molasses)
> Little Batch SG: 1.015 (Again, should have been 20/25)
>
> Single temp infusion, 5 QT sparge, 90 minute boil, cool, yeast, airlock,
> nothing unusual aside from forgetting the MOLASSES!!!! GAAH!!
>
> I also remashed the grist and took a 2nd runnings batch at a lower SG, I'm
> fermenting both batches seperately and planning on blending them when
> finished. Also forgot the MOLASSES!!! GAAAAH!!
>
> Anyway, after 2 days into secondary there was almost 1 full inch of
> sediment at the bottom of the fermenters, but the beer itself is still
> very, very cloudy (9 days total in fermentation). I racked it into clean
> fermenters but haven't checked it yet this morning. I did notice the Big
> Batch (1st runnings) had a noticeably hoppy aroma to it (Galena!) and the
> Small Batch (2nd runnings) had a VERY pronounced banana scent to it...very
> nice. I did use the same amount of hops in both batches. There is also a
> significant color difference between the two, the Big Batch is a muddy
> brown whereas the Little Batch is a light sand color.
>
> Is this cloudiness normal for a Belgian Ale? All the pictures I see of
> mugs full of Abbey Ale appear to be clear with a little bit of cloudiness
> to it, perhaps I haven't waited long enough and it just needs more time to
> settle.
>
> Either way, this is a pretty good recipe and both runnings have a medium
> body, would have been better with the MOLASSES but my time machine is in
> the shop so....
>
> Thanks!
>
> Kent
>[/color]