[narcout]

I'm using what my local HBS had in stock for yeast. I plan on using Straffe Hendrix Quad dregs for conditioning.

My grain bill is a combo of some of my leftover grain and what my HBS had in stock.

10lbs 2 row
2lbs Honey malt
2lbs Pale Ale malt
8oz special roast 118L
8oz Aromatic
8oz Carapils
8oz Pale Chocolate
1 lbs Dark candi sugar

If I were brewing this, I would drop the honey malt, the special roast, and the carapils, and I would add another pound of dark candi syrup and as much additional base malt as needed to hit the target OG.

That's just my personal opinion though, as I tend to keep recipes pretty simple.

[ynotbrusum]

I have noticed an increased fermentability of the wort with no loss of body when doing a Hochkurz step mash.  Something about the mashout making a difference there - Head retention is greater, if nothing else.  I also will do a continuously increasing slide through the beta to alpha to mash out temperatures over an hour and that has resulted in similar results.  I appreciate that maybe it is just in my head (confirmation bias), but on my process (HERMS) it seems to produce a good result on my lighter lagers and palest ales (10 gallon batches).

Try it and if it doesn’t work better for you, then certainly dump it as a process in favor of a simpler and equally good result.  In the end it is just a hobby and everyone should experiment with their respective systems to find out what they most enjoy.

For what it is worth, when I make big ales or dark beers, I usually go back to 5 gallons and then I will opt for the simple batch sparge (BIAB) in my cooler, rather than breaking out the HERMS set up.

[denny]

I'm using what my local HBS had in stock for yeast. I plan on using Straffe Hendrix Quad dregs for conditioning.

My grain bill is a combo of some of my leftover grain and what my HBS had in stock.

10lbs 2 row
2lbs Honey malt
2lbs Pale Ale malt
8oz special roast 118L
8oz Aromatic
8oz Carapils
8oz Pale Chocolate
1 lbs Dark candi sugar

If I were brewing this, I would drop the honey malt, the special roast, and the carapils, and I would add another pound of dark candi syrup and as much additional base malt as needed to hit the target OG.

That's just my personal opinion though, as I tend to keep recipes pretty simple.

Good comments.  Personally I like a bit of Special B in a BDSA, so after dropping the malts you mention I'd add 1/4-1/2 lb. of that.

[curtdogg]

I appreciate your input sir. I too would normally keep things simple. Excluding the base malts and honey malt the remainder of the recipe is Loosely based on a Westy 12 clone. I can see this recipe as is with lots of flavor and a nice bit of alcohol to go along with it. According to beersmith and knowing that my Mash efficiency is normally in the high 80% the Target OG should be about 1090.

It's been awhile since I've rude oh, so I'm really looking forward to it.

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[jeffy]

I appreciate your input sir. I too would normally keep things simple. Excluding the base malts and honey malt the remainder of the recipe is Loosely based on a Westy 12 clone. I can see this recipe as is with lots of flavor and a nice bit of alcohol to go along with it. According to beersmith and knowing that my Mash efficiency is normally in the high 80% the Target OG should be about 1090.

It's been awhile since I've rude oh, so I'm really looking forward to it.

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"brewed one"?

[Robert]

See, you knew just what he meant.  I know that's another thread,  but...

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[curtdogg]

My apologies.
You are correct.

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[curtdogg]

Yep Robert, some people just need clarification.

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[curtdogg]

Thanks Denny. I would normally use special b as well, the special roast by Breisss seemed interesting  enough and it tasted pretty good as well.
There will be plenty of time four traditional brewing in the future.
I'm also looking forward to trying some recipes, processes and procedures from your new book coming out in Spring.

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[Joe Sr.]

You all can argue about the mash schedule and recipe. For my money I don't like Ardennes in dark beers. I prefer the chimay yeast. Or rochefort.

Ardennes is one of my favorites. Just not in dark beers.


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[Big Monk]

You all can argue about the mash schedule and recipe. For my money I don't like Ardennes in dark beers. I prefer the chimay yeast. Or rochefort.

Ardennes is one of my favorites. Just not in dark beers.


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Agreed.

In general, I only dabble in the holy triumverate: 1214, 3787, 1762

Pretty sure OP is using WLP530 though. So Westmalle.

[Joe Sr.]

You all can argue about the mash schedule and recipe. For my money I don't like Ardennes in dark beers. I prefer the chimay yeast. Or rochefort.

Ardennes is one of my favorites. Just not in dark beers.


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Agreed.

In general, I only dabble in the holy triumverate: 1214, 3787, 1762

Pretty sure OP is using WLP530 though. So Westmalle.

Missed that. The first post asked about Ardennes. My reading comprehension is crap apparently.

[curtdogg]

Big Monk,
I looked into 3787 and I didn't see recommendations for Begian Dark beers.

WLP Abbey ale strain has the flavor profiles I'm looking for like cherry plum and pear.  They didn't have Trappist ale yeast. I would of went with that instead.

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[curtdogg]

Right Joe, looking for water profile recommendations.
Although I do not quite understand everything Big Monk was saying regarding the profile he was saying keep it simple "balanced".

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[Big Monk]

Big Monk,
I looked into 3787 and I didn't see recommendations for Begian Dark beers.

WLP Abbey ale strain has the flavor profiles I'm looking for like cherry plum and pear.  They didn't have Trappist ale yeast. I would of went with that instead.

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Lucky for you they are the same strain! Albeit with the normal idiosyncrasies of each yeast lab.