I bought some Ardennes yeast to make a Belgian Dark Strong and I haven’t been able to get around to make it.
For a 1.100 gravity beer, Mr. Malty says I need a minimum of 3 packets in a 6 L starter. I don’t have 3 packets.
My thought was to make 3 gallons of beer, not sure what. Belgian Pale maybe. But how do I figure out if this is enough starter? That’s 12L, I would think it would be lots but I have no idea.
Or would I be better off to make a 1 L starter and put this in and then put it into a 10L starter (no hops etc) with the intention of dumping it (I would do it in my carboy and then pour the wort directly on top of this yeast cake since it seems like less chance of contamination and there’s no hop residue to get rid of).
Thanks
Make 5 gallons of ~1.035 belgian pale with one smack pack direct pitched, or you could make a starter but I think you would be fine with direct pitch.
when it’s ready rack to keg and put chilled 1.100 BDS wort on the cake. I wouldn’t waste 3 gallons of wort just for a big cake when you could make a nice session ale with the same amount of effort. You could even do an extract batch for the ‘starter’ if you want to cut down on effort.
EDIT
I never worry about the gunk when repitching a big beer on the cake. I can’t say if this is a good or not but I find it works well.
I would go with the three gallons of Belgian pale or maybe a blonde.
I brewed up a Belgian blonde last weekend as the starter for my quad. Turning 40 this year, so I need to get that beer brewed, kegged and aging so it’s ready for the party.
On another note, I prefer Ardennes in lighter beers but it may work well with a dark strong. I used it in a dubble and, while it certainly wasn’t bad, I much preferred the batch I fermented with the Chimay strain.
I have this strain coming up next but I have never used it. My plan is a farmhouse or something similar. Is it a fairly versatile strain?
First of all good luck with the birthday party.
This yeast was a suggestion for an attempt at Unibroue 17 because the actual strain I need Canadian/Belgian isn’t available until fall at the earliest. This is just a shot in the dark at a beer I liked when I tried it back during the holidays.
I will make a Belgian blonde and then go for the big beer.
Thanks
+1, I did almost exactly that the past couple weeks. Made a 5.5G Belgian Pale and then, two weeks later, bottled it and dumped a Belgian Quad right on top of the yeast cake (gunk and all). Only difference in my case is I’m trying out WY3787 Trappist High Gravity.
Thanks.
Like I said, it might work fine in a darker beer. I tend to use it for tripels. It’s a nice yeast and makes a great tripel.
With the dubbel, it may just be that the flavors I expect are what you get with the Chimay strain. It definitely was a good beer. Without a side-by-side comparison I wouldn’t have any complaints.
Love the Unibroue beers. La Fin du Monde is my favorite.
This is exactly what I’m doing for my quad, but with 6 gallons of blonde as a starter. Same yeast, which I haven’t used in years.
I agree with the comments about a dark strong with 3522. I absolutely love that yeast and use it a lot, but it has a tartness to it that I don’t generally care for in darker beers. I love it in things that are lighter and it’s my go to yeast for Belgo/American IPA.
3787 is my favorite Belgian yeast.
Denny, can you explain to me what a Belgo/American IPA is?
It’s an IPA made with Belgian yeast an American hops. I use pils malt, a bit of 20L crystal and no sugar.
I ask because I have a pitch of Ardennes yeast ready and I’m not sure what to do with it. I was considering a pale but I may give this a go. Roughly how many IBU’s do you shoot for in this “style”? Would just Centennial work? That’s what I have the most of although I do have a bit of Citra and Amarillo. Maybe some Cascade in the fridge somewhere too but I know I’ve got lots of Centennial.
How’s this sound?
9 lbs Pils malt
0.5 lbs C 15 (no 20 on hand)
1.5 oz Centennial at 60
1 oz Centennial at 15
1 oz Centennial at flameout.
Very versatile. It works well on many types of Belgian beer. It is the Achouffe strain, WY-3522 WLP-550.
The local brewers say that is what Jolly Pumpkin uses as the primary strain in the fermenter on most of their beers, before they go into the barrels.
I shoot for the same specs as my regular AIPA. Mid 70s for both gravity and IBU.
I think I’ll try to tone it down to a Belgian/American Pale Ale. I drink way too fast for 1.070 beers. Apparently I was not born with ability to drink beer slowly so 1.070 beers go down just as fast 1.040 beers but the results are markedly different…
Shoot for something 1.055/50-55 IBUs.
I use 3522 frequently for belgian session blonds and lately tripels. It gives a friuty character with some noticable tartness and will attenuate dry. (a less estery profile than WLP550 IMHO). I have not used it in a dubbel or dark strong - tartness may be an issue for some, my challenge would be to manage the degree of dryness the yeast can acheive.
I agree you can direct pitch but make sure the yeast pack is relatively fresh