19 replies to this topic

[MakeMeHoppy]

I was recently out west and stopped at Stone and had the CaliBelgique. I have a nice starter of 1388 available and would like to make something along these lines. I have an IPA recipe I like that uses all Columbus hops and was thinking of making that recipe and just subing the 1388 for the normal US-05 dry yeast I use. Does anyone have a good recipe for a belgian yeast IPA that I can look at? Any other experiences of using belgain yeasts in an IPA recipe?

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I was recently out west and stopped at Stone and had the CaliBelgique. I have a nice starter of 1388 available and would like to make something along these lines. I have an IPA recipe I like that uses all Columbus hops and was thinking of making that recipe and just subing the 1388 for the normal US-05 dry yeast I use. Does anyone have a good recipe for a belgian yeast IPA that I can look at? Any other experiences of using belgain yeasts in an IPA recipe?

I can't help much but if you like your IPA grainbill why not give it a shot? At least this way you'll know what kind of diff the yeast is making since you have a baseline.

[MakeMeHoppy]

Doughed in on a 3 gallon batch just to see how I like it. I found some other recipes and looks like an abbey strain might be better, but I'm going with what I got. I kept the yeast from a tripel I brewed and make a starter with extra wort from my last beer. I got to try out my new stir plate and that was a real success. I have a lot bigger yeast layer in the flask than the old shake every so often method I used to use for starters. Well in a couple weeks I'll know what I got here. .If anyone has any experience with belgian yeast IPAs please post here, I'm still interested in other's opinions and experiences.

[Big Nake]

Yeah, I can't help either but it's a great experiment for seeing exactly how the different yeast strains effect flavor. When I was a newbie, I didn't realize how much impact the various yeasts had on the final flavor of the beer. I have made very similar recipes that produce a "gold lager" and have used maybe 10 different lager strains on that recipe (2124, 830, 2278, 840, 2000, 2001, 2142 Danish, 802 Budejovice, 800 and others) and it's REALLY wild to see the differences. I love the idea of you taking your standard IPA recipe and using something like 1388 to see how well they all play together. Please keep us posted & have fun with it.

[ncbeerbrewer]

Hoppy, Good Luck on the IPA. I brewed this recipe back in May My Recipe not sure if you saw it in a search but it turned out awesome. I got rave reviews from friends, brewclub and judges too. Just thought I would pass it along, I bet it would do well with your yeast 3522 worked great. Good Luck!!

[Jimmy James]

If anyone has any experience with belgian yeast IPAs please post here, I'm still interested in other's opinions and experiences.

I started a Cali-Belgique thread a while back. My first attempt which I posted turned out really good, but wasn't a "clone" in that it had some differences. Based on that I believe I can come very close in my next attempt to making something that would be hard to tell apart from the real deal. Post up your recipe and tasting notes when you can.

[ColdAssHonky]

Just thought I would pass it along, I bet it would do well with your yeast 3522 worked great. Good Luck!!

I've done an IPA and a kitchen sink type brew with 3522 and they both turned out really well. I'd not hesitate to experiment with it again.

[MakeMeHoppy]

I started a Cali-Belgique thread a while back. My first attempt which I posted turned out really good, but wasn't a "clone" in that it had some differences. Based on that I believe I can come very close in my next attempt to making something that would be hard to tell apart from the real deal. Post up your recipe and tasting notes when you can.

The recipe is very simple for 4 gallon batch 8-1/2 lb Maris Otter 6 oz Crystal 60 6 oz Light Munich 1 oz Columbus at 60, 20, 5 and 1 oz Columbus dry hop for 1 week after fermentation ends. 1388 starter 2 liter . I'll have tasting notes in a couple of weeks.

[cavman]

I started a Cali-Belgique thread a while back. My first attempt which I posted turned out really good, but wasn't a "clone" in that it had some differences. Based on that I believe I can come very close in my next attempt to making something that would be hard to tell apart from the real deal. Post up your recipe and tasting notes when you can.

Did you post your final recipe in that thread? If not do so, as that was a thread I had interest in.

[cavman]

The recipe is very simple for 4 gallon batch 8-1/2 lb Maris Otter 6 oz Crystal 60 6 oz Light Munich 1 oz Columbus at 60, 20, 5 and 1 oz Columbus dry hop for 1 week after fermentation ends. 1388 starter 2 liter . I'll have tasting notes in a couple of weeks.

Recipe looks good although I'd make some changes(for my preferences but as is should be fine); I'd def use Pilsner or US 2-row before MO in this style, otherwise I like the simple malt bill. For hops I'm not crazy on Colunbus as a flavor hop without being a blend, so I'd do some columbus blended with other typical IPA hops such as Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade or lesser used like Bravo, Summitt and especially Athanum. Either way looks like a good beer.

[MakeMeHoppy]

Recipe looks good although I'd make some changes(for my preferences but as is should be fine); I'd def use Pilsner or US 2-row before MO in this style, otherwise I like the simple malt bill. For hops I'm not crazy on Colunbus as a flavor hop without being a blend, so I'd do some columbus blended with other typical IPA hops such as Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade or lesser used like Bravo, Summitt and especially Athanum. Either way looks like a good beer.

Thanks for the feedback. I just realized I made a mistake. My normal 5 gallon IPA recipe is 10 lbs MO, 1/2 lb each Crystal and Munich with the 1 oz hop additions. I scaled the recipe back to 4 gal and did change the hops to .8 oz additions. I used Pilsner for the tripel that grew the yeast and only had MO left, plus I wanted to keep the grain/hop bill the same and just change the yeast. I made about 5 batches of the IPA with all Columbus and it works well with both the local hop heads and the others just learning to like craft beer. I used to make one with Chinook bittering and Cascade flavor hops. I started to experiment with a blend of cascade, amarillo and centennial when someone in my club was selling columbus pellets real cheap. What hop blend do you use in your IPA as I'm looking for a nice mix. I do like the way Amarillo and Cascade work together. . Just an update the 4 gallon batch is fermenting away and looks good at this point. I'll dry hop next this weekend and will keg about a week after that and will get an early taste.

[cavman]

Thanks for the feedback. I just realized I made a mistake. My normal 5 gallon IPA recipe is 10 lbs MO, 1/2 lb each Crystal and Munich with the 1 oz hop additions. I scaled the recipe back to 4 gal and did change the hops to .8 oz additions. I used Pilsner for the tripel that grew the yeast and only had MO left, plus I wanted to keep the grain/hop bill the same and just change the yeast. I made about 5 batches of the IPA with all Columbus and it works well with both the local hop heads and the others just learning to like craft beer. I used to make one with Chinook bittering and Cascade flavor hops. I started to experiment with a blend of cascade, amarillo and centennial when someone in my club was selling columbus pellets real cheap. What hop blend do you use in your IPA as I'm looking for a nice mix. I do like the way Amarillo and Cascade work together. . Just an update the 4 gallon batch is fermenting away and looks good at this point. I'll dry hop next this weekend and will keg about a week after that and will get an early taste.

My most recently used blend was Amarillo, Athanum, Bravo and Cascade at 20,15,10,5 and 0 with Magnum at 60. Also gonna be dryhopped. Most of my blends have Amarillo with Cascade or centennial and any other hop I feel like trying at the time. Simcoe, Bravo, Summitt, Columbus, Chinook so the usual suspects.

[MakeMeHoppy]

Well after 2-1/2 weeks the fermentation stopped and I cold crashed it. Kegged it today and initial taste is what I was looking for. (I had previously blended some IPA with the above recipe with the tripel I made with the yeast). It will be a couple weeks before this gets into the serving fridge. I think next time I'll use an Abbey yeast instead of the 1388.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Well after 2-1/2 weeks the fermentation stopped and I cold crashed it. Kegged it today and initial taste is what I was looking for. (I had previously blended some IPA with the above recipe with the tripel I made with the yeast). It will be a couple weeks before this gets into the serving fridge. I think next time I'll use an Abbey yeast instead of the 1388.

So do you think the Abbey would be better or are you just still looking for the perfect yeast for this?

[MakeMeHoppy]

So do you think the Abbey would be better or are you just still looking for the perfect yeast for this?

I'm still looking for the perfect yeast. I used 1388 because I had a yeast cake from another beer. Other recipes I've seen for an american IPA with belgian yeast seem to be more along the lines of the Abbey yeasts. Do you have any experience/suggestions? It will be January before I get back to this again but I like the idea of having the B-IPA as a regular brew once I get the recipe right.

[ColdAssHonky]

My Belgian IPA is made with 3522 and it's fantastic.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I'm still looking for the perfect yeast. I used 1388 because I had a yeast cake from another beer. Other recipes I've seen for an american IPA with belgian yeast seem to be more along the lines of the Abbey yeasts. Do you have any experience/suggestions? It will be January before I get back to this again but I like the idea of having the B-IPA as a regular brew once I get the recipe right.

I've got nothing for you as I have never tried a belgian yeast before. I would like to start at some point though and something I could use to give some american styles some zip would be fun.

[ncbeerbrewer]

My Belgian IPA is made with 3522 and it's fantastic.

+1. This is my favorite Belgian yeast around. I used it to make an IPA back in May and served it at a wedding. People loved it. I brewed this beer again last week and fermentation is finishing up now too. I think 3522 adds Belgian character but not over the top. I think it would serve you well.

[MakeMeHoppy]

Well after 2-1/2 weeks the fermentation stopped and I cold crashed it. Kegged it today and initial taste is what I was looking for. (I had previously blended some IPA with the above recipe with the tripel I made with the yeast). It will be a couple weeks before this gets into the serving fridge. I think next time I'll use an Abbey yeast instead of the 1388.

Just wanted to give an update in case anyone cares. Finally got this beer to the serving fridge and it is drinkable, but disappointing. There is not enough of the belgian character so it tastes like and IPA with something funny going on. I chatted with a belgian expert at my last club meeting. He uses the Wyeast 3787 strain and has the exact flavor profile I am going after. I think the 1388 may have had better results if I fermented at a higher temperature. I did fermented at 65 degrees and I think I wanted low 70's. I started my experiment over. I brewed a tripel over the weekend and have it fermenting in the low 70's right now. I made a 3 gallon batch to make sure I had high enough gravity and then just sparged the grains some more for some starter wort. Good thing I made a small batch as the krausen is almost to the top of the 6-1/2 gallon carboy. I never saw a fermentation take off like that. I'm going to give this tripel another 10 days or so to complete and then make another IPA. If I like the tripel I'll pitch right on top of the 3787 yeast cake. If I'm not real happy with the tripel I'll save the yeast and pitch US-05 on the IPA.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Just wanted to give an update in case anyone cares. Finally got this beer to the serving fridge and it is drinkable, but disappointing. There is not enough of the belgian character so it tastes like and IPA with something funny going on. I chatted with a belgian expert at my last club meeting. He uses the Wyeast 3787 strain and has the exact flavor profile I am going after. I think the 1388 may have had better results if I fermented at a higher temperature. I did fermented at 65 degrees and I think I wanted low 70's. I started my experiment over. I brewed a tripel over the weekend and have it fermenting in the low 70's right now. I made a 3 gallon batch to make sure I had high enough gravity and then just sparged the grains some more for some starter wort. Good thing I made a small batch as the krausen is almost to the top of the 6-1/2 gallon carboy. I never saw a fermentation take off like that. I'm going to give this tripel another 10 days or so to complete and then make another IPA. If I like the tripel I'll pitch right on top of the 3787 yeast cake. If I'm not real happy with the tripel I'll save the yeast and pitch US-05 on the IPA.

I care thanks for the update