Belgian Dubbel (with vanilla bean)

Disclaimer: This post is, uh, a few months overdue. Just go with it!

Another Christmas season, another excuse to brew a Christmas-giveaway beer! This has become an annual tradition for me, where I brew a new beer with the intention of giving most away as Christmas gifts to fellow beer geeks, and even a few who aren't. Two years ago was my first, a Red IPA, and last year was a DIPA. It's no secret I'm a fan of the hops, but I like many other beer styles as well, especially those with a Belgian influence. Looking back at all of the hoppy beers I brewed in 2016, I decided it was time for something a little different.

There's plenty of delicious Belgian-style beers, but I think if I had to narrow it down to my favourite (outside of Sours), I'd go with the Dubbel. Such a wonderful, complex style that somehow manages to focus on a blend of malt character, caramel, fruity esters, and spicy phenolics, with a bit of warming alcohol (but not hot), and little to no hop presence. When brewed well, it all comes together perfectly, resulting in a truly-fantastic beer. And there's plenty of great examples out there, with the obvious ones coming from several of the Trappist breweries, some of which are fairly-readily available (if you don't live in New Brunswick, that is).

I've brewed two Dubbels before, one in 2010, and another in 2013. They weren't the same recipe - the first was taken from Jamil's Brewing Classic Styles, and the second was from another great book, Brew Like a Monk, by Stan Hieronymus. The latter recipe came from The Lost Abbey's Tomme Arthur, and featured a hefty grain bill that showcased seven different malt types, along with some Dark Belgian Candi Syrup (which I will refer to as DBCS, due to laziness). Both beers came out well (I can't remember if I had a preference or not between the two), with a nice balance of toast, fruit, and spice... but there seemed to be something missing.

What I think it was in both cases was the presence of dark fruit; fruity esters is one thing, but it's the raisin/plum/etc. character that really makes a Dubbel different from many other styles. While some brewers actually add these ingredients to their beer, most of the time they come from two sources: a dark malt like Special B, and DBCS; and really, it's the DBCS that makes the biggest difference. Look at some of the most revered dark Belgian beers out there, and a lot of the really good ones (such as many brewed at Trappist breweries) consist of Pilsner malt, DBCS... and that's it.

There are different varieties of DBCS available, made by different companies. They also come in varying degrees of darkness... I guess that's the best way to describe them? As expected, the darker they get, the more of that dark fruit, chocolate, roasted character you're going to get. Luckily, the roast character is actually kept to a minimum; you don't want a Belgian Dubbel or Quad tasting like a stout, but having some chocolate character is still ok.

For the recipe, I decided to go with the Brewing Classic Styles one. It still has quite a few different malt types (mostly Pilsner, but with another 25% of the grist includes six others), which may not be necessary, but I do remember enjoying that first beer, so I decided to follow the recipe again. However, this time I went with a DBCS that is 180 SRM (D-180 from Candi Syrup, Inc.), much darker than my first Dubbel, as well as my second. As a result of this, I actually used less (just half a pound); going with the full pound would have resulted in a very dark beer, too dark if you're really trying to stay in Dubbel territory. With the descriptors of "subtle notes of anise, dark chocolate, dark stone fruit, caramel, with a hint of dark-toasted bread" for the D-180, I hoped that I was adding enough to bring that out.

I would have loved to have used a Belgian yeast strain that I haven't yet tried, but unfortunately I didn't plan enough ahead (it can take weeks to get a new yeast smackpack around here). Luckily, I did still have some extra Wyeast 1214 Belgian Ale slurry on hand; this is the Chimay strain, and I've used it in a few beers and always have been happy with the results. I find it gives a nice balance between spicy phenolics and fruity esters, so I was happy to use it here.

I decided before brewing this beer that I wanted to take it in a slightly different direction than before. When I was planning to brew my Milkshake IPA (which I had ready to go directly after the Dubbel), it was the first time in years that I had used vanilla bean in a recipe. It got me thinking to how much I enjoy vanilla in a beer... when it's used appropriately - that is, in the right circumstances, and in the right amounts. Too much vanilla can easily be cloying and off-putting. But it was pretty easy to see it working in a Dubbel, so I planned on adding a full bean when bottling. I scraped out the "flesh" of the bean, chopped up what was left, and soaked it all in a small amount of vodka for a week or so, then strained and added the vodka into the bottling bucket.

Here's where I had a moment of stupidity. For some reason on bottling day, I started wondering if the vodka was going to be adding some additional sugar to the beer... and if it did, shouldn't I therefore aim on the low side for target CO2, in case I ended up with bottle bombs? Pfft. Anyway, of course I didn't, and as a result the beer came out undercarbed. Dammit! Not flat, of course, but more like around 2 vol CO2 instead of the 3 or so I'd like to see in a Dubbel. Not to mention I underestimated the total volume (because I'm so used to brewing hoppy beers that leave lots of hoppy sludge behind)... sigh.

But on the bright side, the beer is really tasty! Unfortunately, the appearance kind of blows because there's basically no head retention due to the carbonation, but it smells ans tastes quite nice. The vanilla is just about where I wanted it - you can notice it, and it works well, but it doesn't overpower the beer. And this DBCS is great, easily the best of the ones I've used so far. Plenty of dark fruit character in the beer, accompanied by some light phenolics from the yeast.

This recipe has got me thinking that vanilla bean would work well in some other styles, so don't be surprised if I incorporate it again in the near future!

Note: Sorry for the lack of posting lately... no excuses, but I do have my next post on my Coffee Sweet Stout ready to go, look for that one within a week or so. I'm heading to San Diego next week with my family, which will - of course - also manage to revolve around beer!

Recipe Targets: (5.5 gallons, 80% efficiency) OG 1.063, FG ~1.015, IBU ~17, SRM 18, ABV ~6.4%

Grains & Sugars:
4 kg (70.8%) Bohemian Pilsner
400 g (7.1%) Munich
400 g (7.1%) Wheat malt
200 g (3.5%) Aromatic
200 g (3.5%) CaraMunich II
150 g (2.7%) Special B
75 g (1.3%) Acid malt
227 g (4%) Extra Dark Belgian Candi Syrup (180 SRM) (added during the boil)

Hops:
Polaris - 8 g (17.7% AA) @ 60 min

Misc:
1/2 tab Irish Moss at 5 min
1 x Vanilla bean, scraped & chopped, soaked in 1/4 cup Vodka; vodka added at bottling

Yeast: Wyeast 1214 Belgian Ale (with a starter, ~270 billion cells)

Water: Fredericton city water, carbon-filtered; 3 g Gypsum and 6 g calcium chloride added to mash

- Brewed on November 2nd, 2016, by myself. 50-minute mash with 15 L of strike water; mash temp on target of 153 F. Mashed-out for 10 minutes with 6.75 L of boiling water to 168 F. Sparged with ~4 gallons of 168 F water for final volume of ~7.25 gallons.

- Pre-boil gravity at 1.047. 90-minute boil. Final volume ~5.5 gallons; OG 1.063. Chilled to 64 F, then poured into Better Bottle. Aerated with 75 seconds of pure O2, pitched yeast at 64 F.

- Active fermentation by the next morning, really picking up by the evening, temp at 70 F. Turned up the heat in the room to boost it a bit higher, reaching 74 F by the next morning. Already started slowing down by that evening.

- 15/11/16 - FG 1.014. Strained vanilla/vodka liquid and added to bottling bucket, along with 137 g table sugar (boiled and cooled), aiming for 2.7 vol CO2 with max temp of 74 F reached.

This is the best I could do 3 months after Christmas...

Appearance: Pours with a small, rapidly-fading head that is virtually gone within seconds. Body is a dark brown colour with ruby highlights, and excellent clarity.

Aroma: Caramel, toffee, nice amount of dark fruit (cherry, raisin), and a mild-to-moderate presence of vanilla. No alcohol.

Taste: The caramel and dark fruit characters blend well together, and dominate; the vanilla follows and lingers into the finish. Low bitterness, still finishes fairly dry. Smooth.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied, medium carbonation (after several months; was only medium-low at first).

Overall: A really nice beer. The appearance and carbonation was a bummer at first, but they've finally come around a little (now that I only have a few bottles left!).

Tasting : Tommy (Belgian Dubbel)

When you get in the routine of brewing a lot of hoppy beers, it's easy to forget that not all beer styles are best consumed within a week or two of packaging. Luckily, with this Belgian Dubbel that I brewed in early November, I didn't race through all of the bottles immediately after they were sufficiently carbonated. I DID have one here and there (and gave some away) to see how the flavors were developing; I think, at first, I wasn't too impressed with the beer, but now that it's had a couple of months to age a bit, I'm definitely liking it more.

This Dubbel came out much better than my first attempt a few years ago. The beer has more complex maltiness and a light chocolate character to it... whether this is a direct result of the recipe changes or the change in yeast strain, I'm not sure. I'm leaning towards both, actually - while the grist is more-complicated than I generally like to brew, the different malts, dark candi syrup, and higher mash temp definitely helped the beer in the end. And a yeast that emulates Chimay can't be bad; Chimay Red is a fantastic Belgian Dubbel (this is often missed, maybe because the beer is so readily available, at least for a Trappist beer).

Not too many changes I'd make, here. I'd definitely carbonate the beer a little more (2.75 vol is a touch low for a Dubbel, but with the slightly-higher FG I didn't want to take any chances), to at least 3 vol CO2. Next time, I'd probably give the Wyeast 3787 (Westmalle brewery) strain a try. I love Belgian Dubbels and Tripels (and really have to start brewing them more often), but I've got to give the wide variety of Belgian yeasts a complete try before I can settle on which I prefer as my "house Belgian strain".

On a side note, some people at a local beer bar tried this beer with two other commercially-available Dubbels, Maredsous Brune and Floreffe Dubbel. Surprisingly to me, they preferred the beer I brewed to the other two.

Appearance: Poured with a moderate-large light-tan head, doesn’t exhibit great retention. Fades to 1/4-finger after a few minutes. Body is a dark brown color and shows some haziness.

Aroma: Rich, bready malt, with a little bit of milk chocolate in behind. Some spicy phenols. Trying to detect dark fruit; maybe a touch there, but not a lot, for sure. No hop aroma.

Taste: Malty and slightly sweet, bit of chocolate and spiciness in there to balance. Low bitterness, with a slightly dry finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-low bodied, moderate-high carbonation.

Overall: Quite tasty... giving it a couple of months has helped smooth the flavors out a bit. Easy-drinking; no sign of any alcohol warming at all. I'd like to see some more dark fruit flavors and aromas, but otherwise it's a very good Dubbel.

Brewing a Belgian Dubbel

After several months and five very-hoppy homebrews, I figure it's time to brew a beer that DOESN'T showcase hops. Don't get me wrong, if inventory and desire ruled, I'd be quite happy brewing up another five really hoppy beers, and probably more, but I have to admit I DO have a hankering for a darker, maltier beer as the days get colder. Looking back through my brew notes, it occurred to me recently that I've been ignoring one of my favorite beer styles: Belgian Dubbel.

Definitely not a hoppy beer, Belgian Dubbel is in the Belgian Strong Ale category of the BJCP. The good ones have a complex, malty sweetness in both the aroma and flavor, along with fruity esters, spicy phenols, and maybe some subtle alcohol notes. Basically a semi-dark beer that really gets to showcase malt character and Belgian yeast. It's been about three years since I last brewed this style of beer, so once I started thinking about it again, I was pretty anxious to get going.

There's a lot of different Dubbel recipes out there. The grain bill is what makes the recipe, of course, and they can range from simplistic to much more-complicated, with six, seven, or even more specialty malts being used. My original recipe from last time came from Jamil's Brewing Classic Styles; this recipe is somewhere in the middle in terms of malt bill complexity, with five different malt types. I had intended on trying this recipe again with a few tweaks of my own, but came across a different one altogether in Stan Hieronymus's excellent book, Brew Like a Monk. The recipe was provided by Tomme Arthur, brewer at The Lost Abbey and Port Brewing in California. While the malt bill was slightly more complicated (eight malts instead of five), I really liked the look of it. The specialty malts include Caramunich, Aromatic and Special B; the only change I made was upping the Munich malt slightly, and dropping the Belgian Biscuit (since I didn't have any).

While lots of malt varieties can build Dubbel character, another very important ingredient that you see in most Dubbel recipes is Dark Belgian Candi Syrup. Usually agreed by brewers to provide more character than the solid sugar form, there are several different types of candi syrup that you can buy, varying in color, flavor and aroma. I had a little under a pound of the D2 Syrup from Dark Candi, Inc; at 80 SRM, it provides a mixture of "burnt sugar, figs, ripe fruit, toffee, and dark chocolate". I've used it before, and have been very happy with what it adds to a beer. All syrups are simply added to the boil... doesn't matter when, just do it sometime before the end of the boil to make sure it is sterilized. And make sure to stir well when you add it, to prevent scorching on the bottom of your kettle. For those of you so inclined, there's lots of recipes/techniques to make your own dark candi syrup online.

As for the hops, well... pretty simple, as expected. Tomme's recipe called for two additions, at 90 and 60 minutes, but I just made a single addition at 60 minutes. I went with a noble hop, Tettnang, and just enough to bring the IBUs up to about 20... you're really not looking for very much, or any, hop character for this style of beer. Just a bit of bitterness to offset some of the sweetness from the specialty malts and candi syrup.

When it comes to what yeast to use, there's a lot of options out there. Even if you're limited to liquid yeast from Wyeast (which I am, at least through my LHBS), there's still more than ten regular-release Belgian yeast strains available. With my first Dubbel, I actually used the Wyeast 3864, which was a special-release strain based on what Unibroue uses in their beers. For this brew, I decided on Wyeast's popular 1214 Belgian Abbey, from the Trappist brewery Chimay. No real reason, other than I knew other homebrewers who have used it and liked it, and because I really enjoy Chimay Premiere (better known as Chimay Red), an excellent Belgian Dubbel. I made a big starter days in advance, and plan on fermenting the beer in the low 60s to start, bringing it up to about 70 F or so over the first few days.

And that's about it. No need to add any spices to this style of beer; yes, the beer should be slightly spicy, but you want that to come from the yeast. I've seen some homebrewers successfully add fruit (such as plums) to this style of beer, but I think I'm going to keep things relatively simple, here. Just brew, ferment, and bottle... hopefully having a malty, fruity, spicy, and smooth Dubbel on hand in time for the holidays.

Recipe targets: (5.5 gallons, 75% efficiency) OG 1.068, FG ~1.014, IBU 21, SRM 19.7, ABV ~7%

Grains & Other:
3.59 kg (59.9%) Bohemian Pilsner
500 g (8.4%) Wheat malt
454 g (7.6%) Munich malt
409 g (6.8%) Aromatic malt
204 g (3.4%) Caramunich II
204 g (3.4%) Honey malt
204 g (3.4%) Special B
427 g (7.1%) Dark Belgian Candi Syrup (80 SRM) (added to the boil)

Hops:
Tettnang - 42 g (4.6% AA) @ 60 min

Misc.: 1/2 tab Irish moss @ 5 min

Yeast: Wyeast 1214 Belgian Abbey (dated Sept 18th; with a 2.7 L starter)

Water: Fredericton city water, carbon-filtered; 7 grams calcium chloride in the mash

- Brewed on November 4th, 2013, by myself. 50-minute mash with 16 L of strike water, mashed in at target temp of 153 F. Mashed-out for 10 minutes with 7 L of boiling water. Sparged with 4 gallons of 168 F water for final volume of ~7.75 gallons in the kettle.

- SG at 1.046, at target. 90-minute boil. Final volume a bit over, at 5.75 gallons. Chilled down to 64 F, then poured into Better Bottle. OG a touch low at 1.067. Aerated with 90 seconds of pure O2 and pitched yeast starter. Placed BB in laundry room, ambient temp about 66 F. 

- 5/11/13 - Lots of airlock activity in the AM, bubbling about every second, temp 66 F. By the evening, temp had increased to 68 F.

- 6/11/13 - Bubbling more than every second in the AM, temp now up to 70 F. By the evening, the temp was still 70 F, but bubbling had slowed to every 5 seconds or so. Moved the BB into the water-heater room to try to keep the temp up to 68-70 F.

- 20/11/13 - FG a bit high at 1.017. Bottled with 140 g table sugar, aiming for 2.75 vol CO2 for 5 gallons, max temp of 70 F reached.

- 2/2/14 - A little over two months later, the beer is really starting to taste nice... great malt complexity, nice chocolate background. Tasting notes here.