Grande Reserve

[Gingermick]

Anyone got any idea how to make a brew like the avatar? I know they have their own cultivated yeast but I'm still keen to brew a dark strong beer.

[chrise]

Anyone got any idea how to make a brew like the avatar? I know they have their own cultivated yeast but I'm still keen to brew a dark strong beer.

You can culture the Chimay yeast (it's all the same strain) from any bottle of Chimay, but it seems easier to me to use Wyeast 1214/White Labs WLP500, which is almost certainly the Chimay strain

"Someone elses Quote"



"1214 Belgian Ale
Wyeast says: Abbey-style top-fermenting yeast, suitable for high-gravity beers. Estery. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 72-76%. (58-68oF).
To say that this yeast has "a lot of character" would be an understatement. Fruity esters in abundance, and a touch of spiciness (phenolics) put this yeast in the "not for the faint of heart" category.
In general, I think you want to ferment this yeast in the lower part of its temperature range. However, I did have trouble with diacetyl on one batch that was fermented at around 60F.
This is supposedly the Chimay strain. I would tend to agree; if not identical, it is at least similar." end quote
Now as far as making the brew do you want recipe's for "full mash" or dump and stir and add a few extras"?


There are actually quiet a few recipe's on the web now days for a variety of Belgian ales. (Do a google or Yahoo search) Still in storage at the moment whilst I reno the house is all my old full mash recipe's and I have several for Belgian ales. Will see if I can dig them out.
A very simple recipe to try is this one thats been around for awhile now.


lethaldog’s chimay blue label
*LDME= Light Dried Malt Extract


ldme 2.3kg
black grain (crushed) 30g
soft dark brown sugar 400g
blended honey 250g
bittering hops hallertau 40g
bittering hops goldings 20gif you can get hold of a bottle of chimay blue label then make a starter out of it but if not just use a good ale yeast eg. wyeast1214 or abbey ale, final volume 15litres.



Crush black grain, steep in hot water for 1 hour, strain.
boil all ingredients for 40 min then strain and adjust to 15 litres with cold water, wait to pitch yeast untill it reaches 25°C.
Or, to make the traditional 23L:

ldme 3.5kg
black grain (crushed) 45g
soft dark brown sugar 600g
blended honey 375g
bittering hops hallertau 60g
bittering hops goldings 30gif you can get hold of a bottle of chimay blue label then make a starter out of it but if not just use a good ale yeast eg. or wyeast1214 or any abbey ale final volume 23litres.



Crush black grain, steep for 1 hour, strain. boil all ingredients for 40 min then strain and adjust to 23 litres with cold water, wait to pitch yeast untill it reaches 25°C.



Hope this helps

C

[Gingermick]

Wow, thanks very much.