“Dubble Rainbow"

Brew date: October 21, 2012
#11 - 3 gal

This beer could easily also be called "Lost in Translation" Dubble or "I'm an Idiot" Dubble. (Don't really like the ring of that last one...) Basically, I set out to brew a Chimay Red clone featured on the American Homebrewers Association's website, but scaled down to a 3-gallon batch and as an all-grain Brew-in-a-Bag (BIAB). In this, I failed. Utterly. Not only did I mis-transcribe some of the grain bill (e.g. 1 oz of chocolate malt somehow became 1 lb!), but I couldn't find several of the hop varieties I was looking for, and my efficiency was much lower than I expected (even though I made some adjustments since I wasn't planning to sparge the BIAB). In the end, I decided to just roll with the (largely self-inflicted) punches and see what happens. I decided to call it "Dubble Rainbow" since, well, the dude in that video was ridiculous -- as could be this beer.

This was my first BIAB attempt. I tried to do ample research beforehand and found these videos from Northern Brewer to be helpful (and reassuring), Episode 54: Jake's Got a Brand New Bag and Brewing the "Brew in a Bag" Way. I did my best to keep the mashing temp a constant 154 'F, although I know that it was probably closer to 160 'F a few times when I had to kick the heat back on. After a 60 min mash, I brought the temp up to approx 170 'F and completed a 15 min mash-out before beginning the boil.

Ingredients:

Mash

• 5.5 lb Belgian Pale
• 0.5 lb Cara 20
• 0.3 lb American 2-Row (Pale)
• 0.5 lb Chocolate

Boil

• 0.5 lb Clear Candi Sugar

Hops

• 1 oz Willamette leaf (60 min)
• 0.5 oz Willamette leaf (30 min)
• 0.75 oz Strisslespalt (5 min)

Yeast

• Wyeast 1214 Belgian Abbey*

*Yeast starter the day before. Boil 2 c water. Remove from heat. Add ½ c Light DME. Boil 10 min. Cool and pitch yeast. Aerate on and off.

Instructions:

Add 5.5 gal cold water to brew kettle. Heat to 164 'F. Add grains. Mash temp should stabilize around 154 'F. Mash for 60 min. At 60 min, heat wort to 168-170 'F and Mash-out for 15 min. Lauter (remove grain bag). Bring wort to boil. Add candi sugar and Willamette hops. Boil 60 min. Add Willamette hops 30 min before end of boil. Add Strisslespalt 5 min before end of boil. Cut heat and let sit for 10 min. Chill wort to 68-70 'F. Transfer to carboy and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 'F. Transfer to secondary fermentor after 7-10 days. Condition 1-2 wks. Bottle.

Observations:

OG: 1.051
Target Gravity: 1.062
Color: Deep brown-red, ruddy hew
Smell: Roasted/toasted biscuit
Taste: Sweet, spicy, light-to-moderate hop bitterness