My 1554 recipe X-File

[Speyedr]

OK, so I figured I'd bump this and find out how the 1554 brew days went, if at all I'm brewing this one on Saturday with the following recipe:

1447
Belgian Specialty Ale

Type: All Grain
Date: 3/24/2007
Batch Size: 6.00 gal
Boil Size: 7.62 gal
Boil Time: 90 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.0

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
6 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 43.3 %
5 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 33.3 %
1 lbs Aromatic Malt (19.0 SRM) Grain 6.7 %
1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 6.7 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 6.7 %
8.0 oz Debittered Black (500.0 SRM) Grain 3.3 %
28.30 gm Northern Brewer [8.50%] (60 min) Hops 25.1 IBU
28.30 gm Fuggles [3.70%] (60 min) Hops 10.9 IBU
1.00 tsp Seeds of Paradise (Boil 1.0 min) Misc
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
2 Pkgs Octoberfest/Marzen Lager (White Labs #WLP820) [Starter 2 L] Yeast-Lager

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.059 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.018 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.4 %
Bitterness: 36.0 IBU
Est Color: 26.4 SRM

Mash Profile

Total Grain Weight: 15.00 lb
Sparge Water: 3.80 gal Grain Temperature: 66.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 180.0 F TunTemperature: 164.9 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE Mash PH: 5.4 PH

Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Sacch Rest Add 27.00 qt of water at 164.9 F 156.0 F 60 min
Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 15 min 168.0 F 10 min

Carbonation and Storage

Carbonation Type: Kegged (Forced CO2) Volumes of CO2: 2.5
Pressure/Weight: 13.3 PSI Carbonation Used: -
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 42.0 F Age for: 28.0 days
Storage Temperature: 42.0 F

Notes

-Pitch 2 packs into 2L starter 72hrs before brew. Chill for 48hrs, decant and pitch @70f. Set Chamber to 75f and let fermentation temp rise naturally per Wyeast Website: "Also used for pseudo ale production with fermentations at 75º F, (24º C) which eliminates sulfur production."

.>>Wish me luck...

[BrewBum]

I have not brewed it yet, not saying i won't but I have to get one more lager in before it gets too warm in the cellar.

[Speyedr]

I brewed this one on Saturday, and as has been the case for the last three attempts now, I got the color wrong. It should be black in appearance, but clear so that when you look through it there is a reddish tint. Instead I ended up with a doo-doo brown, again. Here is the grain bill:

6 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 42.5 %
5 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 32.7 %
1 lbs Aromatic Malt (19.0 SRM) Grain 6.5 %
1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 6.5 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 6.5 %
8.0 oz Debittered Black (500.0 SRM) Grain 3.3 %

Once I checked the color in the mash I added some Black Patent (2oz) at the end of the mash, but before the sparge. After the sparge when it was clear that the color was STILL wrong I steeped 2oz of CarafaIII, but to no avail.

The ONLY time I ever got the color right was the first time when the grain bill was:
81% Pale Malt
8% Aromatic
5.5% Crystal 60
5.5% Debittered Black


I will probably go back to this recipe next time and see if I can duplicate it, then go from there. In the meantime, I am wondering why the color keeps coming out brown and not black. Is it the complexity of the grain bill? Any ideas?

Thanks,

Rob

[wood]

In trying to nail down my all-grain process a few weeks ago, I tried Jamil's RIS recipe, but my LHBS didn't have the darker roast grains, and since I love Victory, I substituted it instead. I ended up with the same poopie brown color, and on top of that, I pitched on top of an APA yeast cake, AND added a 1000ml starter to it - it started at 1080 and ended up at 1020. The funny thing is, in my sample tube, it had a reddish hue (without the black tones)...

The taste (when bottling) was actually pretty close to the 1554! my ferm temp started out at 70 and ended up after 2 weeks at 63 degrees - this was with WLP 001 for both the cake and the starter. What kills me is I wasn't shooting for the 1554 yet, but ended up with a very similar mouthfeel and taste - maybe something funky happened with the yeast.

The point is, I am going to try your recipe next week, and I might up the dark carafa a bit to see what happens. I recall the dude from NBB mentioned it starts big, and maybe the low attenuation attributes to the chewy taste. I might use your recipe and follow the same fermentation schedule I used with my RIS turned Robust Porter bastard to approximate the mouthfeel.

this is fun sh*t.

- WOOD

[spargearm]

Hi. New around these parts. I've attempted my own clone recipe based on a bit of research, in which this thread has been a very big help.

Its still in primary - about 48 hours in - but I hit a snag. I used Wyeast 2124 as had been previously suggested. I pitched at 70 and placed it in a room with the thermostat set to 76. That night the temp dropped to 73 (temp controlled by air conditioning not heat as it already that time of year in these parts). That next morning I applied moderate heat and ensured the temp rose to 77. The room has since been set to 77-80 and never ever dropped below 75.

But I ended up with definite hydrogen sulfide in the room at the end of day one. Day two is better.

As previsouly noted the Wyeast site says "Also used for pseudo ale production with fermentations at 75º F, (24º C) which eliminates sulfur production"

I emailed Wyeast and this is their response:
"I am guessing when New Belgium said they used a lager strain at high temps, they probably meant mid to low 60s. There are many causes for sulfur production during fermentation. Usually from stressing the yeast. What caused the stress is hard to identify at this stage. The changes in temp should not be a major problem, but running it close to 80 could be the issue. I would keep it in the 60s from this point on. Once primary is done, lager at 40 as you noted. Sample it every couple of weeks to monitor the sulfur aromas. They will hopefully decrease with time."

(note I did ask them if this strain had a max temp for psuedo ale production and as you can see that wasnt adddressed per se)

I have responded asking for them to resolve the discrepancy between their site and this advice. What does this community think? Is Wyeasts site or its labservices right? Anyone else tried the 2124 with success at or above 75?

Once I lager out the eggs, I'll post the recipe and my success or failure. I should note though that I wasnt able to follow my recipe of choice as my LHBS didnt have the malts I wanted. But I am pretty sure I at least nailed the color. The color problem in some of the previous recipes: not enough Caramunich (at 60 or 75L) which imparts a red tone to the brew. Think bold and ignore the rule of thumb for 10% or less Caramunich.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

[Fixedgearbeer]

Howdy,

I know that this has been a dead post since May but I would like to bring it back to life. So how did everyone's batches turnout?

I'm looking at doing the following based on the forum here and various notes from NB in other forums and interviews... See below a snippet that I've copied but cannot find the source except that it is from New Belgium. I also have some notes indicating that NB goes light on the Pale malt and heavy on Munich/Carapils/Caramel malts[I believe those notes came from this forum]. Anyway, this is what I will head to the brew store with unless wise words have me pull out the pencil and eraser!

First I'm going to try using the new Wyeast VSS Fat Tire Strain at 68-70F.

Second- I'm going to try to use only grains listed by New Belgium? I have no idea what or how much Crystal to add. Anyway here goes everything...

Amount Item Type % or IBU

6.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 52.17 %
3.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) Bel (3.0 SRM) Grain 26.09 %
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 8.70 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4.35 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 4.35 %
0.25 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 2.17 %
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 2.17 %
0.75 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 34.8 IBU

Cheers,
Ike
HIkerd@gmail.com

<<<<cut>>>
From NEW BELGIUM:
"As you could probably guess we can't give you the recipe but we CAN
give you the ingredients. Here is a list of all of our brews in case you
are interested. Fat Tire is at the top.

Fat Tire: 5.3% alcohol
Hops and Spices-Willamette, Goldings and Magnum
Malts: Pale, C-40, Munich and Victory

Sunshine Wheat: 4.8%
Hops and Spices: Coriander, Orange Peel, and Magnum
Malts: Pale, Carapils, Wheat

1554: 5.5%
Hops and Spices: Magnum
Malts: Pale, Carapils, Black, Munich, Chocolate

Blue Paddle: 4.9%
Hops and Spices: Saaz, Liberty, Magnum
Malts: Pale, Munich, Carapils, Aromatic

Abbey: 7.0%
Hops and Spices: Willamette, Magnum, Hallertau
Malts: Pale, Chocolate, Carapils, C-40, C-80, Munich

Trippel: 8.7%
Hops and Spices: Saaz, Liberty, Magnum, Coriander
Malts: Pale, Victory, Munich

Hope that helps! If you would like more information on any of our other
brews (Special Release beers etc..) please let us know. These are just
our 'full time' beers. Happy homebrewing! "

[wood]

Well -
I nearly forgot about this one!

I did brew this, and it is sitting in a keg in my fridge...

I brewed the same recipe Speyder posted, but at the last minute decided to make a few changes. I don't have my brewer's book here with me, but will post my notes. One thing I did do as a last minute change was to use the white labs california common yeast, and temp controlled it at about 67 degrees (to try to get some esters out of it...) that was a bad move - no esters, very clean, color was perfect, but it tastes more like an anchor porter than the 1554...

I'll post the details later tonight...

If I did this again, I would up my grains of paradise to more than 2 ounces, and definitely use a different yeast (fat tire from wyeast????)

hmmm - good luck.

wood

[seanhagerty]

I did brew an attempt at a 1554 clone. I got to say this was a good schwarzbier, but I thought I had too much of the dark malt flavor from the black patent. I may cut this back a bit, but otherwise, color was good, and it was a nice smooth lagar.


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 7.04 gal
Estimated OG: 1.059 SG
Estimated Color: 37.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 29.3 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 45.70 %
2.50 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 22.85 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 9.14 %
1.00 lb Pale Chocolate (207.0 SRM) Grain 9.14 %
0.50 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 4.57 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.57 %
0.44 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 4.02 %
0.50 oz Magnum [13.10 %] (90 min) Hops 29.3 IBU
2.00 gm Calcium Chloride (Boil 60.0 min) Misc
2.00 gm Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Boil 60.0 miMisc
4.00 gm Baking Soda (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
4.00 gm Chalk (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs California Lager (Wyeast Labs #2112) Yeast-Lager


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 10.94 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 12.00 qt of water at 173.9 F 158.0 F
5 min Mash out Add 6.00 qt of water at 191.8 F 168.0 F