How to Brew an EPIC BELGIAN QUAD a MONK Would be Proud Of
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- Опубликовано: 5 авг 2024
- Six months in the making, this Belgian Quad is everything I ever wanted out of this beer. Earlier in March, I traveled to Belgium, visited with Trappist Monks, and learned a lot about how these beer are made, and this beer is the result of that!
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Recipe on Brewfather: share.brewfather.app/97zspzvz...
Recipe for 5 gallons, your efficiency may vary:
"Mother of Quad"
10.5% ABV 22 IBU
15 lb Dingemans Belgian Pilsner (75%)
1.5 lb Weyermann Munich I (7.5%)
0.75 lb Dingemans Special B (3.8%)
0.75 lb Aromatic Malt (3.8%)
2 lb D-180 Candi Syrup (10%)
Mash:
Step Mash:
148 F (65 C) for 45 min
158 F (70 C) for 30 min
170F (77 C) for 15 min
Water (ppm): Ca: 60 Mg: 6 Na: 18 Cl: 79 SO4: 62 HCO3: 47
Add 2g Gypsum, 2g Epsom and 5g CaCl and 2g Baking Soda to 8 gal (30L) distilled water.
Adjust mash pH to 5.4-5.6 with lactic acid or slaked lime if needed.
90 min boil
60 min - 0.75 oz (21g) Magnum (13.6% AA)
OG: 1.097
Yeast:
Starter w/ 500 B Cells Imperial B48 Triple Double
Ferment pitching at 65 F (18 C), letting free rise no higher than 78-82 F (25-28 C). After, condition at 50-65 F (10-18 C) for 2-3 more weeks. Package, lager for 2-3 more weeks and age for a minimum of 6 months.
FG: 1.019
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0:00 Intro and welcome
0:56 Beer description and approach
5:08 Recipe
10:06 Brew day
12:44 Fermentation Plan
17:39 Fermentation Follow-Up
18:20 Pour and Tasting Notes
25:21 Potential Improvements
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Full disclosure, most of the links on this page are affiliate links. This means if you buy through them I make a small percentage from the sale at no additional cost to you. All money earned through the channel goes back into the videos and brews you see on my channel. As always, don't just take my word for it, do your research before you decide to buy.
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Music provided by Epidemic Sound: share.epidemicsound.com/0go1wp
#belgian #quad #homebrew #dark #strong #ale #brewing #imperial #omega #trappist ##homebrewing #clawhammersupply #graintoglass #BIAB #allgrain 
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I have been to Belgium and appreciate all Trappist styles. I have been Brewing 28 years won 4 bests of shows and countless awards. and have been watching you since you started, and I think hands down you got one of the best homebrew format shows. Without too much shtick. The production is 1st rate and well researched. I always looking forward to your videos to learn and have a beer with. SCHOL!
I appreciate that SO much! I am glad you enjoy the videos and the way that I do them, especially with your pedigree! It helps keep me doing what I'm doing. Cheers!
I'm an American living in Belgium. During lockdown I started brewing specializing in the Belgian styles. One thing I learned is the importance of aging. I brewed a triple and had my Belgian father-in-law try it. He said it was "ok". Gave him the same beer 3 months later and he loved it. The majority of RUclips brewers revel in quick turn-arounds so I am happy to see you talk about the importance of aging. The other important thing I have learned is serving temperature. The stronger beers lose their flavor complexity if served too cold.
Agree with aging 100% and serving temp 200%. Excellent apreciation about it!
“Mother of Quad”, Gregorian music in the background. Beautiful.
Six months waiting that’s where my problems always arise
I got goosebumps when you shared your excitement. Well done!
I really appreciate how you detail the water profile by the ppm and qty in gram . Not many people do that !! Cool!
Great Job, next project to tackle, thanks for the share.
My god this WAS epic, the music, the editing, and the beer! Well done sir
Thank you Trent!! That means a lot coming from you!
The low volume on the music was good too. The narration was easy to hear.
You always pack so much good info in these videos sir! Cheers! Looks like an AWESOME beer!
I appreciate it man! This was certainly one of my absolute favorites. Cheers!
Maybe one of your best videos and beers. A truly deep dive as always. Thank you Steve! Keep up the great work!🍻
Thank you! I appreciate that!
Man this is great! I'm getting back into brewing and your videos are so helpful. Thank you!
Glad you enjoy them!!
Congratulations on a stupendous beer! Well worth the wait 🍻. Belgium beer is amazing and it's great to see you properly age some!
It really is! Thank you!
You are fired up in this one my dude. Love to see it!
This beer was damn good!!
Super video! Thanks! I'm getting more and more a fan of Belgian beers.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I do love my trappist beer and it seems amazing making a beer like it is ... possible. Thanks for all your teaching!
Thank you so much! That's why I do this, I hope to show it is indeed possible to make this at home!
Great video! I will certainly give this a try. Keep up the good work.
Glad you enjoyed it!!
Nice! Good on ya for nailing it and exercising the required patience. Congrats on the great beer!! 🍻
Thank you! Cheers!
Great job brewmaster, keep up the good work!! Your videos are awesome, I'm always motivated to brew my next batch after watching 😁
Kind regards from Belgium
Thank you! Glad you enjoy the videos!
My boy nailed it 🍺🥲🤌🏻
What a treat of a video. Skål.🍻
Thank you!! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!
I brewed a Belgian Quad few months ago but wanted to try Abbaye from fermentis. It definitely adds a lot of esters after just 1 month of aging into the bottles. Been trying 1-2 per month and it is absolutely fantastic how its evolution is and all these kind of beers can give. Thanks for sharing your experiences and brews and knowledge!!!
Awesome video, man! I'll be making something like this soon!
A lovely video, well presented with infectious enthusiasm, thankyou for your effort! 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it!
I was able to get my hands on Westvleteren 12 a few years ago and have wanted to make it ever since. This looks amazing! Thank you for the video!
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
When a brewer has to shed a tear when tasting the first sip of his masterpiece... This is dedication!
My highest respect.
Thank you!
Oh hell yes!! Never been so excited to brew a beer. This is next on my list. Get my Clawhammer tomorrow.
Enjoy it!
Mother of Quad! you make awesome beer. I hope the wedding guests who got some have enjoyed it as much as you are . Cheers!
They did! Although not all of them waited 3 more months haha
Just awesome man!
Another excellent and informative video. Thank you. I want to try this recipe.
Glad you enjoyed it! It is worth making for sure!
Great to see you succeeded. 6 months is quite long but worth the wait if everything was done properly.
Looks delicious! My brother and I are Belgian beer lovers and we are starting a brewery in our area. This video adds to the inspiration to keep pushing for that goal. Our late mother loved Belgian beers and we are making a triple in her honor. This helps to put things in perspective, salut'!
If you build it, they will come!
Cool brewing video. I have just recently discovered Trappist beer and it will be my go to beer this fall/winter. Cheers 🍻
Cheers! It's a perfect beer for that season
I have to say again how much I appreciate the metric measures but wanted to mention the colour coding on the malt names, great effect!
Also I've never been happier that someone enjoyed their home brew haha, looks like you have really done well and absolutely have to have another run at it!
Glad you appreciate it!!
I love the way you are so stoked over this beer! I can't wait until I am capable of brewing such a beer. I have the Clawhammer 10 gallon 240v system, however I have lost 2 temperature control refrigerators in the past few months.......and now no temperature control.
Love the videos, keep up the great content.
Just let it ride man! If you can get it pitched at 65-68 F you're good to go
Love this style!!! Never brewed it though, definitely need to give it a shot!
Give it a try, it's 100% worth it!
Man. You got me salivating while watching the video hehe. This beer Sounds amazing, I’m sold. I’m switching to BIAB soon. This one is at the top of the list to make. I had similar experiences in the past with a stout and a batch of cider. After a month I bottled them and the stout tasted ok but nothing to brag about. The cider I was ready to dump down the toilet. However I had bottled them and dumping them was gonna take some time (dumping individual bottles, washing them, dry store them , etc) so I kept procrastinating. In the meantime they sat there for another month. Out of curiosity I put a couple of bottles in the fridge just to try and compare and wow. The difference a few more weeks did. Totally get the waiting stage. Great job w this.
Hey, great work you're doing! Recently dug out my brewing equip. because I miss a really good wheat beer. I always do a triple decoction because it just tastes better. Lol.
I pitch with Saison and it's great right out of the fermenter!
This quad looks amazing and is definitely one I'll be doing as close to your specs as possible. But 6 mo's!
Glad I found your channel and I'm subscribed!
Fabulous stuff. I've spent a lot of time in Brussels ... made a tripel last year, will be making "your" quad this year. I watched the video whilst sipping an ABT 12 ... thanks, inspirational as always
It's such a lovely place. Best of luck with the brew!
Great to hear for such success. I've had the same in the past with wee heavy which went to the limit of alcohol tolerance of yeast (I know it's a bit of the style) and left it for a year trying a bottle of it every 2-3 months. That beer is still the best heavy beer I've ever made.
That sounds absolutely delicious! You have to age these strong beers, there's no other way!
The importance of waiting for Belgian beer is so important! One of our styles is by law made with only wild yeasts and aged more than 3 years, oude geuze
I brewed this recipe and it is wonderful. Tasting great after three months in the bottle and it will be interesting to see how it changes over time.
Congratulations on the successful brew! No better feeling than nailing it XD
That's true!
Im on a brewing hiatus of about a year but vids and entusiasm like this make me feel like picking it up again. I actually have D-180 and dark sugar in a box to… Thanks man.
You should!
Bravo! Thanks for putting this one out.I now know why mine came out less carbonated. I let it secondary ferment in a glass carboy and primed with just corn sugar. and no added bottle conditioning yeast. Thanks for showing the error of my ways. Cheers!
Yup, that yeast can be nearly spent by the time comes to bottle. Cheers!
Great video. Belgian quadrupel is my favourite style too. Cheers 🍻
Glad you enjoyed it!
Damn, now that's a good looking beer. Great video!
Thank you!
Skål! from Denmark. Your enthusiasm is just - how do you say in english - adorable😁 makes me want to head downstairs to my little brewery right now. Nice job👍
Haha I'm glad I could inspire you!
These are a fav to brew. If you ever get on the wild side of things, secondary with about 3lbs of Tart cherries. NOT sweet cherries. Ask me how I know. Appreciate you attention to details and how you get right to the point without added fluff. I've been brewing off and on for about 17yrs now with varying degree of success. You're like the Home Brewer I always strived to be! Cheers
Quad & Dubbel not my favorite styles but this sounds amazing! Congrats!
I generally have to be in the mood for a Belgian, but I do definitely appreciate all the hard work and patience that goes into it. My go to beers are generally IPAs and stouts. I recently started home brewing about five months ago and definitely appreciating everything that goes into the final product, including sometimes the longer wait.🍻
Congrats on starting homebrewing! Some things are definitely worth waiting for. Cheers!
You just can't beat a dark Belgian-style beer. I need to get another one brewed soon. Very well shot video too btw! I got into brewing for Belgian Dark and Saison. When done well, they are incomparable to anything else.
So true, I'm excited to get working on a dubbel and a dark saison hopefully soon. Cheers!
Would love to be able to make a good quad or tripel some time in the future. Amazing beers
Thanks for making this video! I appreciate your content a lot!
This has convinced me to let my dubbel age longer than 2-3 months :)
Yes!! Let it go for another few months, you'll be happy you did!
Thanks for the video 📹 😀
Thanks for watching!
You really got me excited about home brewing with this one
It's an awesome feeling knowing you can make this at home!
That's awesome I love how happy you are w this, it's contagious haha it's a little soon but maybe ill order my next set of ingredients hehehe
Do it! Its so worth it!
I make Christmas beers every year in June and let it sit until Christmas before I touch it. It’s mostly a quad but not dark. It’s amber and has some spices added. Coriander, Orange peel and Rosemary. Last year even with Juniper Berries. This combination counters the sweetness which develops over conditioning. It’s like you said not sugar I think the combination of the spices produce the very pleasant taste. I overwhelmed myself with it too. And I safe beers over the years and still have one bottle from 2015 left. A little taste-party with my best friend between Christmas and New Year is obligatory and shoots tears in our eyes after the 3rd goblet each from a different year between 3 and 5 years old. This is real Christmas!
Breaking out old bottles is so much fun. Cheers!
You have inspired me to undertake a Belgian journey of my own! Curses!
They sure are delicious!
A beer I've wanted to make for a while. Such a great style. Edit: I actually have your Christmas Quad saved in my Brewfather recipes. I'll probably switch it to this.
I would 100% recommend switching at least the base beer over to this. If you want to keep the spices though, I bet they would blend well for a Christmas beer. Cheers!
Quads are one of my favorite styles. Saving this recipe for next June/July.
Have the Weizenbock recipe you made last year aging at the moment!
That is awesome!!
Bravo!
Ohhhhhhh mannnnnnn!!!!!!!
One of my favorite styles, I’m drooling right now.
😁👍🏻👍🏻🍺🍺🍺🍺
Haha yesss! So worth the wait
Very good channel!
I don't normally like super dark beers, however, this one sounds amazing! I might have to brew one.
It's certainly different than most dark beers for sure. It's worth it!
Nice. (The monk-chorale music cracked me up - great choice!)
You've inspired me to try something very similar. I'm curious to see if I can get some of the cherry-ish notes into this that Bestmalz' Red-X hints at, that might work well in the overall flavor profile. E.g., instead of the Munich (since Red-X is kind of a Munich malt anyway).
Go ahead, chug that beer! No shame in that!
Do it! It's worth making! I think you can get cherry notes from Caramunich malts depending on concentration.
Spent a long afternoon at Westvleteren several years ago….magical! 🍻
Yes it is!!
I haven’t brewed a dark beer yet and was thinking of brewing one for the winter. I think you may have convinced me which one. I realize it will be almost spring to age it but that’s OK. I really like the epic pour music.
It is well worth it, just be sure to age!
Brewed this in November. Bottled at the end of December. Just had my first bottle of this batch, and it was absurdly flavorful with very strong dark fruit (plum) taking the main show. I plan on having one bottle per month until I think it's at it's peak. I have lots of bottles for tasting on the monthly basis, I've put five 24oz bottles awayfor very long term aging, to see how it is at one, two, three years etc. Looking forward to how it changes over time.
That's awesome!! Yeah it's incredible how that flavor comes in over time and how it changes! Cheers!
Coming back to this almost a year later. I think the quad I brewed (using this recipe) is just hitting its stride. Unfortunately, I am down to just a few bottles left but after a year+ in the bottle, it’s really delicious and I’ve had loads of people compliment the beer.
I’m definitely going to be brewing it again, probably in March.
Great video. I love dark beer more then enething.. uselly I brew Stout and bock for me and lager for my father because he dont like dark beer, Definitely inspired me to brew this one thanks
Cheers! Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video!
Thank you Ed!!
Will definitely make, don't know when but will.
Do it!
You totally had a 'moment' there! I have one imperial stout left will be over a year old at Christmas.
Nice!!
Great video and thumbnail braj!
Thanks man!!
I’m pretty buzzed while watching this... Thought that music was in my head 😋
Love your videos! Always informative. Have brewed a few of your recipes already :) Did you add any extra yeast during bottling, and if so, which one?
I used lallemand CBC-1 for bottle conditioning this one.
Great Job! I have made a few these and have issues getting the beer to attenuate properly. I think the Step Mash is the missing link for me!
That, plus ensuring your grain bill is simple as possible, and taking good care of your fermentation. There are a lot of things that help this beer move along!
Definitely taking some notes from your experience here. I can't do a Belgian Quad yet since I lack the oxygenation equipment, but once I do it's first on my list for big beers.
I think you still could pull it off without O2, just do a longer aeration than usual with whatever method you do have.
higher oxy levels of atleast 10 ppm are necessary for the yeast to build their lipid levels and ferment the beer properly........at such a high gravity yeast need that extra Oxy........rest of the video is just just awesome Steve.........maybe you should consider turning pro at some point man.......cheers
love the details of your process.......really not many get into those details.......have a good one
This guy is the alton brown of home brewing. Thanks for the info. Really great.
Thanks for the kind words! Glad you enjoy the content!
Great looking beer! I made a Belgian Brown Ale not not far back and it lacked body. Still good, but wish there was more there.
Thanks man! I tried making my own Belgian brown recently as well and it was a total flop.
Congrats on a successful brew! And a difficult, nevertheless🍻
Thank you!
I am brewing this beer today. Hope it's epic!
So brewday went well. I am about 5 pts over your gravity. LIttle apprehensive about getting the bottling and carbonation correct. Haven't bottles for a long time. Any tips?
Over target gravity isn't a bad thing for this beer at all. Just be patient for the fermentation to finish up and try to bulk age if you can before bottling. Be sure to use either champagne yeast or CBC-1 to bottle with and store them cold before opening so the carbonation stays in the beer
I had been to the monasteries in Belgium when was in Army. And have told people...however they say I can't wait that long to drink them.. I always put some away for months later, even the following year...longest was 2 years. Its like night and day pretty much
Great video.
Definitely inspired me to get started so it’s ready for winter. ❤
Thanks! It will definitely be the tail end of winter when it's really hitting its stride, but this doesn't have to be a seasonal beer!
Someone had a beergasm
Well Done! Greetz from Germany!
Thank you!
Amazing vid. Your reaction to that beer means that I will brew it. Will brew your triple too. Thanks man.
Those two were among the top 3 beers this year I think. I hope you get great results too!
I must try this
Best of luck!
damn your description makes me yearn to taste your beer lol. Cheers.
That's the idea! Cheers!
Agreed Quads kinda sit in a class of it own. While I am still on the hunt for my all time favorite beer style. I can honestly say Quad is my favorite Belgian Style. 100% it is a beer that needs to age. Really great video! Cool to see you adapt your process after seeing how the monks make the bier. Just started exploring barrel aging and think a quad has to be on the list. have you experimented with any barrel aging?
I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! I want to get into barrel aging something but it seems like a ton of work. I don't know if its completely worth it on the homebrew scale right now, but I have some, albeit very expensive, options.
@@TheApartmentBrewer I've been experimenting with small scale barrels normally reserved for cocktails, it's a great way to get started without dedicated a whole batch. But I can totally understand having reservations. Cheers!
That seems godly. Funny how u talk abt like a child 🤣. Always love the way u explore the making of these great beers. I'm getting into sugar producing (working as analyst) and have a dream of working with beer, after my internship. Do continue enriching my knowledge, as always thank you.
Love monk beers was shocked to hear Spencer folded.
That was a really painful blow. I was hoping to make it out there for a video one day
@@TheApartmentBrewer I just tried a whiskey from Berkshire Distillers that was made from Spencers beer its really good.
That's a fine looking beer
I believe that some of the official classics, like Westvleteren, use only base malt and dark candi sugar...so perhaps a way to get more esters is to increase the candi sugar and decrease the specialty malts, especially my nemesis, aromatic malt lol. Regardless, congrats on your brew! Great video, really enjoyed.
This is true, I think. I think this is how I will do my dubbel when the time comes. Cheers!
I've always been intimidated by this one in particular. I will steal your recipe and give it a try. One knows a beer is good, when the knees bent while sipping on it...
Don't be intimidated at all! It's not too hard if you can be patient with it!
If you want a killer head, have a step at around 52-55C for 20minutes. Step mash itself does not do the trick itself. (However the head looked fine) The 51-55C range is that accountable for the head retention. Protein link formation is happening in that range. loved the sound effect in this vid and it is good see your enthusiasm shine trough from this episode. :) It really looks like Belgian beers are the closest to the chest.
Every time I've done a protein rest with modern malts it's absolutely destroyed the head retention, when done for 15 min or less, so I stopped doing them. Glad you enjoyed the video!
Steve, this is easily the best video on beer brewing I have ever watched! Can you age in the keg or is bottle conditioning key to the result? Not a fan of bottling and don’t have a beer gun. Yet…
Thanks for the kind words! You can definitely bulk keg condition this beer. Just be sure to give it time, that is the only way to get the best results!
It might be interesting to see if open fermenting (like Westvleteren) for a few days pushes esters more for you. When krausen starts to drop, cap it and let it ride as you did.
I am willing to bet it would. I don't want to open ferment in my basement for fear of mold though.
@@TheApartmentBrewer you mean you don't have a sanitized fermentation room like the monks? Kidding. I've seen some folks partially cover with cheesecloth, or foil, or the lids for this reason. I think the concern would be prior to krausen rising--once it starts going, mold shouldn't be a concern except for what ends up on top of the krausen, but by then you'd hopefully have more than 2% ABV to kill off anything. Plus, you would be top cropping each day to remove anything (including a harvest!). Otherwise, underpitching might be another option. Desperately want to make it out to Belgium. Far and away some of my favorite beers. Cheers.
I once brewed a Belgian Dubbel and aged it for a year=AMAZING!
Did you age more of those? I would be curious if it changed even more. Love your channel! Cheers from Montana! 🍻
No :( I need to make this again!!
I'm glad for your best beer ever made. Special B and Aromatic malts are both a good choice on the grain bill. Why did you choose Magnum over other European hops like Tettnang or Styrian Goldings?
Really it was because I find Magnum's bitterness very easy to scale and control, plus it is super clean
I'm loving this series - my favourite styles of beer.
Question, as I noticed you O2 your beer for fermentation. I realise this is especially recommended for these high ABV styles but do simpletons like me with Home Depot bucket fermenters have a chance at a quad? I managed just fine with a Golden Strong Ale, but this is taking it up yet another notch.
BTW, poor planning on my part as I just finished my last bottle of Strong Golden Ale I made when I returned from Belgium this summer, and now I have no more Belgian-style beer! I'm currently planning my next brew, and I'm thinking I better get either a tripel or a quad underway first so it can age in my cellar before I try something lighter and quicker to enjoy, like a saison or singel.
The O2 helps a lot, but if you can make a Belgian Golden Strong, then you can make a quad just fine. If you're in a bucket, see if you can get one of those power drill mounted wine aerators and that's should really help.