Rich Belgian Quad, 9.8% ABV. Dark fruit, fig and caramel with a warming finish, best savoured over time.

Deep, rich, and complex, the Belgian Quadruple (or “Quad”) sits at the very top of the abbey ale family. Originating from the Trappist brewing traditions, quads are big, dark, malt-driven beers brewed by the monks. 

The wider family of abbey-style beers includes Dubbels, Tripels, and Quads. Each respective step up represents more strength, depth, and complexity. Where Dubbels showcase dark fruit and caramel, and Tripels lean golden and spicy, the Quad is the ultimate expression abbey style; full-bodied, warming, and layered with notes of dried fruit, dark sugar, toffee, and subtle spice. Despite their strength, the best examples remain dangerously smooth, a testament to the monks’ skill in brewing great beers.

This beer has a large grain bill and will push a Grainfather G30 and Brewzilla pretty close to their maximum. If you are brewing using a gen 3 brewzilla we would recommend looking into a reiterated mash (double mashing) in order to fit all the grain in the malt pipe. This beer is also extremely strong and will need plenty of viable yeast - this is ideal for a starter. 

We would also highly recommend bottle conditioning this beer for 6 months or longer. We have intentionally shot for a higher bitterness than is usually suggested, this is intentional as the IBU will decrease over extended periods of aging.

Vitals

Original Gravity: 1.089
Final Gravity: 1.014
IBU (Tinseth): 31
BU/GU: 0.35
Colour: 41.5 EBC 

ABV: 9.8%
73% efficiency
Batch Volume: 21 L
Boil Time: 120 min

Mash Water: 24.89 L
Sparge Water: 10 L
Total Water: 34.89 L
Boil Volume: 28.92 L
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.061

Mash

Temperature — 65 °C — 60 min
Mash Out — 75 °C — 15 min

Malts (7.13 kg)

5.4 kg (75.7%) — Joe White Maltings Pilsner, Malt Craft Export — Grain — 3.2 EBC
1.25 kg (17.5%) — Joe White Maltings Munich, Light — Grain — 17.7 EBC
300 g (4.2%) — Dingemans Aromatic Malt — Grain — 37.5 EBC
180 g (2.5%) — Dingemans Special B — Grain — 290 EBC

Other (800 g)

800 g — Candi Syrup Candi Syrup, D-90 — Sugar — 177 EBC

Hops (70 g)

70 g (31 IBU) — Saaz 4.5% — Boil — 60 min

Miscs

5.3 g — Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) — Mash
0.8 g — Epsom Salt (MgSO4) — Mash
2.8 g — Gypsum (CaSO4) — Mash
1 ml — Phosphoric Acid 85% — Mash
1 ml — Phosphoric Acid — Mash

Yeast

1 pkg — Bluestone Yeast Co. BSY-A006 Antwerp (Bluestone) 78% (reccomended but needs a starter)
5 pkg - Cellar Science Monk
4 pkg - Fermentis BE-256

Fermentation

Pitching Temp — 20 °C — 1 days
Main Ferment — 22 °C — 10 days
Main Ferment — 24 °C — 3 days
Diacetyl Rest — 26 °C — 2 days

Carbonation: 2.9 CO2-vol

Water Profile

Ca2+: 61
Mg2+: 2
Na+: 8
Cl-: 77
SO42-: 55
HCO3-: 16

This grain bill will be too large to mash all at once. Instead we recommend a reiterated mash process. We would highly recommend making a large yeast starter (around 5 litres) for this beer - failure to do so will lead to a stalled ferment and off flavours.
This beer is designed for extended bottle conditioning for 6 months plus, ideally much longer - hence the higher IBU. This bitterness will drop substantially over the course of aging.