Finally brewday. Reworked recipe!

Yesterday I finally brewed what should have been "Franks Strong Candidate II" but ended up totally different.
For starters, I couldn't get dates. I searched every grocery store nearby without any luck at all. Next I couldn't get whole coriander so I ended up buying ground coriander. Anyway, you gotta brew with what you have, so I changed the recipe a bit.

Brew Like a Monk

I decided to leave out the Belgian Candi syrup totally. I haven't got any of the complexity from the product that many sources, such as BLAM, promise. I don't regard the syrup as being the key ingredient in making dark belgian ales - at least not the syrup I can get, which is from Brewferm.
Then, I know for a fact, that you can brew wonderfully complex beers without. Take for instance Abbaye Des Rocs Brune, which is rated 100% at Ratebeer.com. It is brewed without any sugar additions at all and it is verrrrry good!

Another change to my recipe was the mash temp. I wanted some sweetness in the beer for two reasons.

1. To get the typical "belgian sweetness" in the beer. I mashed at 68C (154F) for an hour. It's very high but I thought I'd give it a try. This also goes against the BLAM advice, to mash low. But hey, as Stan Hieronymus says: You must brew like yourself!
2. I have noticed that some of the beers with more sweetness cellar better. They tend to develop more complexity.

Last change, or, more accurately, decision, was to stay with the anis. I think there's a big difference in throwing a lot of interesting ingredients in the beer and making a complex beer. I was afraid to get a "muddy" impression if I threw too many ingredients in, but since I couldn't get dates I figured it was OK - and MAN the anis smells good!

Here's the recipe I brewed yesterday.

Name: Brew no 31: Franks Brown #6	Style: Belgian Dark Strong Ale
Statistics
Volume:	24 liters
OG:	1082
FG:	1015
Alcohol:	8.7 % by vol.
Colour:	42 EBC (Dark brown)
Bitterness:	36 IBU
BU/GU:	0.44

Fermentables
Pilsner Malt 3 EBC	6000	gr.
Cara-Hell 25 EBC	375	gr.
Cara Amber 70 EBC	367	gr.
Cara Munich 120 EBC	256	gr.
Special B 350 EBC	250	gr.
Chocolate Malt 800 EBC	50	gr.
Dark Moscovado Sugar 80 EBC	500	gr.
Brown Sugar 80 EBC	300	gr.

 Mash schedule: 68C for 1 hour in the oven

Hops
Saaz	3.5%	alpha	100	gr.	60	minutes
Hallertauer	3.0%	alpha	50	gr.	10	minutes

Fermentation
Yeast: Safbrew T-58
Fermented at 23-28 degrees C for 10 days.
Fermented at 15 degrees C for 6 days.
Lagered at 12 degrees C for 120 days.

Comments:

Boil for 1 hours. Add 1 tsp ground coriander and 1 tsp anis to the boil for the last 10 minutes.



It's now bubbeling away in the basement....