Well, here we are. I brewed my first Belgian style beer. So far everything is going swimmingly, I had a fast start on the starter and then a fast start on fermentation. So as long as we don't stall out, everything should be good.
Going into this beer I had a plan. I did a lighter malt base color-wise and I am relying a lot on caramelized wort, piloncillo (Mexican sugar, usually sold in a cone shape) and a mix of dried currants and golden raisins for the color. These things will also add some of the subtle nuances that you expect from a Quad. I caramelized it into the candy making stage and hit what you would call "hard ball" stage. This would allow for more liquid to be reduced out while also darkening the sugar. I decided on this method for another reason, and that was cost. To buy Belgian candy sugar, which is regular sugar cooked to varying degrees of darkness, is expensive. This way I had total control over color and flavour while saving a few pennies.
At the end of the brew day I exceeded my numbers and am now waiting on the yeast to do it's job. I will let it stay at about 70 degrees for the next couple days and the raise it to about 82. Without doing that I could miss on all of those wonderful flavours that Belgian yeasts are known for. I am looking towards trying this beer in a couple months when it is ready.
~As always, keep evolving.
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