Homebrew Tasting: Dubbel with Figs and Dates

I'm not sure if it has been laziness or a concern that I don't want to over post but this will be my first tasting review. I read a good amount of other homebrewer blogs and I realized it is pretty important to have the results from each batch displayed. So I will try to post as many reviews as possible so if anyone ever decides to brew a similar recipe they will know what they might want to adjust based on my review of the finished product.

This beer is my Dubbel in which I added Black Mission Figs and Dates to the beer in secondary. The beer was left on the fruit for about 2 months.








There is mixed results, but this is more due to the Dubbel base beer than the figs/dates I added. The plain Dubbel came out alright but it had far too much banana ester for my liking. I think this was due to fermenting around 62 for too long. That must be the magic banana temperature for the Chimay yeast. Also I think my lack of oxygen in solution is really hurting me on my big beers. I think I'm getting plenty of yeast pitched, but not enough oxygen so the yeast can build up sterols before splitting. So I am getting some "hot" off flavors.

Appearance: Somehow lacked the great head these beers normally have. I forced carb this beer to around 3 Volumes (or probably not, so I may uncap these and add 2 carb tabs). Great rich amber but with some very small fig particles still in solution.

Aroma: Big Banana at first, then Sweet booze, then fruity figs (definitely more figs than base beer)
Taste: Follows the Aroma almost exactly, has the dark fruit I was looking for but the beer needs that touch of chocolate that is so good in commercial examples.

Mouthfeel: Medium and that is even with lacking the carbonation it needs.

Drinkability: I am pretty bothered by the banana ester, which I have become sensitive to. I think the dark fruit flavor is there. This beer is like a painting with a lot of paint that was just thrown on the canvas and hopefully some age will let me appreciate it.

Notes: 
1. Use Oxygen for anything over 1.060
2. Forget homemade syrup and use D2 next time to help with the chocolate notes
3. New yeast or different fermentation temperature to avoid the banana flavor
4. No need for dates, at least in this beer

Dubbel Recipe

Adding figs and dates

Adding Fruit: Figs and Dates

 My Belgium Dubbel turned out pretty well, at least for my first time brewing this style. However it is a bit high on the banana ester. I think with the WLP 500 Chimay yeast you get this flavor when you ferment in the low 60s. It is not over powering but more than I like in a Dubbel. For me, a good Dubbel is a complex malt lover's dream. I like to taste a bit of biscuit, a touch of toast, a hint of chocolate and a pretty good dose of dried dark fruits. And this beer did not have enough of that complex malt profile. I thought for this batch I might as well experiment with adding some fruit to boost those flavors.

Convenitely a follow QUAFF member was offering fresh figs from his tree. So I traded a few homebrews for a few lbs of very ripe figs. I am not sure the type of fig (so if you know from the pictures please leave me a comment) but they tasted great. I divided them up into smaller quantities to be used in future batches (any ideas?). It is a pretty strong flavor so I figured that .5 lb in 2.5 gals should help build up that dried fruit flavor.

I was also at the produce store and saw some delicious dates so I thought those would round out the complexity. Another .5 lb of dates should work.I put all the fruit in a bag and froze and re-froze it a few times to really break down the fruit. And then it was easy to mash up while still in the bag. Next thing was to cook up this mush and bring out the dried, caramelized flavors. I added a few cups of water and then let the mixture simmer for a few hours on low until the smell was just right. The whole house smelled like fresh baked Fig Newtons. I put the lid on the pan and let it cool in the sink. And simply poured the fig/date paste into the corny keg. I'll check the pressure on the keg over the next week but this should also prove as a nice way to carb up the beer.

Side Note:
I also dried some in the oven on the lowest setting (mine 170F) in convection mode. They were pretty dry in 10-12 hours. Next time I will save the gas and wait for a hot day and have sun dried figs.(I forgot to take a final pic, just imagine more wrinkles)

 1/21/11 Update
Dubbel with Black Mission Figs and Dates Tasting

Belgian Beer Series: Dubbel

The next beer in my Belgian Beer Series. The Singel turned out great and I think I'll have to write a review for that one. Having the WLP550 yeast that the Singel built up, I 'm going to pitch it into a Dubbel. For me, Dubbels seem like very complex beers but the best ones seem to smooth out that complexity. I have never brewed one before so I decided to start with Jamil's Recipe. I like that Jamil designed this beer at the lower end of the BJCP starting gravity scale. The one thing I am changing is that I want to try my hand at making candi syrup. I did a lot of reading on the matter and the consensus is that no one so far has been able to replicate the flavors from Dark Candi Inc.'s syrups. Well, this is homebrewing and I'm going for it. Look for a future post of my experience.

I am also fermenting this on the cooler side to reduce the chance at over the top fruitiness. I do like a big dark fruit (Plum, fig) taste in my Dubbels but I hope to get most of that from the Special B and dark candi syrup.

Recipe: Belgian Dubbel
O.G.-1.066  F.G.-TBD   IBU-22.5
SRM-17(?)   ABV-6.7-7.4%%   Cal-215

Grain Bill (76% Efficiency):

9 lb Pilsner Malt (72.7%)
1 lb  Munich Malt 10L (8.1%)
8 oz Aromatic Malt (4%)
8 oz Caramunich I (4%) 
6 oz Special B (3%) 
1lb Homemade Candi Syrup (8.1%)  
 

Hops:
.75 oz Saaz, 6.8%, pellet, 90 min 22.5 IBU
  
Yeast:
150-200 mL White Labs WLP550 (From Belgian Singel)


Brew Day:
Brewed: 9/5/10
Kegged: TBD

Water:
San Diego (Alvarado) Tap Water
1 campden tablet for 5 gal.

Mash Details:
H2O/Grain Ratio: 1.3 qt/lb
Mash Volume: 3.67 gal
Sacc Rest. Temp/Time: 149F @ 60min
Strike Temp: 162F
Batch Sparge Volume: 5.5 gal
Sparge Temp/Time: 170F @ 30min

Boil Details:
Boil Volume: 7 gal
Boil Time: 90min
Post Boil Volume: 5.5 gal

Ferment Details:
O.G.: 1.060 + candi syrup
Ferment Temp: 65-68F
Length: 21 days in primary (added 1 lb of candi syrup on day 5, still active fermentation)
F.G.: TBD