JZ's Belgian Dubbel

[bosium]

Hi all,

I am planning on making this at the weekend. I am using WLP550 instead of WLP530 but otherwise will stick to the recipe as best I can.

I bought 7KG of dark candi syrup from Brouwland in Belgium as it's closer and cheaper than ordering the D2 stuff from the USA. It says it's 180-220 EBC on the carton, so I'm assuming 200EBC, which is about 100SRM. Should I keep the amounts the same as in JZ's recipe and just expect a darker beer?

I'm a little unclear as to why he uses both dark candi and plain table sugar - either he's used the amount he has because it's one standard package from D2 (he mentions this in the podcast), or it's because if he used all dark candi with no regard to cost it might turn out with too much candi character.

Also, I've read through Brew Like A Monk from cover to cover and it seems that Special B is not typically used in Belgium. Ideally I'd like to ditch the Special B and just use the candi syrup but I'm not confident enough to tinker with the recipe to that extent without brewing it as the book says first.

Could anyone comment on any of this?

Thanks in advance..

[brewinhard]

I have made this recipe several times and can never quite get the body I am looking for even though my numbers hit exactly for OG and FG. I always wondered why he added both cane and dark liquid sugars as well. It seemed to thin out the body too much for my liking. Next time I make this, I would use the dark candi syrup, but omit the cane sugar in place of more base malt. Just my 2 cents.

[beerpressure]

I have made this recipe several times and can never quite get the body I am looking for even though my numbers hit exactly for OG and FG. I always wondered why he added both cane and dark liquid sugars as well. It seemed to thin out the body too much for my liking. Next time I make this, I would use the dark candi syrup, but omit the cane sugar in place of more base malt. Just my 2 cents.

Only brewed it once and I used the suggestion by brewinhard. OG and FG were right on and there is plenty of body in this beer. I would not use cane sugar when I brew it again.