Big Boi: Belgian Golden(ish) Strong Ale

I set out to do something I've never done before on a few fronts. I wanted to make a pseudo hybrid between a Victory: Golden Monkey,  Stone: Old Guardian Belgo Barley Wine, and Bells: Hopslam. These are big beers and absolutely remarkable ones too. I was shooting for the distinct Belgian Strong Ale yeast from Golden Monkey, the candy delivery and punch from Old Guardian Belgo, and the hop profile and honey flair from Hopslam (which is surprisingly only around 60 IBUs).

I've helped out on all-grain beers before, but I've never made one that I could call my own. So forever away with extract! It is a hell of a lot more work than brewing extract, but it is also way more satisfying and you definitely have more control over your final product. All that said, I don't really have the proper equipment to brew all-grain, but I made do with what I have and I got a little inventive. Because I do not have a false bottom on my brew pot, I had to sock my grains which prevented me from getting their full sugar potential. I only received about 62% mash efficiency vs the standard 75% mash efficiency. This is not a deal breaker, but it will take away from some of the punch I was going for from the Old Guardian Belgo. I was shooting for a starting gravity of 1.11+ but I ended up with a starting gravity of 1.088 which is respectable and well within the boundaries of a Belgian Golden Strong Ale.

During the sparging process, I had to modify my spout with a cheese cloth filter so I could get more sugars out of the grain. I couldn't believe how wonderfully it worked! If I had not done that and allowed the grains to be freed from the sock, I would of ended up with much less than 62% mash efficiency.

I don't want to say too much more about it because I still have a long road ahead of me in the fermenter. I'm sure I'll check back in with progress reports and finished product details and photos. I'm not sold on Big Boi being the name of the beer, but at least for now it is the project name.