Chimay Blue clone

Clone

This is my favorite of the Belgium Chimay's. A bit on the dark side and full of flavour that lingers on the palette. The yeast contributed nicely with that familiar Belgium Ale taste.

I decided to bottle this and although I'm tasting this only two weeks after bottling I plan to age this for at least six months (October).

The flavour seems spot on. Comparing this to the real thing is premature. The Chimay is crisp, clear and dry. My brew still needs to complete bottle conditioning for at least 3 weeks and then lager for a few months.

Jan 19, 2014 - After 9 months this has turned into a nice Belgium Beer. It continues to get smoother. Compared to the original this is much more malty and has more body. I wanted to have a high degree of bubbles but this resulted in over carbonation and each beer is a potential bomb of foam. A cold crash and proper in bottle fermentation would have made this better. I belive that mashing at 149F would have improved this beer too.

Nov 30, 2014 - way over carbonated so pouring this beer a a slow process. Flavor is spot on however it's just to heavy which I would attribute to a too high mash temp. This would be better in a keg so the yeast slury is not an issue. 

Chimay Rouge (Red), 7% abv. In the 75 cl bottle, it is known as Première. It is a dark brown colour and has a sweet, fruity aroma.

Chimay Bleue (Blue), 9% abv darker ale. In the 75 cl bottle, it is known as Grande Réserve. This copper-brown beer has a light creamy head and a slightly bitter taste. Considered to be the "classic" Chimay ale, it exhibits a considerable depth of fruity, peppery character.

Chimay Blanche (White), or Chimay Triple, 8% abv golden tripel. In the 75 cl bottle, it is known as Cinq Cents. This crisp beer bears a light orange colour, and is the most hopped and driest of the three.

Chimay Blue
Recipe Type: All Grain
White Labs 545 (Belgium Strong Ale)
Yeast Starter: no.
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Batch Size (Gallons): 8 (wort started at 10 gals)
Original Gravity: 1.084 (Clone recipes target 1.090)
Final Gravity: 1.015 (with bottle aging this will be lower)
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14 @ 65 - 70
ABV 9%
Bottled 44 large bottles and plan to age for 6 months. 2 month at 68F and the remaining time in the fridge
Recipe Specifications
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Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.84 gal
Estimated OG: 1.092 SG
Estimated Color: 25.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 22.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Ingredients:
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Gallons	5	8
13.25 lb Pilsner (Weyermann) (1.7 SRM) Grain 77.66 %	13.5	21.60
1.00 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 5.86 %	1	1.60
0.50 lb Caramunich I (Weyermann) (51.0 SRM) Grain 2.93 %	0.5	0.80
0.38 lb Aromatic Malt (Briess) (20.0 SRM) Grain 2.20 %	0.38	0.61
0.25 lb Special B (Dingemans) (147.5 SRM) Grain 1.47 %	0.25	0.40
0.19 lb Chocolate Malt, Pale (Crisp) (350.0 SRM) Grain 1.10 %	0.19	0.30
0.50 oz Galena [13.00 %] (90 min) Hops 19.3 IBU	0.5	0.80
0.50 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] (15 min) Hops 3.3 IBU	0.5	0.80
0.25 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] (2 min) Hops 0.3 IBU	0.25	0.40
0.13 tsp Seeds of Paradise (Boil 15.0 min) Misc	0.13	0.21
0.13 tsp Seeds of Paradise (Boil 2.0 min) Misc	0.13	0.21
0.50 tsp Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 min) Misc	0.5	0.80
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc	1	1.60
1.50 lb Candi Sugar, Amber (100.0 SRM) Sugar 8.79 %	1.5	2.00
1 Pkgs Belgian Strong Ale (Wyeast Labs #1388) Yeast-Ale
	Total grain	25.312
Mash Schedule: 152F Single Infusion, Light Body, running Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 15.56 lb for 5 gallons
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Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
Notes on Wort: Tasted dry and smooth with caramel. Slight dieletics (butter).
Notes on the size: My 10 gallon mash ton max's out with 26 lbs of grain. The recipe was scaled up to max out my mash tun.