I had Westmalle Dubbel the other night & am sold on the style, what an amazing beer. However, I'm looking at the Drie Brett strain as my house yeast & am wondering how a Dubbel recipe will turn out using this strain in primary? Since the Brett chews through even complex, long-chained sugars, I'll be looking to a good % of Special B (6%) & a healthy dosing of dark base malt with Munich 20L coming in about 35%. I'll be brewing this one in a few weeks regardless, but am interested to take a poll of how you think it will turn out? Cheers!
I think it'll be fine. Dubbels really shouldn't be sugary, the impression of sweetness is usually from the alcohol and esters. Let us know how it turns out!
I think a lot of the flavors from a dubbel come from the yeast, so I'm sure you'll miss out a bit there. I agree with OldSock, the beer should be fairly dry anyway, it's only a perception of sweetness. Either way, your plan sounds pretty interesting and even if you don't end up with a traditional dubbel, I think you'll get a really nice beer. As far as the dark munich goes, is that a reasonable amount? I've never used it before, but it sounds like an awful lot to me. I guess it would be reasonable if it was light munich, so maybe I'm off base.
Looking more into your yeast choice, it sounds like a good fit. Light fruit from the brett and dark fruit from the Special B.
I'm on the fence between Munich 10L and Munich 20L, whichever one I want to do ~35% of it to enhance malt character since I think Brett will dry and thin the beer out, so to compensate for that. Any input or recommendations/thoughts are greatly appreciated though! Cheers.
The Drie Brett yeast description does sound intriguing; WLP644: “This Belgian strain, used traditionally for 100% Brettanomyces fermentations, produces a slightly tart beer with delicate characteristics of mango and pineapple.” Please report back on how your Dubbel turns out. I am a great fan of the Dubbel style and I brew two batches a year. My personal preference in a Dubbel yeast produced flavor profile is a combination of fruity (esters) and spicy (phenols). I have found that Wyeast 3787 fermented warm (72-73°F) achieves the yeast flavor profile that I personally desire in a Dubbel. Cheers!
