All-grain · 20 L (5.3 gal)
Belgian Dubbel Recipe
BJCP 26B · Belgian Dubbel
The abbey double: reddish and malty, with raisin, plum and dark caramel from the candi sugar, and a drier finish than you'd expect.
Belgian Dubbel recipe by the numbers
- Batch size
- 20 L (5.3 gal)
- Original gravity
- 1.065
- Final gravity
- 1.012
- ABV
- 6.9%
- Bitterness
- 21 IBU
- Color
- 15 SRM (30 EBC)
- Mash
- 66 °C (151 °F) for 60 minutes
- Boil
- 60 minutes
- Fermentation
- 19 °C (66 °F) rising to 22 °C (72 °F), 2-3 weeks
- Bottling
- 7.5 g of sugar per liter (1.0 oz/gal)
About 200 kcal per 330 ml (11 oz) bottle, worked out from its original and final gravity.
Belgian Dubbel recipe: ingredients and steps
Batch size
Recipe for 20 liters (5.3 US gallons) into the fermenter.
Malts
| Malt | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pilsner malt4 EBC (2 °L) | 4.80 kg (10.58 lb) | 81.4% |
| Munich malt15 EBC (6 °L) | 0.60 kg (1.32 lb) | 10.2% |
| Special B malt300 EBC (113 °L) | 0.10 kg (0.22 lb) | 1.7% |
| Dark candi sugar300 EBC (113 °L) | 0.40 kg (0.88 lb) | 6.8% |
Hops
| Hop | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Hallertau Mittelfrüh4% alpha acids | 45 g (1.59 oz) | 60 minBittering |
| Styrian Goldings3.5% alpha acids | 20 g (0.71 oz) | 15 minFlavor |
You will also need
Yeast: Dry Belgian abbey yeast, such as BE-256: two 11.5 g (0.4 oz) packets.
Water: About 29.5 L (7.8 gal): 16.5 L (4.4 gal) for the mash and 13 L (3.4 gal) for the sparge.
Priming sugar: 7.5 g of white sugar per liter bottled (1.0 oz/gal): about 145 g (5.1 oz) for 19 L (5 gal). Belgian beers are fairly highly carbonated.
Hops: pellets, kept in the freezer until brew day.
Step by step
- Heat 16.5 L (4.4 gal) of water to 72 °C (162 °F), add the crushed malt and stir well. It should settle at about 66 °C (151 °F): hold that temperature for 60 minutes, covered.
- Lift out the grain and sparge it with 13 L (3.4 gal) of water at 76 °C (169 °F). You should collect about 24 L (6.3 gal) of wort at 1.050-1.051; the candi sugar makes up the rest.
- Bring to a boil and boil for 60 minutes, uncovered, with the 45 g (1.6 oz) of Hallertau in from the start. With 15 minutes left, add 20 g (0.7 oz) of Styrian Goldings and the 400 g (14.1 oz) of dark candi sugar, stirring until it dissolves.
- Chill to 19 °C (66 °F), transfer about 20 L (5.3 gal) to the sanitized fermenter and take a gravity reading: it should be around 1.065. Shake well to aerate.
- Pitch the yeast and ferment at 19 °C (66 °F) for the first three days: that keeps the esters in raisin and plum territory, without harsh alcohols.
- Then let it rise to 21-22 °C (70-72 °F) so the yeast can finish and eat all the sugar.
- Once the gravity sits at 1.012 for three days in a row, bottle with the priming sugar and let it carbonate for two to three weeks at room temperature. It gets better with another month or two in the bottle.
The dark candi sugar sold at homebrew shops usually comes as a syrup, and it's what gives the color and the raisin and toasted caramel notes. White candi rocks don't do the same job: they only dry the beer out.
If your Hallertau isn't 4% alpha acids, use 45 × 4 ÷ your percentage, in grams, to keep it at 21 IBU. Skip the aroma hops: in a dubbel, the malt and yeast run the show.
The style: Belgian Dubbel (BJCP 26B), with its history, its numbers and other ways to brew it.
Different setup? Recalculate with the water calculator, the IBU calculator and the priming sugar calculator.
Rating recipes and keeping a brew log need an account, which is only available in Spanish for now. English accounts are coming soon.
Frequently asked questions
How strong will this Belgian Dubbel be?
About 6.9% ABV: it starts at 1.065 and finishes at 1.012, and (OG − FG) × 131.25 gives that percentage.
How long until it is ready?
One brew day, fermentation at 19 °C (66 °F) rising to 22 °C (72 °F), 2-3 weeks and about two weeks in the bottle: give it a little over a month.
Can I use a different bittering hop?
Yes. What matters is keeping the bitterness: if you use another hop instead of Hallertau Mittelfrüh at 4% alpha acids, work out the grams from its alpha acids (or with the IBU calculator) to stay at about 21 IBUs.
What if my system does not get 72% efficiency?
Your gravity will come out different. Scale the base malt up or down (or add a little dry malt extract to the boil if you fall short) and recalculate the water with the calculator.
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Reference style: Belgian Dubbel in the BJCP guidelines, 2021 edition. Original recipe by Hacer Cerveza Casera, designed for a homebrew setup.