How long should a clone of Gulden Draak be aged before comparing it to the real stuff? Our club is trying to get our clone recipe as close as possible, so want to tweak the recipe to get it closer to Gulden Draak if there are significant differences. We want to minimize the chance that the differences are due to our clone being too "green" when we make the comparison. Also, should we age it longer in the carboy vs. in the bottles? The current plan is 14 days of primary, 14 days of secondary, then prime, bottle, and condition for 60-90 days.
asked Nov 14, 2011 at 16:52
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1 Answer
There is not a rule for how long to age a beer other than "until it's ready to drink". You have to determine that yourself. Most Belgian breweries don't age the beer long. According to "Brew Like a Monk", a few weeks is the average.
answered Nov 14, 2011 at 19:57
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True, and usually I just go by taste. In the case, however, I want to have as close to an "apples-to-apples" comparison. If the Belgians age for a few weeks at the brewery, plus a month or two to ship it here and sit on the shelf, 60-90 days should get me in the neighborhood. Commented Nov 16, 2011 at 17:14
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If you're going to be brewing many Belgian beers, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of "Brew Like a Monk". IMO there is no better info on Belgian beers and how they're brewed. Commented Nov 16, 2011 at 19:23