The Brew
I had been planning a double batch of something clean and malt-forward to eventually blend with a wild sour project that has been conditioning since early 2026. With autumn winding down and the evenings getting darker earlier, a pale ale or saison felt a bit out of season. Something with a bit more weight and darkness made more sense.
It turned out Dubbel was one of the eight accepted styles at Euroclash 2026. So a double batch of Belgian Dubbel was, as it were, like getting two birds stoned at once: enough clean beer to enter the competition, and a second keg kept back specifically for blending experiments with the wild sour. The two corny kegs were planned from the start rather than just overflow.
After the Belgian Blonde brewed six weeks earlier I also had a healthy slug of Abbaye yeast sitting in the fridge, which made the decision straightforward. Same yeast, more malt complexity, darker fruit character.
The recipe leans traditional: Weyermann Pilsner as the base, Munich and Vienna for depth, Shepherds Delight and Toffee Malt for that characteristic dark fruit and caramel, a touch of Light Chocolate for colour, and two packets of D240 dark candi sugar late in the boil. Hopping is minimal, as it should be: Pacific Jade and Czech Saaz for a clean bittering backbone with just a little earthy spice, and that is it. The yeast and malt are doing the heavy lifting here.
How It Went
Brew Day: Double Batch on the 65L, 75-Minute Boil
Mashed in at 65°C with 28 litres, rested for 60 minutes, then mashed out at 76°C for 10 minutes. Sparge was 29 litres at 76°C. Mash pH came in at 5.3 and sparge pH at 5.6, both right where I wanted them.
Pre-boil volume was 51 litres, post-boil 47 litres, and I transferred 44 litres into the All Rounder. The boil ran for 75 minutes: Pacific Jade 15g and Czech Saaz 40g at 60 minutes, then Czech Saaz 25g, two packets of D240 candi sugar, Whirlfloc, and 5g of yeast nutrient at 10 minutes. The D240 dissolves readily and the wort takes on a beautifully deep amber colour as it goes in.
OG came in at 1.050, which was a touch below my target of 1.052 or so. Not a disaster, but it meant attenuation was going to be a priority during fermentation.
Fermentation: Managed Free Rise with Abbaye
The Abbaye was repitched from the Belgian Blonde batch brewed six weeks earlier. It had been sitting captured in the fridge and went into the All Rounder 60L at 18.5°C.
After 24 hours there was a healthy krausen of about 2cm and the temperature had naturally risen to 19°C, which told me fermentation was well underway. From there I ran a managed free rise: I nudged the ferm fridge target temperature upward to track the actual temperature as it climbed, with cooling hysteresis tightened to prevent overshoot above 23°C. Abbaye expresses its best dark fruit esters in the 20 to 23°C range during active fermentation, so I wanted to be comfortably in that band through the peak growth phase without letting it run away.
The RAPT Pill tracked gravity and temperature throughout. Once the pill showed terminal gravity had been reached (around day 7 to 10), I held it at 20 to 22°C for a two-day diacetyl rest, then cold crashed. FG came in at 1.005, giving 6.0% ABV. Given the slightly lower OG, that is excellent attenuation and exactly what Abbaye is known for.
The Result
Packaged on 26 April into two corny kegs (19 litres and 17 litres) plus three 1.25L PET bottles with carb caps. The kegs were force carbonated. The split was deliberate: one keg stays clean for the competition entry, the other is set aside for blending experiments with the wild sour.
First pour on tasting day was genuinely impressive. The aroma leads with chocolate and ripe banana, which is a classic Abbaye signature, followed by toffee and a hint of dried fruit underneath. The flavour is clean and malt-forward with chocolate and toffee coming through clearly, the banana ester prominent but well-integrated, and a very smooth finish with no harsh edges. No faults detected. On its own it is a very clean beer.
Early trials blending it with the wild sour are promising. The malt body and dark fruit character of the Dubbel seem to sit well against the acidity and funk, which is exactly what I was hoping for. That experiment is ongoing.
This one is entered as Dubbel de la Vallée at Euroclash 2026 on 16 May 2026 in the 26B Belgian Dubbel category. Curious to see how the judges receive the banana ester expression at this level; it is prominent but it feels true to style.
Next Time
I want to push the OG up slightly next time, probably by adding another 0.3 to 0.5kg of base malt or increasing the candi sugar to three packets. The 1.050 result is fine but a traditional Dubbel sits more comfortably at 1.055 to 1.062 and I think there is room to develop the body and the dark fruit character further with a bit more gravity to work with.
I am also curious whether a slightly higher mash temperature, maybe 66 or 66.5°C, would add a touch more residual body without hurting attenuation too much. Abbaye attenuates so aggressively that there is probably some headroom there.