Cali-Belgique IPA

Having just lagered my Leffe Blonde that was raised up on a 2L starter, I wanted to reuse my Wyeast Belgian Strong Ale yeast.  I had recently enjoyed a bottle of Stone's Cali-Belgique IPA so I decided to brew something similar.  Stone's beer is supposedly just their standard IPA with belgian yeast.  The recipe below is the one from BYO.  I used my CB20 system for this brew.  I'm not sure if it was because I reused the yeast cake from my Leffe Blonde, but I was not happy with the results of this beer.  I kegged it and kept hoping it would get better after a few months, but it just didn't finish right on the palate.  Probably because of the yeast.  I have not enjoyed the beers I have made with reused yeast cakes and will likely never use one again.  I bottled the remainder of the keg with the hopes the beer may round into form some day.

Update (11/29) - I cracked a bottle of this one last night and was very surprised to taste a much better beer.  Based on the amount of yeast that dropped to the bottom of the bottle I suspect this one needed some time to age before it came together.  It was way too yeasty on tap.  I doubt if I would make it again, but I am very happy to report that the beer now tastes the way it was designed to taste.

Grains:

12.75# 2-row

.875# c-15

Mash at 149   

Additions:

90 min boil

.43 magnum at 90

.64 perle at 90

2 oz centennial at 15

1 tsp irish moss at 15

1 oz centennial dry hop

.5 chinnook dry hop

Reused Wyeast Belgian Strong Ale cake     

Ferment at 66    

10 day dry hop   
OG 1064   
fg-1012

Mosher's Ideal Pale Ale

Water Adjustments (tsp)

.587 Epsom Salt

.066 Chalk

4.407 Gypsum

Ca=120

SO4=269

Mg=19

Na=27

Cl=70

Carb=65

Hard=377

Alk=57