Homebrewing Info

This is a compilation of tips on brewing Belgian beers put together by Colin Lenfesty.  It is followed by a few notes summarizing tips from a 2005 article in Zymurgy about brewing Belgians.  

Brewing Belgians - Notes from Colin Lenfesty:

I encourage everyone to research the breweries, styles and history of these beers to get a better understanding and to be able to put a twist on them and make them their own. I also highly recommend getting the BA books Brew Like a Monk and Farmhouse ales. Key to really getting a grasp on these styles.

Belgian beers are relatively simple. Many over think recipe formulation, when in all actuality these beers are very easy to brew. These styles seem rather appropriate lately with the rising coast of hops as almost all of the styles require little hops.

When I think of a good Belgian or Belgian style beer, I think about drinkability, or in the beginning of Brew Like a Monk (please encourage everyone to go out and buy this) being digestible.. Easy to drink and full of flavor, never too heavy with nice tight carbonation and good attenuation. Here are a few things that have helped me:

Ingredients:

I've had many well done Belgian style beers made from extract. Yes, all grain will bump the level of complexity, but you can do just fine using a good quality and fresh extract. Use specialty grains to gain complexity and color. As with any style beer, quality ingredients are key.

For all grain, use a good quality Pilsner or Pale malt for the base. Many of these beers will only have Pilsner as base. The malt doesn't necessarily have to come from Belgium, although it is available throughout the area (Castle) and you will pay more. Weyermann seems to have a bit more flavor I've found and is a bit more affordable. Mash for attenuation.146-149 for 60 will give you good conversion.

Sugar is key in brewing some of these styles. It will raise the ABV and lighten the body making beers like a Tripel, Golden Strong, or Dubbel dangerously drinkable. The right kind of sugar should be taken into consideration. There are those who say normal cane sugar is fine and to dump it right in. The same can be said for Candy Rocks which are overly expensive and won't give you the flavor profile you are looking for. Save your pennies. Instead, you can invert table sugar and make you own syrup to add in. You will have control over the color and cartelization that will give you complexity depending on what you're trying to achieve. Many brewers in the US are using Turbinado sugar or other semi-refined sugars for complexity and depth. These work very well and are highly recommended. Keep sugars to 10-20 percent of the grist to avoid off flavors.

Noble hops work very well. I have found high alpha hops work very well for the bittering addition. Magnum and Horizon will go a long way and last 2-3 batches. Flavor additions can be added in around 30. Research the style and experiment with your hopping.

Yeast in probably the single most important factor in duplicating these beers. There is a wide variety of yeast available from White Labs and Wyeast that will help you duplicate or experiment with strains that come from some of the Belgium's most esteemed Trappist breweries and other small artesian breweries. I recommend splitting a batch with different yeasts depending on what you are trying to achieve. You'll also have two different beers to enjoy! Having as much control as possible over your fermentation temperature is key. Pitch low and slowly ramp up to recommended temperatures.

Wyeast:

3522	Belgian Ardennes	Achouffe
3538	Leuven Pale Ale	Corsendonk-Bocq
3638	Bavarian Wheat Yeast	Weihenstephan 175
3711	French Saison	Brasserie Thiriez
3724	Belgian Saison Yeast	Saison du Pont
3725	Biere De Garde	Soy-Erezée, Belgium
3726	Farmhouse Ale	Blaugies, Belgium
3763	Roeselare Ale Blend	Rodenbach
3787	Trappish High Gravity	Westmalle
3864	Canadian/Belgian Ale Yeast	Unibroue
3942	Belgian Wheat	Esen, Belgium (De Dolle)
3944	Belgian Witbier	Hoegaarden/ Celis White

White Labs:

WLP400	Belgian Wit Ale	Hoegaarden/Celis
WLP410	Belgian Wit II	Moortgat Brouwerij (via Ommegang?)
WLP500	Trappist Ale	Chimay
WLP510	Bastogne Belgian Ale	Orval
WLP515	Antwerp Ale Yeast	De Koninck
WLP530	Abbey Ale Yeast	Westmalle
WLP540	Abbey IV Ale Yeast	Rochefort
WLP550	Belgian Ale Yeast	Achouffe
WLP565	Belgian Saison	Brasserie Dupont (Saison Dupont)
WLP566	Saison II	Vieille Provision Saison Dupont
WLP570	Belgian Golden Ale	Duvel (Moortgart) via McEwans
WLP575	Belgian Style Ale Yeast Blend	WLP500, WLP530, WLP550

Wyeast vs White Labs

WLP400 Belgian Wit Ale Yeast	3944 Belgian Witbier Yeast
WLP410 Belgian Wit II Yeast	n/a
WLP500 Trappist Ale Yeast	1214 Belgian Ale Yeast
WLP510 Belgian Bastone Ale Yeast	n/a
WLP530 Abbey Ale Yeast	3787 Trappist High Gravity
WLP540 Abbey IV Ale Yeast	1762 Abbey II
WLP550 Belgian Ale Yeast	3522 Belgian Ardennes
WLP565 Saison Ale Yeast	3724 Belgian Saison Yeast
WLP566 Saison II	n/a
WLP570 Belgian Golden Ale Yeast	1388 Belgian Strong Ale Yeast

Spices.

Spicing may not be appropriate for every style, but there are some that can greatly benefit from an addition and really compliment the yeast. Ginger, Grains of Paradise and Coriander are some of the more common spices. There are no boundaries really when brewing these beers. What may taste fabulous and amazing may not do well in a competition. Let your senses be the guide like cooking and don't be afraid to experiment.

Erring on the lighter side of spicing is a good rule to follow. You can always add extra or make a tincture in the secondary. I always use a nylon steeping bag or tea ball for spice additions. Coffee grinders work well, but for a small investment, a mortar and pistil work well also. I've found crushing the grains just so they crack. A rolling pin also works well for this.

Citrus zest works very well with some styles, namely Saisons. You'll find some recipes will call for a bitter orange peel addition. The peel they sell at the shops still has the rinds attached which can lead to some off flavors. Like a good cook, I always opt for the freshest ingredients possible. A zester can be purchased for a small investment and used on oranges, lemons etc. Another method I really like is buying a high quality Marmalade that has jellied seville oranges. Lots of great flavors and the boil will extract all the great orange taste quickly. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Example recipes:

Here are a couple simple recipes to start with, easily converted to extract.

Colin Lenfesty and Rodney Clark's - Stairway to Heaven - Belgian Strong Ale

Ingredients for 10 U.S. gal

22.0 lbs Castle Pilsner malt

4.0 lbs cane sugar (added with 10 minutes left in boil)

2.0 oz East Kent Goldings (3.0%) - added during boil, boiled 75.0 min

1.0 oz Saaz (3.0%) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

Wyeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes (2000 mL)

0.5 oz Coriander

0.25 oz Ginger

0.5 oz Grains of Paradise

Original specific gravity: 1.082

Final specific gravity: 1.014

IBU: ##

ABV: 8.9%

Mash in at 148o F for 60 minutes.  Recirculate and raise temp to 168o F for mash out.  Boil for 90 minutes (all hop additions are whole).  Add spices with 20 minutes left in boil.  Ferment at 72o F ramping up to 80o F.  Secondary fermentation at 70-74o F.  Bottle with 2 cups of dextrose.


Belgian Dubbel

Ingredients for 6 US Gallons

 20.6 lbs continental pilsner
1lb Munich
.5lbs Aromatic
.5lbs Caramunich
.5 lbs Special B
.75 lbs Belgian Candy Syrup
.5lbs inverted can sugar

1.5 OZ Tettnang@60 minutes--23 IBU's

Wyeast 3787 Trappist High Gravity pitch at 64 and let rise to 70 over 1 week. Bottle or keg at 3-4 volumes of c02.

OG--1.064
FG--1.012
IBU--23
ABV 6.9%

Summary of Notes from January/February 2005 Zymurgy Article: Belgian-Style Brews: Tricks of the Trade, by Bill Schneller

• Don't be afraid to brew off style.  Many Belgian beers do not conform to BJCP guidelines
• Try to finish dry.  Belgian beers should not finish as sweet as a barley wine
• Get authentic yeast strains and pitch a large amount, particularly for high gravity Belgians.
  • Plan a series of increasingly strong Belgians and repitch yeast from one to another
• Leave plenty of headspace in fermenters.  Belgians typically ferment warm and fast, giving a lot of foam.  Make sure to use a blow-off tube if you can.
• Feel free to use sugars in the beer.  This is the best (and authentic) way to get a highly fermentable Belgian
  • Don't be afraid to use corn sugar or even table sugar - very similar to Belgian candi sugar and a LOT cheaper
  • 0.5-1.5 pounds per 5 gallon batch is not uncommon for beers over 1.060
  • If you are looking for darker sugars, you probably will need to fork out a little more money
• Have some fun with spices (coriander, orange peel, ginger root, licorice root, grains of paradise, fennel/anise seeds, limed leaves, cardamom), but add judiciously
  • If you can taste it distinctly, you've probably added too much - add just a hint
  • Spices can be added during the end of the boil (last 0-15 minutes)
• Avoid high alpha acid hops, stick with noble hops and/or their derivatives
  • Hallertau, Mt. Hood, Fuggles, Willamette, Golding, Saaz, Tettnanger, Perle, Northern Brewer
  • Go light on hops - Belgians really aren't bitter
• For coloring specialty grains, avoid roast malts.  Use malts like Special B, Cara-Vienna, and Cara-Munich.
  • If dark malts must be used, use judiciously and strictly for color (1-2 oz per 5 gallons)
• Mix in Vienna and Munich with Pilsner to really adjust the malt character
• Single infusion mashes work just fine
  • Use a lower temperature to encourage fermentability
• Ferment at around 65-68F for most styles - this will still get a lot of character out of the yeast
  • Bump up the temperatures into the mid-70s at the end to eek out additional attenuation or if the yeast strain encourages you to: Saison in particular!
• Oxygenate wort thoroughly - help the yeast crank through the fermentation as best as you can