Modern Homebrew Recipes (39 page)

•
Flanders Red
– I don’t make very many (intentionally) sour beers, but I’ve always appreciated the balance in this style. As more and more commercial examples go sweet, I like to stay with the drier, more sour version.

•
Alison
– In
Brewing Better Beer
, I gave my recipe for a
tripel
inspired by La Rulles Tripel. This one is like the prototypical Westmalle Tripel, and uses classic ingredients.

HEATHER

Sometimes I’ll name a beer after a friend if that person really likes the beer, or if they do something amusing while drinking the beer. My friend Heather really likes Leffe Blond, so I created this for her after researching the style using ingredient information and style parameters from Stan Hieronymus’s
Brew Like a Monk
(and information from the brewery itself).

Style:
Belgian Blond Ale (Classic BJCP Style)

Description:
Well balanced and moderately strong, this beer has a rounded malt palate with moderate bitterness and yeast character. It’s kind of like a smaller, less aggressive
tripel
that is enjoyable on a wider range of occasions.

Ingredients:

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

1 tsp CaCl
₂
in mash

Mash technique:

Step mash, mashout, crystal malt added at
vorlauf

Mash rests:

131°F (55°C) 15 minutes

146°F (63°C) 40 minutes

158°F (70°C) 15 minutes

168°F (76°C) 15 minutes

Kettle volume:

8.5 gallons (32 L)

Boil length:

90 minutes

Final volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

67°F (19°C), letting rise as necessary to fully attenuate

Sensory description:
Soft, rounded malt with characteristic Pils malt flavor. Moderate bitterness, relatively dry finish (but not bone dry). There
is some noticeable hop character, and the yeast can be a bit spicy. Light esters add additional layers. The aftertaste is balanced with some clean, bready, grainy malt and a light impression of sweetness from the corn.

Formulation notes:
When using 3787 yeast, it’s been my experience that you can’t constrain the fermentation temperature too much or it will stall. I tend to let the yeast rise as it wants to until it finishes. I keep the beer at a constant ambient temperature, because I know it will heat up as it gets going. Rising temperatures help yeast finish, especially the attenuative Belgian strains. I’ve made this beer with sugar instead of corn, but I didn’t like it as much. I think the flavor peaks at about 3–4 months of age; it can be a little rough when young. Give this yeast some time to clean up and allow the beer to condition to develop its best flavors. Dingemans Caravienne seems to have been recently renamed Cara 20, but you may see both names used.

Variations:
I like the beer the way it is, so I would leave it alone if trying to nail the style. If you are experimenting, you could add more late hops, or make it the basis for a fruit beer. Sometimes, if I want to play up the orange and lemon flavors, I’ll add a few drops of orange oil and lemon oil to the beer. Be careful though; citrus oil is potent and a little goes a long way.

THE BIG O

I don’t make very many
Brett
beers, but Orval is one of my favorites. The photo of me on the back of the book was taken at the café just outside the brewery, and I’m enjoying one of their beers at peak condition. However, I didn’t want to try to clone the beer; I’ve had many examples where that was done, and I’ve worked with many brewers on the particulars after I took detailed notes at the brewery. I wanted to see how it would taste if I made a scaled up version instead.

Style:
Brett Beer (New BJCP Style, Experimental)

Description:
You might call this an Orval Extra, a 1.074 beer instead of the normal 1.059 beer. Orval doesn’t make a commercial beer of this
strength (or name), so this was an experiment. It is a bitter but malty beer with noticeable alcohol strength, a leathery
Brett
character, and a dry finish.

Ingredients:

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

1 tsp CaSO
₄
and 0.5 tsp CaCl
₂
in mash; same salts in the boil

Mash technique:

Step infusion

Mash rests:

145°F (63°C) 45 minutes

161°F (72°C) 30 minutes

Kettle volume:

8.5 gallons (32 L)

Boil length:

90 minutes

Final volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

60°F (16°C), letting rise to no more than 72°F (22°C)

Sensory description:
Leathery aroma with mild hops and moderate fruit like plums. Moderately high bitterness with a dry finish. Medium-high floral, earthy hops and a leathery
Brett
flavor. Noticeable alcohol; needs to age to smooth out. The
Brett
almost makes it seem like it’s been aged on wood.

Formulation notes:
The recipe was based on my brewery visit notes, as well as information from Stan Hieronymus’
Brew Like a Monk
. The brewery is shooting for 96% attenuation after the
Brett
is done, and thinks the beer peaks in flavor at about 6 months. Note that this recipe has 90% mash efficiency, which is unusual (I wonder if I incorrectly measured base grains; it might be safer to scale the recipe to match your system efficiency). The brewery blends three unnamed pale base malts, so I picked ones that I thought would taste good together (the Maris Otter adds a light biscuity note). The beer ferments to completion with the primary yeast strain, is racked, dry-hopped, racked again, and then the
Brett
is pitched. Orval uses
Brettanomyces Bruxellensis
(White Labs WLP650 equivalent), but I decided to try this other
Brett
strain more commonly used for 100%
Brett
fermentations to see the differences (more fruit, less funk). I bulk conditioned it at room temperature in the fermenter for 6 months on the
Brett
before racking and kegging. This beer was dry-hopped for 3 weeks, which seems like a long time but is the duration I was told on the brewery tour.

Variations:
If you want to make this as a standard strength Orval clone, shoot for the following parameters: OG 1.059, FG 1.008, ABV 6.8%, SRM 7.5, IBU 35 (basically brew this exact recipe with 70% mash efficiency). Use the same mash schedule and conditioning. The grain bill and hop varieties are correct, although I’m using my own hopping schedule. The beer is definitely dry-hopped, so never leave that step out.
Brett Bruxellensis
is traditional.

BELGIAN DARK STRONG

People often ask me about my favorite style of beer. That’s pretty much an impossible question for any beer geek, but if I had to pick a top five, this style would certainly be on the list. It’s my favorite cold weather beer, with all the malt complexity and strong alcohol. There is a huge range to this style, with many interesting and delicious variations. I like to cellar these beers for several years since they always seem to improve with age. I wasn’t specifically trying to match the St. Bernardus 12 flavor profile or replicate its grist; I just wanted to try out a beer with a different balance than the other Belgian Dark Strongs I typically brew.

Style:
Belgian Dark Strong Ale (Classic BJCP Style)

Description:
Malty and rich, but dry and easy to drink. I like the balance of St. Bernardus 12, so I created a recipe with the same gravity and bitterness.

Ingredients: