Date: Sat, 13 Aug 94 16:20:23 -0400 From: "Phillip R. Seitz" Subject: Brewing Belgian Beers (#1): Introduction Brewing Belgian Beers (#1): Introduction As many of you may have heard, the Washington, D.C. based club B.U.R.P. (Brewers United for Real Potables) is planning a two-day combined conference and contest to feature Belgian beers, brewing, and beer culture for November 11 and 12, 1994. This will include the first-ever homebrew contest focusing exclusively on Belgian beers, and it will be an AHA-sanctioned event. Obviously we hope that many of you will want to enter, and within a week or so we'll announce the availability of entry materials. Watch this space also for some very exciting information and announcements r by Phil Seitzof the Spirit of Belgium event and how you can join in. But whether you enter the contest or not, we're hoping this event will give more people a chance to learn about Belgium's beer styles and how to make them. So we've prepared a series of articles for HBD that look at six different Belgian styles, provide brewing parameters, tasting descriptions, samples recipes, and lots of additional information. If you've already brewed some Belgian-style beers, perhaps this will help you tweak your recipes or solve some problems. If you're new to the style, I hope we can get you started with some good information. The series will be divided into eight parts. I'll send one each day to HBD, though when they appear will be subject to the amount of overall traffic. The chapters will be as follows: Part 1: Introduction (this article) Part 2: Belgian ales Part 3: Doubles Part 4: Oud bruins (Flanders brown) Part 5: Belgian strong ales Part 6: Triples Part 7: White beers Part 8: Ingredients and where to find them By the time these have appeared I should have all the contest entry materials ready, and will let you know how to get them. A few notes on the upcoming posts: 1) There'll be nothing on lambics in this series. Brewing these is a more complex undertaking, and takes a long, long time. If you're interested in lambic-style beers, or in Belgian beers in general, you should consult with the experts. Subscribe to Lambic Digest by sending a message to: LAMBIC-REQUEST@LONGS.LANCE.COLOSTATE.EDU 2) Some of the information you'll see will eventually turn out to be wrong. Homebrewers are still learning to brew many of these beers, and the quality and authenticity of our brew has increased dramatically over the past two years. However, there's still lots of puzzles to solve, and our Belgian brewing wisdom is still evolving. One reason we're having the conference and contest is to encourage people to experiment and learn, which we hope will get us all closer to our goal of making celestial Belgian-style brewskis in our own homes. So keep in mind that the articles cover what we know now, but that things might change. 3) You'll find some misspellings, grammatical errors, and other literary peccadilloes. If I waited to post until everything was perfect, we'd be looking at posting in the year 2000. 4) Steal this book. If you think your local homebrewing club would be interested in publishing portions of these posts in its club newsletter, please do so. We only ask that you not alter the recipes, and that the brewers who provided them get full credit for their work, and that this material not be published in a commercial or for-profit publication without written permission from me. Now, a few notes on brewing Belgian-style beers that you should keep in mind when you read the posts: 1) Watch your fermentation temperatures!!! If you're brewing any of the beers over, say, 1.060, you're definitely going to need to keep the ambient temperature below 65F. The stronger the beer you make, the cooler you want to get keep it while it's fermenting. I have a thermostat-controlled refrigerator, and when I'm making Belgians I usually set it at 60F. Remember that fermentation itself creates heat, so your beer is going to be warmer than the room it's in, particularly if you're brewing a strong one. Do yourself, your friends, and your beer's judge a favor: keep it cool while it ferments, and you'll avoid a thousand crashing headaches. Take if from someone who's been there. In Pierre Rajotte's book, BELGIAN ALE, he mentions that some Belgian breweries use warm fermentations. This is true in a few select cases, but I can guarantee your beer will be better if you ferment it very cool. 2) Aerate. When fermenting strong beers the health of your yeast is a major issue. The little guys get real tired out when they hit wort at 1.080, so give 'em all the help you can or you're going to experience a lot of stuck ferments. Many homebrew vendors are selling aquarium pumps with in-line air filters, and if you're serious about brewing Belgian beers you should invest the $15-20. Again, I can guarantee you that with 30 minutes of aeration just after pitching, your lag times and ferments will improve dramatically. 3) Pitching rates. How many Frat brothers does it take to kill a keg of Bud? Not many, huh? How many would it take to kill a keg of dopplebock? A lot more. The same applies to yeast--when the alcohol levels go up, they need help. Most Belgian-style worts are very high in gravity, and you'll need A LOT of yeast to get a good ferment going. Aeration helps, but count on pitching AT LEAST 1.5 quarts of yeast into anything you brew. For beers in the 1.080 range, you could double that. To avoid diluting your beer back down to Bud range, you can often make your starters early and let the yeast settle out. Pour off the barm (clear liquid), and add a pint of fresh wort just before you start to brew. You'll have lots of yeast wide awake and ready to go by pitching time, and your total fluid volume will be quite small. As always, we at BURP Labs hope you'll find the materials to follow to be useful, and don't mind discussion or disagreement. We love Belgian beer, and a lot of you do, too. Anything that moves us toward getting more of it is to the good. A bientot! Brewing Belgian Beers (#2): Belgian ales Description: 1.044-1.054, 4-6% ABV, 20-30 IBU, 3.5-12 SRM Pale to brown. Bitterness, hop flavor and aroma should be noticeable, with noble or classic types preferred. Low to medium esters. Low malt aroma, restrained caramel or toasted (biscuit) malt flavor ok. Medium body. No diacetyl, alcohol flavors, or roasted (black) malt. Medium carbonation. Keep in mind that these should be easily drinkable everyday beers, the kind you'll have when you're planning to drink more (many more) than one. These are generally beers of standard strength that combine subtle Belgian-tasting yeast flavors with noticeable hop character that is frequently pilsner-like, leaving a pleasant lingering bitterness in the aftertaste. Subtlety, finesse and balance are the most important factors. Unfortunately this is one of the AHA's problem categories, as there are a few commercial examples of spiced beers that might also fall in here. Judges should also be prepared for variations, particularly mini-versions of stronger Belgian ales. However, I think the original intention was to focus on beers like DeKoninck and Vieux Temps, which are not spiced. Brewing Method: Standard infusion or step mashing techniques are fine. Most commercial versions use pilsner malt as a base, employ protein rest, and use hops such as Saaz, Hallertau, East Kent or Styrian Goldings, and other classics. Creative use of yeasts and yeast/hop combinations are good, as long as neither predominates and all are relatively restrained. Judicious use of small amounts of caramel malts and toasted malts such as Victory or Biscuit malt is ok, but the body should remain light and not very sweet or satiating; the vast majority of the grist should be pilsner malt or light extract. Common Problems: 1) Solvent or fusel flavors. A change of yeast or lower fermentation temperature should help. 2) Needs more hops. Subtle lingering bitterness, pleasant hop flavor and an enticing noble hop nose all contribute to a good example. 4) Body too full. These beers should not be satiating, but should be "poundable". Usually a reduction in caramel malts will help solve this problem. Commercial examples: Rubens Gold, Celis Pale Bock Sample recipe: Todd Enders' Belgian Ale (all-grain recipe for 5 gallons) ENDERS@PLAINS.NODAK.EDU 6.5 lbs Belgian pils malt 0.5 lbs Munich malt 0.5 lbs Caravienne (20L) 0.5 lbs wheat malt 2.0 ozs Saaz (3.1% Alpha Acid) 1.0 ozs Hallertauer (2.9%) Brewtech CL-300 Belgian ale #1 yeast Mash in: 12 quarts at 132F Protein rest: 20 minutes at 132F Saccrification: 60 minutes at 156F Mash out: 10 minutes at 170F Sparge with 5.5 gallons at 168-170F [Note: Todd adjusts his sparge water pH to 5.5 with lactic acid]; Boil 90 minutes. Hopping: 3 additions, 1.0 oz Saaz at 45 minutes from the end of the boil, 1.0 oz Saaz at 20 minutes from the end, and 1.0 oz Hallertauer at 5-10 minutes from the end. OG: 1.045 Brewing Belgian Beers (#3): Doubles Description: 1.060-1.070, 6-7.5% ABV, 18-25 IBU, 10-14 SRM Dark amber to brown. Sweet malty aroma. Faint hop aroma ok. Medium to full body. Malty, plum-like flavor. Very low bitterness, no hop flavor. Medium to high carbonation. Low esters ok. No roasted flavors or diacetyl. This beer focuses on malt flavors, and doubles should be malty and sweet with a noticeable plum character. Modest alcohol flavor is ok, as are low levels of esters, but the malt flavors should predominate. Doubles are usually full-bodied with fairly mousy carbonation that produces a very nice head. Brewing method: As with all Belgian beers the base should be pilsner malt with various amounts of caramel malts (Belgian varieties work especially well here, including both Caramunich and Special B) and a portions of sugar to control body (start with one pound per 5 gallons). Roasted malts can also be used for coloring, but should not be tasted. Toasted Belgian malts contribute a pleasantly nutty flavor, and these can be used in fairly high quantity (+/- 2 lbs for a 5 gallon batch). However, their use requires mashing. Yeast choice seems to offer some flexibility, though strains with a smooth, fruity character complement the raisin/plum flavors of the caramel malts better than yeasts yielding spicy flavors. Extract brewers will not be able to use the Belgian toasted malts, but otherwise should be able to produce a nice, malty brew. Start with pale extract and a hefty infusion of Belgian caramel malts, then add sugar to the kettle. Common problems: 1) Solvent/banana flavors. Fermentation defects due to high temperature ferments or poor yeast health seem to be the most common problem. Cooler ferments, higher pitching rates and more aeration should help. 2) No plum flavors. Needs more caramel malts, or a switch to Belgian varieties. Belgian Munich and Special B may be especially helpful. 3) Excessive alcohol. Even a good double will often taste like malt with a layer of alcohol over it, but this can be overdone. Fusels are particularly unwelcome. Reduce fermentation temperature or the quantity of adjuncts. 4) Inappropriate carbonation. Carbonation should be mousy, but should not interfere with your ability to appreciate the flavors. Adjustment in priming or longer bottle conditioning may be needed. Commercial examples: Westmalle Dubbel (6.5% ABV), Affligem Double (7% ABV), Grimbergen Double (6.2% ABV), Steenbrugge double (6.5% ABV) Sample recipe: Andy Anderson's Aaron's Abbey Ale (slightly revised) ANDERSO_A@HQ.NAVSEA.NAVY.MIL All grain recipe for five gallons: 9 lb Belgian pilsner malt 2 lb Belgian biscuit malt 1 lb Belgian aromatic malt 4 oz Special B 1 lb Dark candy sugar 1.4 oz Tettnang pellets (4.4%) boiled for 60 minutes (goal is 25 IBU) 0.5 oz Hallertau Hersbrucker plug (2.9%), boiled for 5 minutes 1 Tablespoon Irish Moss, boiled for 15 minutes Fermented with 1 quart Chouffe yeast Primed with 1 pint of Chouffe yeast and 4/5 cup dextrose OG: 1.065 FG: ? Process: The malt bill assumes an extraction of 25 points/lb, so adjust to fit your brewing setup. Mash schedule: 1. Protein rest for 30 minutes at 120F 2. Boost temp straight to 158F for saccrification. Hold until conversion is complete. 3. Mashout at 170F for 10 minutes and sparge with 170F water. Fermentation: I started it at 58F but the Chouffe yeast was extremely sluggish. When I increased the temp to 60F the fermentation took off. Keep the ferment temp low or the fusel levels will greatly increase. Bottling: The Chouffe strain is not a highly flocculating yeast. [Phil's note: I disagree, but this is Andy's recipe...] Either accept murkiness, do multiple rackings, briefly lager the beer to drop the yeast, or use some sort of finings. I used multiple rackings and finings. In any event, when priming use a greater amount of sugar (4/5-1 cup dextrose) and pitch some new and healthy chouffe. Aging: Give this beer at least 1-2 months before drinking. I really needs time to mature (just as we all do). [Phil's notes: Looking at this recipe I'd probably substitute one pound of Caramunich for one pound of biscuit, but I can't really complain--I was one of the judges that gave this beer first prize at the AHWBTA] Brewing Belgian Beers (#4): Oud Bruins Description: 1.045-1.060, 4.8-6% ABV, 15-25 IBU, 10-20 SRM Red, deep copper or deep brown with red tints. Acidic aroma with some fruitiness. Flavor sweet, sour and fruity, esp. cherry-like. Lactic and acetic flavors ok. Attenuation low to medium. Medium carbonation, body medium to full. Addition of raspberries or cherries ok, should blend with other flavors, may provide additional acidity. Low bitterness, no hop flavor or aroma. No diacetyl. Most commercial examples are richly colored with a fruity, acidic aroma and an intensely fruity, sweet and sour palate. Sourness varies in commercial examples, many of which are filtered and sweetened. Can become wine-like with age. Many commercial examples include a secondary fermentation on raspberries or sour cherries, and the flavors this contributes should be clear and should balance with the existing acidity and sweetness. Brewing method: Homebrewers have yet to master this style. It appears that basic grists include pilsner malt, caramel malts, sometimes Vienna or Munich, and sometimes roasted malts in very small quantities for coloring. In some cases the deep color is achieved by long boils. Lactic and acetic bacteria provide the necessary acidity, and these may need a long time to achieve the proper acidity. Additions of lactic acid to finished beer may work. When used, fruit should be added to the secondary at 1-2 lbs per gallon of beer. Any cherries used should be sour! Carbonation is relatively standard, so 3/4 to 7/8 of a cup of sugar should be used to prime a 5 gallon batch. Extract brewers should start with pale extract and use lots of caramel malts. Try to pick a yeast that's not going to attenuate too much. Keep in mind that you're experimenting. However, if you're the first to brew a really good one of these, you will earn a substantial laurel wreath, and perhaps the Homebrew Nobel Prize. Common problems: 1) Inadequate acidity. Add lactobacillus culture, ferment longer, or add lactic acid. 2) Fruit flavors thin or inappropriate. Increase quantity of fruit, or use sour fruit instead of pie cherries! 3) Too light in color. Increase use of caramel malts and/or boil time. Commercial examples: Goudenband (5.1% ABV), Rodenbach Grand Cru (6.5% ABV), Liefmans Framboise (5.7% ABV), Liefmans Kriek Sample recipe: Bill Ridgely's Framboise (partial mash recipe for 5 gallons) RIDGELY@A1.CBER.FDA.GOV 3.3 lbs American Classic Light liquid extract 2.0 lbs Pale dry extract 1.0 lb Pale ale malt 0.5 lb Munich malt 0.5 lb 80L crystal 0.5 lb Wheat malt 0.5 lb dextrin malt 1.0 oz Hallertau (4.2%) boiled for 60 minutes 1.0 oz Saaz (3.2%) boiled for 45 minutes 6.0 lbs Tart red raspberries Fermented with Wyeast Belgian yeast OG: 1.062 FG: 1.015 Used step mash for grains--120 degrees for 30 minutes (protein rest), 150 degrees for 60 minutes (Saccrification rest). Gypsum was added to adjust the mash pH. Total boil time 1.5 hours. Raspberries were crushed and added to the brew pot at the end of the boil, then steeped for 15 minutes before wort chilling. The raspberries were left in the primary for 7 days, then strained during transfer of wort to the secondary. Total fermentation time: 24 days. Fermentation temperature: 62F. Recommended All-Grain variation (using Belgian malts at 27 points/lb): 9.0 lbs pale ale malt 1.0 lb aromatic malt 1.0 lb wheat malt 0.5 lb Caramunich 0.5 lb Special B All other ingredients and procedures remain the same. [Phil's note: This recipe was the closest to the real thing I've tasted, with one exception: it lacked the necessary sourness, although some was supplied by the raspberries. Nevertheless this recipe with an additional acid component or lactic fermentation seems like an excellent starting point for experimentation] Brewing Belgian Beers (#5): Strong ales Description: 1.062-1.120, 6-12% ABV, 16-30 IBU, 3.5-20 SRM Pale to dark brown. Low hop bitterness and aroma ok, should blend with other flavors. Medium to high esters in flavor and aroma. Phenols ok. Often highly aromatic. Spices or orange ok. Strength evident, but alcohol flavor subdued or absent. Medium to full body, sometimes with a high terminal gravity. Medium to high carbonation. No roasted flavors or diacetyl. Belgian strong ale recipes are usually formulated to show off yeast character, with all other ingredients playing a supporting role. The flavor may be subtly complex, but should not be crowded. Body is comparatively light for beers of this strength, due to use of brewing adjuncts or of pilsner malt only. High carbonation also helps; these beers should feel like mousse on the palate and have an impressive head. The best examples may be noticeably strong but still have no alcohol flavor. Flemish examples tend toward higher terminal gravities (1.025-1.050), while Walloon versions are usually more attenuated. Due to the vagaries of AHA style categories, Trappist strong ale clones (Chimay, etc.) should be submitted in this category. Despite what Michael Jackson says, Saisons are strong ales and should also be submitted to contests in this category. Brewing method: Yeast choice is absolutely crucial, as the yeast will provide the foundation flavors for the beer and all other ingredients should be added to support or accentuate them. As with all beers of this strength, high pitching rates and aggressive aeration are necessary. Fermentation temperatures should be cool (below 65F) to avoid creation of headache-causing fusels. Infusion or step mashing techniques are standard procedure. Most commercial versions use pilsner malt as a base, but many also use substantial quantities of sugar or flaked corn as an adjunct. Caramel, Munich and toasted malts are often used in small quantities; roasted malts are sometimes used in very small amounts for coloring only. All classic hop varieties are common, but are used in small and judicious quantities. Sugars are added in the kettle, as are spices. Many spices have delicate aromas and should be boiled for just a few minutes, if at all. Common choices are bitter or sweet orange peel, coriander, vanilla, and anise. Extract brewers will do fine in this category. Start with pale extract, adding judicious quantities of caramel malts and sugar (1-2 pounds) to the kettle. The secret is to choose the right yeast and to keep your ferment as clean as possible. Priming should be about 7/8 (125 grams) for five gallons. Addition of fresh yeast at bottling should assist with carbonation; a 1-pint starter is sufficient. Common Problems: 1) Solvent & banana flavors. Fermentation at excessive temperature, poor yeast health, or both. Particularly a problem with people using Wyeast Belgian or Chimay yeasts at temps above 62F. 2) Wrong type of orange. Sunkist type orange should not be substituted for bitter or sweet orange. 3) Insufficient carbonation. Use more priming sugar, or add fresh yeast when bottling. Commercial examples: Corsendonk blond (8% ABV), Corsendonk brown (8% ABV), Saison DuPont (6.5% ABV), Gouden Carolus (7% ABV), Scaldis (12% ABV), Duvel (8.5% ABV), Brigand (9% ABV), Oerbier (7.5% ABV), Arabier (8% ABV), Bos Keun (7% ABV), Stille Nacht (8% ABV), Pauwel Kwak (8% ABV), Celis Grand Cru, Mateen (9% ABV) Sample recipe: Jeff Frane's Strong Ale GUMMITCH@TELEPORT.COM DeWolf-Cosyns pilsner malt 9 pounds DeWolf-Cosyns aromatic malt 0.6 pounds DeWolf-Cosyns Caramunich 1 pound Flaked maize 1 pound Light candy sugar 1.5 pounds BC Goldings 1 oz boiled for 15 min. Mt. Hood 1 oz boiled for 15 minutes Saaz 0.25 oz boiled for 60 minutes Made 5.75 gallons at 1.062 Mash in the malts (not the maize) at 98F in 3.5 gallons water and adjust pH. Raise to 120F and hold for 30 minutes. Raise to 153, add maize, and hold until conversion (about 45 minutes). Raise to 175 for 15 minutes for mashout. Add sugar to kettle and boil for 90 minutes. At 1/2 tablespoon rehydrated Irish moss to boil for 75 minutes. Ferment with Wyeast White, prime with 1 cup corn sugar. [Phil's note: This produced the best and most authentic Belgian-style homebrew I've tasted. This is the one to beat!] Brewing Belgian Beers (#6): Triples Description: 1.080-1.095, 7-10% ABV, 18-25 IBU, 3.5-5.5 SRM Light or pale color. Low ester, malt or hop aroma ok. Low hop bitterness or flavor ok. Malt sweetness in flavor ok. Low esters ok. Medium to full body. High carbonation. No diacetyl. Strength should be evident; alcohol flavor ok. Overall this is a strong, very pale beer with a relatively neutral character. These beers should have low esters (by Belgian standards, anyway), and comparatively light body and flavor for their strength. Frequently they are somewhat sweet. Alcoholic strength should be evident, followed by a subtle mix of yeast products and hop and malt flavors. Some commercial examples are well hopped, but most use hop bitterness sparingly. Some spicy (phenol) character is ok. High carbonation levels are the norm. Brewing method: Standard infusion or step mashing techniques are used, with grain bills usually consisting only of pilsner malt (or light extract) and blond sugar. The comparatively light body is achieved by substantial additions of sugar in the kettle (several pounds per 5 gallons) and high carbonation. Hopping levels should be kept low, with classic varieties preferred. Some Belgian yeasts may be too estery or aromatic for these beers, particularly as high gravity ferments accentuate this. One cup of sugar should be used to prime a five gallon batch. It's a good idea to add some fresh yeast at bottling time to help with carbonation; a 1-pint starter is sufficient. As with all beers of this strength, high pitching rates and good aeration are a must. Low fermentation temperatures (65F or lower) should be used to avoid creation of headache-causing fusels. Extract brewers should have no trouble making good triples Common problems: 1) Solvent flavors. Fermentation temperature too high, poor yeast health (under pitching) or both. 2) Body too full. Decrease malt and increase sugar portions of OG. 3) Insufficient carbonation Increase priming sugar, or add a dose of fresh yeast at bottling. Commercial examples: Bruges Tripel (9.5% ABV), Affligem Tripel (9% ABV), Grimbergen Tripel (8.13% ABV), Steenbrugge Tripel (9% ABV) Sample recipes: Delano Dugarm's Batch #28 Tripple (Extract recipe for 5 gallons) ADUGARM@WORLDBANK.ORG 3 1.5 kg boxes of Northwest Gold liquid extract 1.5 lbs corn sugar 1.3 oz Hallertau (4%) boiled 60 minutes 0.3 oz Saaz (3%) boiled 60 minutes 0.3 oz Saaz (3%) boiled 2 minutes Wyeast Belgian yeast OG: About 1.080 FG: Wasn't paying attention Full boil for 60 minutes, cool and pitch slurry from 1.5 quart culture. Ferment very cool (60 degrees F). Rack to secondary and bottle when ready. [Phil's note: this was the first homebrew *I* ever had that tasted like a real Belgian. A wonderful experience.] Charlie Gow's St. Egregious Tripel (all grain for 5 gallons) CGOW@MAILSTORM.DOT.GOV 1.5 lbs Belgian pale ale malt (ran out of pilsner!) 13.25 lbs Belgian pilsner malt 1.1 lbs Belgian blond candy sugar 1.3 oz Kent Goldings (5.1%), boiled for 60 minutes 0.4 oz Saaz (4.2%) boiled for 5 minutes Ferment with Wyeast Belgian White yeast (#3944) OG: 1.096 FG: 1.012 SRM: 4.1 IBU: 19 Mash in at 130F and hold at 124F for a 45 minute protein rest. Boost to 154F for 90 minute starch conversion rest. Mash out for 10 minutes at 165F. Sparge to collect 6 gallons and boil for 90 minutes, adding candy sugar at the beginning of the boil. Force cool to 64F and pitch dregs of a 1.5 liter starter of Wyeast #3994 Belgian White Beer yeast. Primary fermentation lasted 8 days at 62F. Secondary lasted 16 days at 60F. Prime with 1 cup dextrose. [Phil's note: at a recent advanced judging class for Belgian beers this brew was tasted alongside Affligem, Bruges Tripel and Grimbergen, and preferred over these by many of those present] Brewing Belgian Beers (#7): White beers Description Suggested guidelines: 1.044-1.055, 4.5-5.5% ABV, 15-22 IBU, 2-4 SRM. Golden yellow, cloudy when chilled. Coriander flavor and mild acidity essential. Wheat and bitter orange peel flavors desirable. Mild hop flavor and aroma ok. Low to medium bitterness. Low to medium body, medium or higher carbonation. No diacetyl. Low to medium esters. White beers feature a hazy yellow color, a rich white head, and a flavor that highlights coriander blended with wheat and malted barley. Aromas tend to be relatively neutral or even a bit orangey due to the coriander. Mild hop aromas are ok, but should have the floral character of Goldings rather than the bite of varieties like Saaz. Body should be medium or a bit lighter, and the carbonation should be reasonably aggressive. Hop bitterness should be low, but a mild acidity is essential and contributes to the beer's quenching powers. There should be no alcohol flavor, but esters are ok at low levels. These beers should always be very drinkable, and personally I prefer mine with lots of coriander. Brewing Method Extract brewers are going to have a hard time getting the traditional yellow color and won't be able to add oats (which require mashing). However, if you use 50 percent wheat and 50 percent barley extracts and follow the guidelines below you should still have a very distinctive and satisfying beer. All grain brewers have an interesting adventure ahead of them. White beers are usually made of 50 percent malted barley and 50 percent raw, unmalted wheat, although a small percentage of oats (5-10%) can be used to add some silkiness. Expect to get the same yield from all three grains, and therefore draw up your grain bill based on weight. Unmalted wheat is available in health food stores and food coops, and often called wheat berries. There is debate whether soft white or hard red varieties are preferable, but both seem to work. One thing is indisputable: the stuff is a nightmare to grind by hand, rather like running little rubber bullets through your Corona. Find someone with a flour mill or a mechanized grinder to help you out. The fineness of the grind doesn't seem to be critical, and I grind my wheat rather fine. Rolled oats work fine if you want to use oats at all. Museums use wheat starch as a glue, and once you mash in you'll see why. Start with a loose mash using two quarts of water per pound, and plan on using an extended protein rest (45 min.-1 hour) at anything between 117 and 126 degrees Fahrenheit. This is how the Belgians do it, and you'll be amazed at how the proteolytic enzymes work a mess of wallpaper paste into a light, workable mash. Never was the miracle of mashing been better demonstrated. The white beer protein rest offers a tradeoff. If you run the rest longer (1 hour) you'll get an easily spargeable mash, but the final beer may be clearer and less colorful than you want beer; rests of 45 minutes or less give wonderful color, but can be sticky to lauter. Personally I use 45 minutes and watch the lauter tun carefully. If you're willing to sacrifice some authenticity, you can substitute several pounds of malted wheat for a portion of the unmalted variety. Following the protein rests, raise the mash to your favorite Saccrification temperature via heat or hot-water infusion. After Saccrification mash out at 170 and sparge as usual and bring the runoff to a boil. Belgians tend to use "classic" hop varieties such as Hallertau, Saaz, and East Kent or Styrian Goldings, but since your hop levels will be low anyway there's plenty of room for flexibility. For your first white beer you may want to try Styrian or East Kent Goldings, or maybe some nice Hallertau plugs. I use an ounce of the latter for a 1-hour boil, and throw in another half ounce to boil for fifteen minutes, aiming for a total of 16-18 IBU. You'll also need bitter orange peels and ground coriander. Bitter orange isn't very bitter and doesn't give much orange flavor: what it does give is a pleasant herbal flavor, not unlike that of chamomile tea. (Try boiling a peel and chilling the liquid overnight to get an idea of the taste.) Use bitter orange at a rate of about 0.5 grams per liter of finished beer (about 1/3 ounce for a 5 gallon batch), and boil the peels for about 20 minutes. Find whole coriander seeds in an ethnic market and grind them finely. (Powdered coriander also works.) Start with 1-1.5 grams per liter, or about 1 ounce per 5 gallons. Boil it for five minutes, or add to the pot after you've turned off the heat. Then you're ready to chill and ferment. Almost any yeast seems to work, ranging from neutral American ale yeasts to German wheat beer strains to the more adventurous Belgians cultures. Creativity counts for a lot, so if you have an interesting idea, give it a try. Keep in mind that the yeast should complement the other flavors, not dominate them. White beer fermentations don't require any unusual attention, although some of the commercial white beer yeasts get a bit sluggish when fermentation temperatures drop below 65 degrees. Mild acidity is a classic feature of a good white beer. The brave can attempt a lactic fermentation, but there's an easy shortcut: add a very small quantity of 88% lactic acid to your beer at bottling time. Amounts between 5 and 15 milliliters per 5 gallons work well. Be aware that the acid will need some time to blend with the other flavors. This usually takes 1-2 months. Commercial examples Celis White (4.7% ABV, 50% raw wheat, 50% malted barley), Riva Blanche (5% ABV, sold as Dentergems in Belgium), Blanche de Bruges, Blanche des Neiges Recipe: Rick Garvin's Cherry Blossom Wit (all grain for 5 gallons) RGARVIN@BTG.COM Rick says: "The cherry tree was blooming when I made this and the wind kept blowing cherry petals into the boiler." 4.0 lbs Pilsner malt (50%) 3.6 lbs Unmalted wheat (45%) 0.4 lbs Rolled oats (5%) 0.89 oz Styrian Goldings (6.2%) boiled for 60 minutes 0.36 oz Saaz (3.2%) boiled for 5 minutes 14.5 grams Bitter orange peel boiled for 20 minutes (0.75 grams/liter) 35 grams ground coriander boiled for 5 minutes (1.8 grams/liter) Ferment using Wyeast White (#3944) Dough in at 117F. 20-minute rests at 117F and 122F. 60 minute rest at 146F. Mash out to 160F. Boil 30 minutes before adding the first hop addition. Hint: do not puree the bitter orange in a blender with water. It will sink to the bottom of the boiler and scorch. [Phil's notes: A superb recipe, particularly for people like me who LOVE coriander. If you want something a bit more sedate you might want to cut the coriander by 1/3] **************************************** Todd Enders' Witbier (all grain for 5 gallons) ENDERS@PLAINS.NODAK.EDU 4.0 lbs Belgian pils malt 4.0 lbs raw soft red winter wheat 0.5 lbs rolled oats 0.75 oz coriander, freshly ground Zest from two table oranges and two lemons 1.0 oz 3.1% AA Saaz 3/4 corn sugar for priming Hoegaarden strain yeast Mash in: 12 qt. at 124F Protein rest: 15 min.. each at 124, 128, and 132 Saccrification: 30 minutes at 161F Mash out: 10 minutes at 170F Sparge with 5.5 gallons at 168-170 (may be pH adjusted to 5.5) Boil: 90 minutes Hops: 1 addition, 30 minutes from the end of the boil Coriander: 1 addition, 15 minutes from end of the boil Peels: 1 addition, 10 minutes from end of boil OG: 1.046 Lactic acid can be added at bottling if desired. Use 10-20 ml of 88% lactic acid, or to taste. Brewing Belgian Beers (#8): Ingredients 1) Yeasts Fortunately the Summer 1994 issue of Zymurgy covered most of this. In addition, Advanced Brewers Scientific offers a some nice strains including the Chouffe strain, and Head Start Brewing Cultures has a wide ranging set of very interesting bugs for advanced and adventurous brewers. My impression is that the Yeast Culture Kit Company offers the broadest selection of yeasts, but that most come in slant form that requires you to start your own cultures. The Wyeast strains are also very good. The Wyeast White is an excellent choice for strong ales as well as whites (with a Celis Grand Cru-type flavor), and the Wyeast Belgian produces an authentic Chimay-type flavor WHEN FERMENTED VERY COOL (AT 60F OR LESS). Ferment warmer with this yeast and you're asking for headaches and a Chiquita banana in your beer. 2) Candy Sugar I think I can fairly say that I've hand-imported and used more Belgian candy sugar than just about any other brewer in the U.S. The stuff that's available in supermarkets comes in white (pretty much clear) and dark (about the color of awful coffee), in chunks half an inch across. Basically it's rock candy, but without the strings. It provides the same number of gravity points per pound as corn sugar (about 40 per pound per gallon), and it can be fun to play with. I add it the brew pot just before the boil, and it takes a while to dissolve. The blond sugar adds no color that I can tell, and the dark stuff--at least the stuff from the Belgian supermarkets--doesn't have a very pronounced coloring capacity either. From personal experience I'd say it's about 20 Lovibond. So after have brewed many batches with the stuff and having sent other brewers sugar samples too (in exchange for samples of the finished product), I can also fairly say that candy sugar is basically just sugar. If you can find it, great, you'll have some fun. If you can't, or don't want to pay for it, corn sugar will do just fine. However, sugar does play an essential role in Belgian brewing. It allows you to brew strong beers without the heavy, full body typical of barley wines. Depending one the style you're brewing, you can use at least a pound of sugar per 5 gallons for beers of 1.060 and up. For triples you may want to go substantially higher than that. For all-grain brewers, brewing with sugar lets you increase your original gravities without increasing your mashing and lautering capacity. My zapap lauter tun max.'s out at about 15 lbs of grain, but by adding sugar to the kettle I can increase either the gravity or the quantity of the finished wort. 3) Coriander Just about any form of coriander seems to work reasonably well, including the tired old ground stuff that's been in the spice rack for years. The result is a flavor that a very pleasant orange flavor and aroma as well. For extra zing, though, nothing beats buying fresh coriander seeds and grinding them to a powder (although this does require a mortar and pestle or at least something more destructive than a food processor). The whole seeds are available at many health food and ethnic grocery stores. If you're using coriander in a strong ale, you're probably trying to add a relatively subtle extra flavor. Half an ounce works well for five gallons, added for the last five minutes of the boil. If you want BIG coriander flavor and aroma, particularly for white beers, use an ounce. Boiling your coriander too long (over 15 minutes) or grinding it too coarsely will result in lessened flavor and aroma. 4) Bitter orange peels These usually come in quarter-of-an-orange slices, and are green or gray on the exterior. Also known as Curacao oranges, they look kind of ugly, aren't very bitter, and don't taste much like orange. Rather, they impart a nice herb-tea type of flavor, perhaps distantly related to chamomile. Usually bitter orange is used in white beers. According to the instructions I received from a Belgian brewer, start with 0.5 grams per liter of finished beer (about a third of an ounce for 5 gallons). If you want more, some people go up to a full gram per liter. I usually boil the peels for about twenty minutes. One drawback of high quantities of bitter orange peel (and of using even low levels of regular supermarket orange peel) is that you get a rather peculiar ham-like aroma that may or may not go away with age. Try boiling some supermarket dried orange peel in a small pot of water and you'll see what I mean. Look for the French aperitif made from bitter orange; I believe it's called St. Raphael. 5) Sweet orange peels This stuff isn't Sunkist either. It usually comes in strips, as if you were trying to peel an orange in one piece, and is much thinner and more orange in color than bitter orange peels. However, when used in roughly the same quantities as the bitter orange it produces a heavenly, rich, sweet orange flavor very similar to Cointreau or Grand Marinier. Goes great in conjunction with some of the Belgian yeasts and particularly well with coriander. Again, boil for 20 minutes--it's amazing how much flavor you can get out of less than an ounce of this stuff. Unfortunately, at the moment this ingredient is not available in the U.S. I believe several people are trying to bring some over, and I hope everyone out there will feel free to bug their local homebrew sources! As far as I'm concerned this is the last important Belgian brewing ingredient that's not available to homebrewers here in America. In the meantime, it's possible that tangerine peel may provide a vague substitute. Sources: For Yeasts, contact Your local homebrew store The Yeast Culture Kit Co. 1308 W. Madison Ann Arbor, MI 48103 800-752-2110 313-761-5914 DANIEL.F.MCCONNELL@MED.UMICH.EDU Brewers Resource 409 Calle San Pablo #104 Camarillo, CA 93012 (800) 827-3983 Advanced Brewers Scientific 3034 SE 20th Ave. Portland, OR 97202 (503) 234-7503 GUMMITCH@TELEPORT.COM Head Start Brewing Cultures 921 Bill Smith Road Cookeville, TN 38501 (615) 372-8511 BAN5845@TNTECH.EDU Scientific Service 7407 Hummingbird Hill San Antonio, TX 78255 (210) 695-2547 For Bitter Orange Peels, contact The Frozen Wort P.O. Box 988 Greenfield, MA 01302 (413) 773-5920 This is the only source I'm aware of for the peels, and the prices (at least when I last saw them) were quite reasonable. Don't forget to ask them to stock sweet peels as well! For Candy Sugar: Home Sweet Homebrew 2008 Sansom Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 569-9469 The Decorette Shop 5338 SE Foster Road Portland, OR [don't have the zip] (503) 774-3760 These people sell blond rock candy in 5 lb quantities, with the strings. As stated above, I have no business relationship with any of these vendors other than being an occasional client of some of them. Several of the yeast suppliers carry strains supplied by me, for which I receive no commission, payment, consideration, appreciation, adoration, or what have you. Well, that winds up this series folks. I hope this helps some of you on your way to Belgian homebrew nirvana. If you find it, don't forget to invite me!