Brewing Belgian beers

[Sandimas]

So I made the mistake of going back to Belgium last week and I now realise how average my Brewferm Belgian kits are. I'm pretty happy with my AG brewing of British ales but I've never tried an AG Belgian, but have heard that it's a style that's quite hard to master.

Anyone successfully brewed a good malty Belgian beer such as a Dubbel or Triple? If so, care to share some tips?

 

[Keats]

Not sure how it would compare next to a true Belgian beer but I had a bottle of my AG Dubbel a couple of days ago which was really good. Looking at my notes just now I see that I made it in October 2016 so has had a couple of years maturing.

Don't really have any tips but this is the recipe.

1kg Pale malt
1kg Pilsner malt
0.2 kg Abbey malt
0.2 kg Special B
0.5 kg dark candy sugar

Mash in 6 litres of water for an hour at 65.
Dunk sparge in 8 litres for 10 minutes at 80.
45 minute boil with 15g Aurora from start.

10 litres in the FV and reused Brewferm Oud Vlaams yeast.

Went from OG of 1.064 to 1.004, giving ABV of 8%.

It was my second attempt at AG so was still learning the ropes. The shorter boil is probably because I was impatient as it was before I got my boiler so was using the gas cooker. Will have to make it again soon as only got a couple of bottles left.

 

[chthon]

• Don't fear the sugar, but ordinary table sugar works too
• Turbinado is nice too
• Don't use dark brown sugars, either you lose color because it is colored with simple caramel, or it is colored using molasses, which might be too outspoken
• If you want dark brown sugars, invest in Candi Syrup's products
  
• Don't use roast malts in dark brown Belgian beers, use caramel malts and other specialty malts
• Spices are sometimes used, more in blonde beers, but don't overdo it
• Experiment with yeasts
• Many Belgian beers are brewed with Saaz and German hops, but Goldings, Fuggles and Challenger are also very nice

 

[peebee]

I've done a couple from this bunch: http://www.castlemalting.com/CastleMaltingBeerRecipes.asp?Language=English.

Like "DIYDog" some of the recipes just don't add up. You might need to tweak some recipes to "fit". They insist on step mashes, but go for stepped infusion mashes rather than the more involved decoction mashes.

This is one I did a couple of years ago:

Belgium Dark Abbey Beer. SG71, FG14, 29.5IBUs, 50EBC. 45L batch!

4.15Kg Pale Malt (MO 5.3EBC)
4.15Kg Pale Malt , Low Colour (MO 3.6 EBC)
2.50Kg Munich Malt (15 EBC)
1.75Kg Crystal Malt (135 EBC)
0.20Kg Chocolate Malt (1050 EBC)
0.15Kg Crystal, High Colour (200 EBC)

All Warminster (English) malt this time, but have used Castle before. Mashed 65C for 60mins, 72C for 15mins and 78C for 2 mins.

Boiled for 90 minutes.
48g Magnum for 45 minutes (22IBU)
78g Perle for 3 minutes (7.5IBU)
0.22Kg Brown Candi Sugar (3mins)
1.8g Cinnamon stick (0min)
0.45g Coriander seed (0min)

Fermentis T-58 yeast.

Fermented at 19C, at two weeks dropped temperature to 14-16C, After 35 days lagered at 4C for a month or two.

I regretted drinking this fairly soon (3-4 months) - the T-58 yeast needed at least one year to moderate the esters.

 

[MyQul]

There a couple of forumite's' who love a belgian beer. Such as @strange-steve and @dad_of_jon (dad_of_jon loves belgians so much he's got an Eden Hazard duvet cover) so hopefully they'll be along to advise

 

[dad_of_jon]

candi sugar dark and a belgian yeast are good starting points

There a couple of forumite's' who love a belgian beer. Such as @strange-steve and @dad_of_jon (dad_of_jon loves belgians so much he's got an Eden Hazard duvet cover) so hopefully they'll be along to advise

chelsea and belgium - im in heaven. do you have a webcam installed in my house?

 

[dad_of_jon]

unedited notes below: (apologies if they're a bit bit random they only make sense to me after a few beers!
05/12/2015

Strike water 2 litres water 72 deg C
Grains:

250g aromatic malt
250 choco malt
250 dark crystal grains in 2 litres for 1 hour at 64 deg

poured into brewpot via fine sieve added 1.7 litres water at 65 deg C to rinse grains.
boiled 50g of simcoe pellets in separate pan of 500ml water and boil for 15 mins at same time as the brewpot boil
(to get more hop extraction than boiling in 'thick wort')

Brewpot:

in addition to the wort from the grains added
4.3 litres chase spring water
3 kg dme
500g dwe
500g dark candi sugar
180ml clarks maple syrup.
boiled for 15 mins
added all together in FV 10 liters. into water bath for 20 mins to chill down.

topped up to 22 litre mark
1.075 og.

mangrove jacks belgian ale yeast used (re-hydrated)

pitched at 27.
pleased so far bubbling airlock about 3 hours after pitching.
krausen compact so far only got up to 24 litre mark on fv (phew) not as mental as the other belgian yeast i've used.
no overflowing airlock or mess to clean up. less than 1 sec between airlock bubbles.
liking its good manners so far could this be my go to Belgian yeast?
I'm fermenting at 22-23 to start with and will raise the temp as the days go by.

Fermentis abbye recommends 15-20 deg C and Mangrove jack say 26-32deg C so I was too high for the Fermentis and I'm too low for the MJ.

28/12/2015
FG 1.004 !!!! I make that 9.32% abv
160g priming sugar in 400ml water
20.5 litres bottled.
Rich dark fruits with a sherry warmth. Going to be a real winter warmer. No need to put a brewferm abdij on, which by the way turned out superb.

 

[strange-steve]

I tend to brew Belgian styles more than anything else, and one of the things I've learned is that it's extremely difficult to replicate the Belgian greats. I've tried with Westvleteren 12, Orval, Rochefort 8, Westmalle dubbel, La Chouffe, and most recently Pannepot, with varying degrees of success.

That being said, I don't think there are any real secrets to brewing a great Belgian style beer, and I don't necessarily think they are any more difficult than most styles. I would say however that in my experience the lighter beers (saison, tripel etc) are easier to get right than the darker ones (dubbel, quad etc).

Some tips off the top of my head (although @chthon has covered it well):
1. Use a liquid yeast. I know many will disagree with me on this, but Belgian styles really need a quality yeast, and dry yeasts just aren't up to the job.
2. As mentioned, sugar is your friend. Avoid buying the hard candi sugar rocks. If the recipe calls for light candi sugar/syrup just use table sugar. If it asks for dark candi sugar then it's very simple to make your own and considerably cheaper than buying it.
3. Keep the recipe simple. Most Belgian beers have a very simple grain bill, so go easy on the speciality malts.
4. Mash nice and low. Don't worry about it being too dry, this is difficult to do with most Belgian styles whereas too sweet is a problem.
5. Don't get carried away with fermentation temperature. It's true that Belgian yeasts work well at higher temperatures but you'll get better results by pitching a little low and ramping the temperature up during fermentation.
6. If you want to try spices then coriander seed is a good one to start with. About 10g in a 20L batch will give a subtle background note which blends well with Belgian yeast flavours and doesn't stand out too much.

If you want an easy opener then I'd say a saison is a good place to start. This is my rye saison recipe which is simple but effective:

Rye Saison

Recipe Specs
Batch Size: 21 L
Original Gravity: 1.055
Final Gravity: 1.003
ABV: 6.8%
Colour: 6 SRM
Bitterness: 26 IBU

Grain Bill
3.0 kg Weyermann Pilsner Malt
1.5 kg Weyermann Rye Malt
350 g Granulated Sugar

Hop Bill
25g Styrian Golding (4.8% AA) @ 60 Mins
30g Styrian Golding @ 20 Mins
30g Styrian Golding @ 1 Min

Notes
Mash at 63°c for 90 mins
Ferment with Wyeast 3711 French Saison
Pitch at 20° and ramp up to 25° over 5 days
Carbonate to 3 vol/CO2

 

[MyQul]

candi sugar dark and a belgian yeast are good starting points


chelsea and belgium - im in heaven. do you have a webcam installed in my house?

Several actually

 

[Sandimas]

Brilliant, thanks guys. :hat:

In particular I was thinking of candi sugar to up the ABV, and some Special B to add that maltiness, so that confirms it. Time to experiment and be prepared for a long wait.

 

[dad_of_jon]

Several actually

myqul, I discovered the toilet cam ages ago! I pointed it downwards

 

[prog99]

I made this with crossmyloof Belgium yeast, pretty pleased with the end product.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/strange-steves-homebrew-reviews.67725/#post-640517

 

[MyQul]

myqul, I discovered the toilet cam ages ago! I pointed it downwards

I wondered what happened to that one. I just thought you were brewing loads of lagers with strange krausen floating on top, in an odd shaped FV

 

[josh18t]

This was the post that helped me the most for making Candi syrup. I would say to go by smell when making it but use this strictly for your first attempt. It will smell awful until the DAP nutrient boils off though so make sure to open the windows. I would go for the darkest ones if making a dubbel and make sure to use at least 10% in the recipe.

The basic ideas for the recipe are from “Radical Brewing” –Randy Mosher, and from “Brew Like a Monk” –Stan Hieronymus. I spent some time working on a procedure that seems to work really well. The procedures came from various books on candy making and internet resources. Both recipes are temperature sensitive and absolutely dependent on the use of a candy or deep fry thermometer. Do not turn the temperature up past medium. This will result in bitterness and a burnt flavor.


These recipes make ~1 quart.


Sugar #4

This is a simple caramel that can be made into syrups with different colors and flavor characteristics. I made and took notes on six different terminal temperatures from 250F – 300F.


The procedure for making the syrups starts with 2 lbs of sugar, a varied amount of Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP Yeast Nutrient), and 1 cup of water. You bring these three ingredients to a boil over medium heat. You do not want to stir, the gentle convections will do all the mixing that is necessary. Using a thermometer, stop the boil at the desired terminal temperature by adding a varied amount of water while gently stirring the solution. This is the dangerous part, a fair amount of spitting and sputtering might occur. After adding the water you will need to dissolve the syrup by stirring gently until the solution reaches the stage called soft ball (240F). This is when the syrup is done. Stop the cooking by submerging the pan in cool water or by transferring the syrup to a preheated mason jar.


Rose (250F)

-Clear, slightly rosy color. This syrup is sweet and sugary with very little to no character flavors.

2 Lbs Sugar

1 Cup Water

1/2 tsp DAP

1/2 Cup Water


Light (260F)

-Apricot colored with mild flavors reminiscent of peaches and white grape juice. Some very mild warm flavors like soft rounded vanilla.

2 Lbs Sugar

1 Cup Water

1 tsp DAP

3/4 Cup Water


Light Amber (270F)

-Apricot to light amber in color with some red tones developing. Mild caramel flavors with some soft sweet fruit characters developing. Mellow flat vanilla flavor with some warm cardamom tones. Maybe plums and dried apricots in the distant background.

2 Lbs Sugar

1 Cup Water

1 – 1/2 tsp DAP

1 Cup Water


Medium Amber (280F)

-Amber colored. Strong caramels and intensifying cardamom and plum flavors. Some roasted flavor developing but not bitter.

2 Lbs Sugar

1 Cup Water

2 tsp DAP

1 – 1/4 Cup Water


Deep Amber (290F)

-Deep amber with full red colors. Raisins and plums are the dominant flavors with a hint of toast and coffee. Some rummy and mildly woody flavors. Strong complex caramels are present. It is a sophisticated sweetness with a robust, full characteristic. This is my favorite.

2 Lbs Sugar

1 Cup Water

2 – 1/2 tsp DAP

1 – 1/2 Cup Water


Mahogany (300F)

-Mahogany, more brown than red in color. Raisins and figs with some mild bitterness developing. There is a tart sweetness, and a loss of complex caramel flavors. The caramels are replaced by bittersweet toast and burnt sugar characters. It is rich and decadent but not as complex as 290F.

2 Lbs Sugar

1 Cup Water

3 tsp DAP

1 – 3/4 Cup Water



Sugar #5


This is a double cooked sugar that further increases the flavors of 290F without compromising the complex caramels. Think of this sugar as an extension of the 290F recipe. Everything about it is intensified. The procedure is a bit more complicated and it takes nearly an hour to complete, but it is worth the time and effort.

Over medium heat bring to a boil

2 Lbs Sugar

1 Cup Water

3 tsp DAP

Raise this to the terminal temperature of 290F. At 290F begin stirring and add in:

1 Cup Water

Continue stirring until the sugars are dissolved. Again, bring the solution up to 290F over medium heat. At 290F begin stirring and add in:

1 Cup of Water

Stir this until the sugars are dissolved and the temperature starts to rise a couple degrees. This Should be right at or just above soft ball (240F). This is when the syrup is done. Stop the cooking by submerging the pan in cool water or by transferring the syrup to a preheated mason jar.

 

[dad_of_jon]

Brilliant, thanks guys. :hat:

In particular I was thinking of candi sugar to up the ABV, and some Special B to add that maltiness, so that confirms it. Time to experiment and be prepared for a long wait.

candi sugar & or golden syrup will boost your abv and add some character.