Flavour without the alcohol?

[cwrw]

Hi guys,
Is it possible to turn out beers which have got most of the robust flavours of the likes of belgian ales and strong tasting lagers with only about 50-60% of the alcohol - I'm finding myself downing more units than I'd like to ..... and I do like a few pints when the time's right! :
Any pointers welcome (exept those pointing towards AA :mrgreen:)

 

[phettebs]

Depends on what flavors you are looking for. In my opinion, many of the interesting flavors in high gravity Belgians come from the alcohol itself. Granted, the yeast is a huge part of the overall profile of a Belgian beer but there's still a lot that comes from the alcohol. So I don't know that you could get the EXACT profile in a lower alcohol beer but you can certainly make some very interesting and tasty ones!

Spices can help with Belgians too. If it's a darker Belgian, try using a good amount of dark candi sugar and some special B. That will give a rich rummy flavor. You can experiment with other sugars too.

So I think you can get some very interesting lower gravity Belgian beers. I just don't know that you can get the same profiles as come from the higher gravity ones. It's definitely worth experimenting though! Get creative. That is what Belgian beers are about!

Barry

 

[cwrw]

As ever, your opinion is much appreciated, and I will have a go with a few variations parhaps after the fall :thumb: