Greg Hughes Belgian Beers

[Asherweef]

Hi all,

Im doing my first forays into all grain and one of the beers I’ve planned (and ordered) is Belgian Blonde ale from the Greg Hughes book but now that I’m going through the book for the umpteenth time I note there is: abbey beer, Belgian blonde, Belgian Dubbel, Belgian triple and Belgian strong blonde ale. Could anyone who has brewed some of these let me know the differences and their thoughts?

I get the dubbel and triple but there seems a lot of crossover within about 8 pages!

 

[RichardM]

I haven't brewed any of them yet, but each has a short description, that should give you an indication of the differences. Also, look at the ABVs and the yeasts used.

 

[prog99]

Dubbel - tends to be dark, sweet, malty and strongish
Tripel - tends to be light and strong
Abbey - can almost anything really.
I'll throw in quad too to really confuse you!

edit - may help or hinder you - Dubbel, Trippel, Quad: What's the difference? - Beerknews

 

[Asherweef]

Thanks Prog!

There is a brief description at the top of each page but in some circumstances (Abbey beer) it doesn’t talk about the beer profile at all.

 

[chthon]

The designation "Abbey beer" is a kind of catch-all for all beers that have not been brewed by Trappist monks, but that do have a kind of relationship with an existing abbey. They are brewed by normal commercial entities, there can be (possibly is) a kind of license paid to the abbey.

The styles that are brewed under the title of abbey beer ranges from light blond beers to quadruples, but they will be typically Belgian. They are derived from the Trappist beers.

Abbey beer brands

 

[Asherweef]

Hi Chthon, that was my understanding but I’m looking to understand the recipes in the book.

 

[Sandimas]

I've brewed the Dubbel and the Belgian Wit. Both good but I love the Wit in particular.

I hadn't realised until recently that Dubbel, Triple and Quadruple refer to the amount of malt in the mash and hence the ABV, stronger and stronger beers.

 

[chthon]

Hi Chthon, that was my understanding but I’m looking to understand the recipes in the book.

This would then seem more a bit of lazyness on the part of the author. Abbey beers tend to come in the same categories as the trappist beers: light blond, dubbel, tripel and quadrupel, and of course there are variants of these styles. Also, not all trappist beers even name their beers dubbel, tripel or quadrupel. E.g. Rochefort, Orval and Achel.

Beers like "Omer: Traditional Blond" and Duvel, Belgian strong blonde ales, are not of the category abbey and trappist. Wit also not (even though La Trappe brews a wit, but they also brew a (Dutch) bock).

Certain abbey beer styles are not brewed by the trappists. E.g. something like Leffe Blond at 6,6%, or Maredsous 6 doesn't really have an equivalent trappist style. So, that might be the reason why these recipes are designated as abbey beers.

 

[Asherweef]

Okay great. I think you’re right about a bit of laziness, the descriptions aren’t great e.g. The Abbey Beer just saying something along the lines of ‘a style like those brewed in Abbeys’ that then threw me when I saw other beers that also fit that description!
im doing the blonde when the FV is clear so hopefully I can report back. I’m hoping for something Leffe-esque.

 

[chthon]

Okay great. I think you’re right about a bit of laziness, the descriptions aren’t great e.g. The Abbey Beer just saying something along the lines of ‘a style like those brewed in Abbeys’ that then threw me when I saw other beers that also fit that description!
im doing the blonde when the FV is clear so hopefully I can report back. I’m hoping for something Leffe-esque.

Which yeast does the recipe state? Something like Leffe has a bit of clove from the yeast (like a Weizen yeast).

 

[pilgrimhudd]

I've done the abbey and the tripel from GH's book, in fact I have a 2nd batch of abbey conditioning now. The abbey turned out quite light with a spicy kick. I used a dry belgian abbey yeast not the one he used because I don't have a good record with liquid yeast. The tripel turned out quite fruity and very spicy, which i'm not sure was how it was meant to turn out, it was still lovely though and around 7.5% if i remember correctly.

 

[Asherweef]

Which yeast does the recipe state? Something like Leffe has a bit of clove from the yeast (like a Weizen yeast).

I’ll have to pull the book out when I get a mo’ as like Pilgrim I’ve got some Mangrive Jack dry belgian yeasts. Mainly because I’m new to AG and couldn’t justify the cost -or understand- liquid.

 

[chthon]

I’ll have to pull the book out when I get a mo’ as like Pilgrim I’ve got some Mangrive Jack dry belgian yeasts. Mainly because I’m new to AG and couldn’t justify the cost -or understand- liquid.

I mostly use Mangrove Jack's yeasts, no problem there.

 

[alsch890]

I brewed the Patersbier from GH so didn't want to see that ignored here as it is also known as an "enkel" or "single". I read somewhere that the monks originally made this beer by doing an extra sparge on an already sparged mash, hence its quite weak.
I didn't do mine that way but it did come out quite nicely. By far the weakest beer I've ever brewed though, the mother-in-law loved it!

 

[Dorst]

The original distinction between enkel, dubbel and tripel was the amount of malts (and strength) of the beers - and thus the price. Often the enkel would have been made from reruns from previous beers. All of these beers would have been dark - because malting did not allow for blonde beers until much later (mainly driven by British malting inovations in the 19th century). Literacy was not a given in those days so they often marked beer kegs with crosses. One cross for an enkel (single), two for a dubbel and three for a tripel. You will still see these those used on packaging for these styles. The idea was that the richer you were the higher up you would go on the beer ladder (poorest drank enkel, slightly richer dubbel, still a bit richer tripel, and if you could afford it you would move onwards to wine - the drink of choice).

A law introduced only in 1919 (wet-Van der Velde) in Belgium aimed to combat alcoholism by making the sale of spirits illegal. This has arguably led to the creation of the heavier and more flavourful beers we know today. Example: Westmalle only introduced their stronger dubbel in 1921 - not too long after. The Blonde and tripel beers are even less traditional - they were mainly introduced to have an alternative to lager becoming more popular (and even today over 70 percent of the Belgian market is lager). Most popular Belgian beers have their origins in the 1980's (La Chouffe, Kwak, Verboden vrucht, Kasteel, Delirium Tremens, Gulden Draak)

To summarise; the whole naming convention of Belgian beers is a bit of a mess. The styles claim to have really old roots, but the styles we drink today are quite modern by most standards. I would not be too fuzzed about what they are called and focus on what kind of beer you enjoy drinking.

 

[chthon]

Here is a set of articles from Ronald Pattinson about brewing in Belgium in the 19th century:

• Part one
• Part two
• Part three
• Part four
• Part five