Anybody got a good Belgian Pale Ale recipe?

[pantsmachine]

This is my latest Blgian pale ale. All fermentables from grain but that's my preference. I like the belgian yeast flavours but some of the more extreme ales can be cloying. All the same it worked out well and will be getting made again as soon as i get back home. Keeps its head all the way to the bottom of the glass.

2.00 kg Pilsner (2 Row) UK (1.0 SRM) Grain 44.44 %
1.00 kg Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 22.22 %
1.00 kg Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 22.22 %
0.50 kg Torrified wheat 11.11 %
1 oz northdown (60 min)
0.5 oz northdown (10 min)
0.5 oz northdown (5 min)
1 Pkgs Abbey Ale (White Labs #WLP530)
SG 1.048 11/01/09
FG 1.018 18/01/09

[adm]

Makes sense you don't want to colour the yeast if you want a nice pale triple

That's exactly my concern!

[adm]

This is my latest Blgian pale ale. All fermentables from grain but that's my preference. I like the belgian yeast flavours but some of the more extreme ales can be cloying. All the same it worked out well and will be getting made again as soon as i get back home. Keeps its head all the way to the bottom of the glass.

2.00 kg Pilsner (2 Row) UK (1.0 SRM) Grain 44.44 %
1.00 kg Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 22.22 %
1.00 kg Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 22.22 %
0.50 kg Torrified wheat 11.11 %
1 oz northdown (60 min)
0.5 oz northdown (10 min)
0.5 oz northdown (5 min)
1 Pkgs Abbey Ale (White Labs #WLP530)
SG 1.048 11/01/09
FG 1.018 18/01/09

I bet you have to chisel the head out of the bottom of the glass with all that wheat!

Sounds tasty....where's the pic?

[adm]

I think I would have to agree with Mr. Flack, if you want to use Chimay yeast, maybe an Abby Single would be best. I have a little experience with that strain and I like it alot. It will throw off a fair amount of bananna if you are not careful which in my opinion would be a flaw in the beer for either a Single or a Triple. I have used the stuff to make both a Dubbel and a Belgian Blonde, with O.G.s in the 1.065 neighborhood. In both cases, I fermented starting around 65F and increased the temperature to around 75F over about a week. Although there is a hint of bananna, overall I was really pleased with the flavors and I suppose that is just a component of that strain's profile. Of course, when making a lower gravity beer, I would expect you will get less yeast character but hopefully it will turn out well. The other good thing about making a Single is that you can spice it if you want. Let us know how it goes and what you ended up doing in the way of formulation.

Right! Belgian Single it is then.....

I think I'll call it "Ca Plane Pour Moi" (Belgian Single.....geddit?????)

I don't think I'll spice it though as I want the yeast as "clean" as possible to brew a Trippel with once this is done. Your fermentation temperature profile is very similar to my plan although I'll probably not let it go higher than 22C at the top end. I'll probably let the Trippel go higher though to get more yeast flavour. I'm lucky as I have fairly precise control over the fermentation temperature (although I normally just set it and forget it, but for these Belgians I think I'll pay more attention)

[arturobandini]

Nice Plastic Betrand reference adm.

I'll be watching this with interest. I've got a 7/7/7 recipe from Le Flack from the brewdays section I've been planning and that's definitely worth digging out to have a look at.

[steve_flack]

Steve,

That sounds almost exactly like what I am trying to do.....maybe "Belgian Pale Ale" just isn't the right description for it! The grist and the hops sound very similar to my recipe anyway (especially the original version that used sugar). If you do have the recipe, then I'd love to see it.

Looks like my recollection of the hops was wrong. I used Styrians and Sterling (a US hops vaguely similar to Saaz)

Recipe: Enkel
Style: 16E-Belgian And French Ale-Belgian Speciality Ale

Recipe Overview

Wort Volume Before Boil: 45.00 l
Wort Volume After Boil: 42.00 l
Volume Transferred: 42.00 l
Water Added: 0.00 l
Volume At Pitching: 42.00 l
Final Batch Volume: 38.00 l
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.040 SG
Expected OG: 1.047 SG
Expected FG: 1.009 SG
Expected ABV: 5.0 %
Expected ABW: 3.9 %
Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 27.1
Expected Color: 4.3 SRM
Apparent Attenuation: 80.6 %
Mash Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 18 degC

Fermentables
UK Lager Malt 8.000 kg (92.0 %) In Mash/Steeped
Belgian Aromatic Malt 0.350 kg (4.0 %) In Mash/Steeped
Sugar - White Sugar/Sucrose 0.350 kg (4.0 %) Start Of Boil

Hops
Slovenian Styrian Goldings (3.1 % alpha) 125 g Bagged Pellet Hops used All Of Boil
US Sterling (7.0 % alpha) 20 g Bagged Pellet Hops used 10 Min From End
US Sterling (7.0 % alpha) 20 g Bagged Pellet Hops used At turn off

Other Ingredients

Yeast: White Labs WLP500-Trappist Ale

Mash Schedule
Mash Type: Full Mash
Schedule Name:Single Step Infusion (66C/151F)
Step: Rest at 66 degC for 60 mins

[steve_flack]

Steve, whats your recipe for your German pils? I tried brewing one last year and it was nothing near the likes of Bitburger. Is there a secret to getting it so dry ?

Mine actually came out a bit like Peroni. Here's the recipe

Recipe: German Pils
Style: 2A-Pilsner-German Pilsner (Pils)

Recipe Overview

Wort Volume Before Boil: 45.00 l
Wort Volume After Boil: 42.00 l
Volume Transferred: 42.00 l
Water Added: 0.00 l
Volume At Pitching: 42.00 l
Final Batch Volume: 38.00 l
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.045 SG
Expected OG: 1.048 SG
Expected FG: 1.009 SG
Expected ABV: 5.1 %
Expected ABW: 4.0 %
Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 37.0
Expected Color: 3.1 SRM
Apparent Attenuation: 80.1 %
Mash Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 18 degC

Fermentables
Belgian Pilsen Malt 9.100 kg (98.9 %) In Mash/Steeped
UK Flaked Barley 0.100 kg (1.1 %) In Mash/Steeped

Hops
US Horizon (9.3 % alpha) 60 g Bagged Pellet Hops used 80 Min From End
German Hallertauer Hersbrucker (4.2 % alpha) 30 g Bagged Pellet Hops used 10 Min From End
German Hallertauer Hersbrucker (4.2 % alpha) 30 g Bagged Pellet Hops used 1 Min From End

Other Ingredients

Yeast: DCL W-34/70 Saflager (70g rehydrated)

Mash Schedule
Mash Type: Full Mash
Schedule Name:Single Step Infusion (64C/147F 90mins)
Step: Rest at 64 degC for 90 mins

Recipe Notes
Do a separate mash at 35C with flaked barley and 400g of the lager malt for 15mins. Raise to 64C and add to main mash.

[adm]

Recipe: Enkel
Style: 16E-Belgian And French Ale-Belgian Speciality Ale

Thanks! That looks nice. How did it come out?

Any chance you could ping me over the BA file so I can just be a lazy bar steward and import it directly ?

[steve_flack]

Do you want me to brew it for you as well?

Here you go

http://homepage.mac.com/steve_flack/Enkel.bar

[adm]

Do you want me to brew it for you as well?

Could you? I'd let you have a sip or two once it's done if you don't make a mess. And while you're at it, can you clean my cornies for me? My last slave died recently from not being fast enough.

Well.....I think it might have technically been the whipping that killed her, but you know what I mean

Thanks for the file!

[steve_flack]

Is there a secret to getting it so dry ?

I've found that using lager malt or particularly pils malt generally gives higher attenuation than pale malt. Obviously the long 64C mash rest, and large yeast pitch helped as well.

[mysterio]

Yeah I did all that. Mine just tasted like my normal helles. The mouthfeel wasn't quite right and the hops vanished in the keg. Although its much easier to to pitch the right amount of yeast with dried, is that strain pretty clean tasting?

And... flaked barley? What the [censored]?

Good luck with the singel & tripel, ADM, looking forward to seeing the results

[steve_flack]

Although its much easier to to pitch the right amount of yeast with dried, is that strain pretty clean tasting?

It's the Weihenstephan W34/70 strain so is the same as WLP830 German Lager/WY2124 Bohemian Lager

And... flaked barley? What the f***?

For head retention. If the Germans can use Chit malt that's barely been malted in their beers for head retention, I can use flaked barley which is pretty similar in properties.

[Barley Water]

That looks like a pretty nice, straight forward formulation for a single, I am sure it is nice. Not being one to leave well enough alone though, I think I would be tempted to swap out the white sugar for jaggery and maybe use a more neutral bittering hop. My water here is moderately hard and if I am not really careful what ends up happening to me is I get a little bit of harsh bitterness which I would think would bugger the whole thing up. As far as the sugar goes, I usually figure that as long as I am going to dose the wort with sugar, I might as well try to get some unique flavors. I have a really convient source of jaggery (the local Indian market here in town) and I have had good luck with it in Dubbels and a Belgian Blonde I made last year. I also think that if one were so inclined, the beer could be spiced with any number of things. To me, that's the best thing about making the Belgian styles, you can do whatever the hell you want to. This beer would also be great to build up a yeast cake for an attempt at a Triple or Strong Dark (and yes, I would consider spicing either one of those style also).

[arturobandini]

Palm Speciale and Op-Ale are my favourite Belgians in this genre. Try and see if you can source a few for brew research purposes only.