Belgian Ale Recipe

[deadlydes]

Well i have not tried many of these types of beers (commercial) and i havent tried brewing one.

Has anyone got a good recipe to start with?
will be going with the Chimay yeast (WLP500 or Wyeast 1214 supposedly)

preferably i dont want anything too strong and preferably (this may not be possible) not using specialty grains (i have the normal pale, black, choc, crystal, malted wheat, torrified wheat, flaked barley, melanoidin, cara pils, lager, flaked maize, flaked rice - think thats about it)

Cheers

[oblivious]

This link is supposed to be a very accurate clone of Rochefort 8; I suppose you could the Chimay yeast to produce a nice abbey style beer

http://www.geocities.com/iluvhops/brouw ... fort8.html

[steve_flack]

What sort of ale are you after? There's several types - there's the Pale Ales like DeKoninck and Palm, the Blond Ales - think Leffe, Dubbels - brown beers about 7-8% like Westmalle Dubbel or Chimay Red, Tripels - about 9%, very pale, can be very easy drinking for the strength or can be very hoppy and bitter and then there's the big hitters like Rochefort 10 which is 11.2% if my memory serves.

The pale ales are pretty easy. A DeKoninck like recipe would be Pils or Pale Malt with 10-15% Vienna Malt to 1.052, Saaz hops to 25IBU, a slightly spicy but otherwise clean Belgian ale yeast (probably liquid but S-33 or T-58 might work for dried)

[tubby_shaw]

Wheelers BCEBAH has a recipe for Liefmans Goudenband, a Belgian brown ale.
25 litres OG 1052. 20 EBU 60 EBC 5.3% abv

4.1kg pale malt
700g flaked maize
700g torrefied barley
300g crystal malt
135g chocolate malt
Start of boil 25 g Whitbread Goldings and 20g Tettnang hops
last 15 minutes of boil 15g Saaz
Mash at 66C for 90 minutes
Boil 90 minutes

Simple ingredients, not too strong

[oblivious]

I don’t think S-33 is Belgian yeast

[prodigal2]

Rochefort 10 which is 11.2% if my memory serves.

Steve you are correct, and a beer definatly worth trying if you can find it, as the monks only brew what they need to provide enough funds to live on. The supply is sumwhat eratic.

[steve_flack]

If you think that is erratic you should try and get hold of a Westvleteren beer!

[steve_flack]

I don’t think S-33 is Belgian yeast

Maybe it isn't but that doesn't stop Fermentis plugging it for that type of beer
http://www.fermentis.com/FO/EN/pdf/SafbrewS-33.pdf

[steve_flack]

Wheelers BCEBAH has a recipe for Liefmans Goudenband, a Belgian brown ale.

Goudenband is a somewhat sour beer as it's a Flemish Brown Ale. I think it's vatted in a similar way to Rodenbach. It's quite a way away from Newcastle Brown or Mann's.

[tubby_shaw]

Wheelers BCEBAH has a recipe for Liefmans Goudenband, a Belgian brown ale.

Goudenband is a somewhat sour beer as it's a Flemish Brown Ale. I think it's vatted in a similar way to Rodenbach. It's quite a way away from Newcastle Brown or Mann's.

It is apparently a blend of fresh and old ales to the same recipe. They are both matured in stainless steel, but it is fermented using the Rodenbach strain of yeast which imparts its own "sourness"
Anyway it's a Belgian recipe with simple ingredients that isn't too strong that Deadlydes can try

[mysterio]

There are an enormous range of Belgian beers, have you got a commercial one in mind that you want to replicate or get close to?

[RabMaxwell]

Classic European Beers by Wheeler has Chimay Red & Chimay White if you want them give us a shout. Cheers

[deadlydes]

Cheers for the info guys
Tubby: that recipe sounds ok. may give that a go as i have the ingredients.

also the de-connick recipe may be worth a go. suppose i could substitute Vienna malt with some crystal and cara?

and as i said i have not drunk very many (cant even remember the names of the ones i have tried) commercial ones so i just wanted a couple of recipes to have a go at one.

is this style generally quite strong then?

whats the palm stuff? any recipes?

rab: any chance of the chimay white recipe (i think the red has been pretty well covered in another thread)

[oblivious]

You could do a triple; they are relatively simple 80% pale malt, 20% sugar

[deadlydes]

You could do a triple; they are relatively simple 80% pale malt, 20% sugar

sounds interesting. which and what IBU for hops? also what OG?