Trappist Ales and Actual Spices? A debate ensues...

My friend and I are in a pseudo disagreement. Hes has apparently been told by some brewing friends who own their own micropub that the defining characteristics of Trappist Ales is their addition of actual spices (mainly coriander). After much research all i have come to find is that Belgian wits tend to often have coriander in them and not much else.

He keep getting perturbed that I want to make a Trappist Ale and not use these spices, but I can't find any proof that trappists ales use coriander.

I am sure most of the "spice" flavor comes from the specific yeast itself and not the addition of spices to the beer.

Does anyone wish to elaborate or have some good resources that might be able to put this debate to a close?

I think it's up for debate. I listened to a podcast from someone who toured Rochefort that they use a small amount, but I've also read from other sources that they deny using any. There is also a quote from the head Brewer at Rochefort in "Brew Like a Monk" where he says they use coriander but in very small amounts. Here's the quote.

"[Brewer Gumer] Santos downplays the use of coriander. 'It is a small amount, but people outside of Belgium think (Belgian brewers) use a lot of spices,' he said. 'Most of what they think are spices comes from the yeast.'"

The short answer is they may use it in very small amounts, but the majority of what people think is spice actually comes from the yeast.

h4rdluck said:

My friend and I are in a pseudo disagreement. Hes has apparently been told by some brewing friends who own their own micropub that the defining characteristics of Trappist Ales is their addition of actual spices (mainly coriander). After much research all i have come to find is that Belgian wits tend to often have coriander in them and not much else.

He keep getting perturbed that I want to make a Trappist Ale and not use these spices, but I can't find any proof that trappists ales use coriander.

I am sure most of the "spice" flavor comes from the specific yeast itself and not the addition of spices to the beer.

Does anyone wish to elaborate or have some good resources that might be able to put this debate to a close?

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I don't think its really up for the debate that the *defining* features of belgian ales are the flavors produced by belgian yeast strains. Yes, some breweries do add minuscule amounts of spices, but they don't define the style.

"Brew like a Monk" and almost all the breweries he interviews are clear that if you can individually discern the flavor of a spice in an Belgian ale then you used too much. If you're looking to end the debate I'd pick up a copy of this book, its also an amazing resource if you're planning on getting into brewing Belgian beers.

So yes, I'd say you are correct and your friend is wrong. most homebrewers add way too much extra stuff to their Belgians and all of it tends to overcrowd the natural complexity of the phenols and esters produced by the yeast.

In fact, why don't you have him put his money where his mouth is.

You go ahead and brew your Belgian without any spices and use a Belgian yeast strain, and have him attempt to brew the same style using only spices and a clean American yeast strain. The recipes should be totally the same aside from your yeast and his spices.

See which one tastes better and is more "authentic."

I'd suggest a Tripel as you can make an amazing Tripel with literally nothing but Belgian Pilsner malt, table sugar, and a good Belgian yeast( I'd suggest Wyeast 3787, which is the Westmalle strain). I can pretty much there's absolutely no way he can recreate the Tripel flavor profile using just spices, which he should be able to do if they're the defining characteristic of Belgians.

Some Belgian beers are spiced, but I still think the majority of the flavor comes from the yeast. It all depends of what you prefer.

fenixwb said:

I'd suggest a Tripel as you can make an amazing Tripel with literally nothing but Belgian Pilsner malt, table sugar, and a good Belgian yeast( I'd suggest Wyeast 3787, which is the Westmalle strain). I can pretty much there's absolutely no way he can recreate the Tripel flavor profile using just spices, which he should be able to do if they're the defining characteristic of Belgians.

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That is pretty much the recipe for my drunken monk tripel in my recipe drop down. I do spice that with a little coriander though. But it receives great marks in competitions.

Coriander and Orange peel are common in Belgian brewing. Some even use Grain of Paradise.

The spice blends are usually kept secret tho'. IIRC, some of the Abbey beers even have a touch of cinnimon for some anti-oxidant effect.