Ommegang Rare Vos - recipe needed

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jezter6

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Has anyone found a recipe yet to duplicate Ommegang's Rare Vos beer?

It's described from the brewery as:

Intended for the café as well as the dinner table, Rare Vos is an amber ale of medium color and strength. It sports aromas and flavors of caramel, orange, hops, plus an elusive fruity-yeasty flavor which will have you tasting in circles.
 
Not yet, although I've been mainly waiting for recpies here.

Sounds like not too many people know about it either, which will make a recipe critique awful difficult.
 
I love Rare Vos, haven't had it in ages though. I am not sure, but i'll check my 150 clone magazine. I can't recall if Rare Vos was in there or not. I know the Abbey and maybe Hennepin...
 
I did a search and found an interview with a home brewing club: grains (pale malt and crystal I think, maybe aromatic), hops (Styrian Goldings), and spices (sweet orange and coriander). Enough to work with to get something nice I'm sure.
 
zoebisch01 said:
I love Rare Vos, haven't had it in ages though. I am not sure, but i'll check my 150 clone magazine. I can't recall if Rare Vos was in there or not. I know the Abbey and maybe Hennepin...

yup...hennepin and abbey ale, no rare vos
 
8 lbs Belgian Pils
1 lb Belgian Munich
1 lb Belgian Pale Ale
.5 lb Belgian Caravienne
.5 lb Belgian Aromatic
1.75 lb Home Made Candi Sugar

1 oz Styrian Goldings @ 60
.75 Saaz @ 15
.35 oz Corriander @ 10
.50 oz Sweet Orange Peel @ 10
.5 tsp Grains of Paradise @ 5

Wyeast 3522 | Belgian Ardennes

Mash In @ 154 for 60 Minutes

ABV 6.7 %
IBU'S 2
SRM 7
 
After doing the math i have revised my previous recipe and brewed this one on 7/17/09
i will post when it is finished to let you know how close I got.

8 lbs Belgian Pils
1 lbs Belgian Munich
1 lbs Belgian Pale Ale
.5 lbs Belgian Caravienne
.5 lbs Belgian Aromatic
1.75 lbs Home Made Candi Sugar Clear
.15 lbs Belgian Special B

1 oz Styrian Goldings @ 60
.75 Saaz @ 15
.35 oz Corriander @ 10
.50 oz Sweet Orange Peel @ 10
.5 tsp Grains of Paradise @ 5

Wyeast 3739 - PC Flanders Golden Ale

Mash In @ 154 for 60 Minutes

ABV 6.7 %
IBU'S 25
SRM 10


Well it came out just about as close as I thought it would be, everyone I've let try it is delighted at how good it tastes, color is just a bit light but everything is there as far as taste, the abv was a bit higher due to yeast not wanting to quit on me, LOL, finished at 7.3 but I'm completely happy with it. when I do this again the only thing I will change is upping the special b to .25 lbs.
 
After doing the math i have revised my previous recipe and brewed this one on 7/17/09
i will post when it is finished to let you know how close I got.

8 lbs Belgian Pils
1 lbs Belgian Munich
1 lbs Belgian Pale Ale
.5 lbs Belgian Caravienne
.5 lbs Belgian Aromatic
1.75 lbs Home Made Candi Sugar Clear
.15 lbs Belgian Special B

1 oz Styrian Goldings @ 60
.75 Saaz @ 15
.35 oz Corriander @ 10
.50 oz Sweet Orange Peel @ 10
.5 tsp Grains of Paradise @ 5

Wyeast 3739 - PC Flanders Golden Ale

Mash In @ 154 for 60 Minutes

ABV 6.7 %
IBU'S 25
SRM 10


Well it came out just about as close as I thought it would be, everyone I've let try it is delighted at how good it tastes, color is just a bit light but everything is there as far as taste, the abv was a bit higher due to yeast not wanting to quit on me, LOL, finished at 7.3 but I'm completely happy with it. when I do this again the only thing I will change is upping the special b to .25 lbs.

I'm just curious - how did you come up with your ingredients? I've seen other clone recipes that are similar but the areas of your recipe that seem to differ from other stuff I have seen:

Candi sugar
coriander
grains of paradise
I've hard that they use cinnamon but perhaps that isn't true.

Next time around you should try building up some yeast from a bottle of rare vos. I did this and it wasn't too hard. I have yet to make the beer though.
 
Man I love me some Rare Vos. I'll take a stab at this sometime this summer with this recipe and post back the results.
 
Clone brews has a clone of this. It's actually on it's 2nd week in my fermenter now. I'd reply with the list of ingredients exactly from the recipe but it's copyrighted and i'm not sure how all that stuff goes.
 
I have never had rare vos but my recipe for Belgian Pale Ale sounds close to that description...
 
I work for Brewery Ommegang in DC under the market manager. I just do samplings of the beers but know them front to back. Here are the ingredients used by the brewery:

Malts - Pilsner, Wheat, Caramel
Hops - Columbus
Spices - Sweet Orange Peel, Coriander, Grains of Paradise
 
How did this come out? I found a variation online of this... here it is:
1 lbs. Belgian Munich info
1 lbs. Belgian Caravienne info
1 lbs. Belgian Pale info
0.5 lbs. Belgian Aromatic info
6 lbs. Dry Light info

I also emailed them asking for a homebrew recipe... they actually answered and said while not divulging secrets... they use caramel malt and grains of paradise.

Are any of these belgium malts considered caramel malt... or should i substitute anything...???

Also... here is the rest of the recipe... what do you think?

HOPS:
1.5 oz Styrian Goldings for 60 min
0.8 oz Czech Saaz for 15 min

Star Anise (1 star.. its like .4 oz or something like that)
.35 oz Corriander @ 10
.50 oz Sweet Orange Peel @ 10

DEF. NEED TO ADD Grains of paradise... but should i take any of the others out?

Yeast- forget what i bought... is at home ill update after work...
 
well....i'd probably go with this:

I work for Brewery Ommegang in DC under the market manager. I just do samplings of the beers but know them front to back. Here are the ingredients used by the brewery:

Malts - Pilsner, Wheat, Caramel
Hops - Columbus
Spices - Sweet Orange Peel, Coriander, Grains of Paradise
 
i see.... i have another email into ommegang to find out about the hops... it just seems weird to me using columbus in a belgian ale.... unless im completely off about that notion lol
 
damn... looks like im making a trip after work to the HBS haha

How many oz's and when during the boil do you think?
 
oh man, no idea. i haven't had rare vos in a very long time. i remember liking it a lot, which is why i poked my head into this thread. it was one of the very first belgians i've ever had.

i'll have to pick one up soon.
 
Toured Brewery Ommegang on Saturday actually. Tried to nail down percentages of spices used, but they wouldn't divulge...

This is from their brochure.

Try their BPA if you find it. Delicious and almost sessionable.

image-4084669360.jpg
 
Hey all... so i ended up brewing the following recipe last monday.... check the gravity last night... its sitting at 1.016... im going to transfer to 2ndary tonight for a few days i think...
do you think the grav. should go any lower? or is that good?

1 lbs. Belgian Munich info
1 lbs. Belgian Caravienne info
1 lbs. Belgian Pale info
0.5 lbs. Belgian Aromatic info
6 lbs. Dry Light info

1.5 oz goldings @ 60min
.5 oz golding @15 min

The following were added at 10 & 5 mins... forget the breakdown though...
half star of star anise
30 grams of coriander
1/2 cinnamon stick
1/2 packet of grains of paradise (completely forget the amount-- im at work)

Tasted it last night... def. tasted like a belgian with a bit of spice to it... just dont know how close it is b/c i cant remember how Rare Vos tastes haha (was drunk when i had it the other night)

Ill let you know how it comes out... im hoping 3 weeks in the bottle will be enough for my buddies bachelor party May 14th!
 
I'm looking to make one of these in the near future (this weekend if all works out). Here's my attempt at a recipe based on what I've read here and gathered on the web...

9.00 lbs. Belgian Pilsner
1.00 lbs. Wheat Malt
0.75 lbs. Caramunich
0.25 lbs. Caravienne

Mash around 152 degrees

1.50 lbs. Invert Sugar

0.50 oz. Columbus hops @ 60 minutes

0.25 oz. Coriander (optional)
0.25 oz. Paradise Seeds (optional)
0.25 oz. Sweet Orange Peel (optional)

Ferment with White Labs 530 (Westmalle) or 550 (Achouffe), starting @ 68 degrees, allow to rise to 78-80 degrees.

Feel free to ask questions or offer suggestions. The sugar is purely my idea, I've got no indication or other reason to believe that Ommegang uses sugar in this beer.
 
hey guys.... so i just cracked one open tonight to see if it would be ready for tonight. I have to tell you... its almost spot on! in my clone, you can just taste some more spicy notes. Also, the carbonation is still lacking. but i figure thats to be expected with just under 3 weeks conditioning.

and the color was nearly identical!

im stoked though... wish i share with you guys!:tank:
 
I'm looking to make one of these in the near future (this weekend if all works out). Here's my attempt at a recipe based on what I've read here and gathered on the web...

9.00 lbs. Belgian Pilsner
1.00 lbs. Wheat Malt
0.75 lbs. Caramunich
0.25 lbs. Caravienne

Mash around 152 degrees

1.50 lbs. Invert Sugar

0.50 oz. Columbus hops @ 60 minutes

0.25 oz. Coriander (optional)
0.25 oz. Paradise Seeds (optional)
0.25 oz. Sweet Orange Peel (optional)

Ferment with White Labs 530 (Westmalle) or 550 (Achouffe), starting @ 68 degrees, allow to rise to 78-80 degrees.

Feel free to ask questions or offer suggestions. The sugar is purely my idea, I've got no indication or other reason to believe that Ommegang uses sugar in this beer.

At what point in the boil were you going to add the spices and orange peel? Also, I'm new to adding sugar to beer. Could you explain your steps for the inverted sugar? Sorry for so many questions, but I really like the looks of your recipe!
 
I see two different recipes posted in this thread with a comment that one of them is quite close. Has anyone else brewed either of these recipes? If so what are the results with a comparison to the actual thing?
 
For the invert sugar, I followed directions I found while searching Google. The ingredients include water, sugar, and a small amount of citric acid. You heat it up to boiling, then let it cool. I heated mine a little longer in order to caramelize it a bit.

Nonetheless, I ended up scrapping the recipe I previously posted in favor of a much simpler one. I turned to Jamil's recipe for a Belgian Pale Ale. I didn't use spices, nor did I use sugar or other adjuncts. I used an overnight mash, starting at 152 degrees. Over the course of the eight hour mash, I lost several degrees. It measured around 141/142 degrees in the morning when I began to lauter. I pitched the White Labs 550 (Achouffe) at around 72 degrees (I'm in Texas, and my wort chilling setup isn't that efficient during the summer) and kept the carboy in a closet where the ambient temps were around 78 degrees. The 550 seemed to stall out and left the gravity around 1.030 (starting was 1.056), so I pitched a packet of Safale 05. After another week and a racking, the gravity was down to 1.006, which is a little low for the style. I think I can blame my mashing schedule for this one. The yeast produced a lot of ripe fruit aromas and flavors. I've had a few bottles now. The beer is drier than Rare Vos, but the color is close. Mine has lots of fruit aroma, but isn't quite as smooth as Rare Vos.

I'll continue to play with the recipe and technique - next time I'll probably adjust my mash schedule towards something more conventional - just an hour or two rather than overnight. The yeast seemed to be a pretty good choice though, although if the White Labs 512 (Antwerp Ale) were available I'd probably give it a shot.
 
For the invert sugar, I followed directions I found while searching Google. The ingredients include water, sugar, and a small amount of citric acid. You heat it up to boiling, then let it cool. I heated mine a little longer in order to caramelize it a bit.

Nonetheless, I ended up scrapping the recipe I previously posted in favor of a much simpler one. I turned to Jamil's recipe for a Belgian Pale Ale. I didn't use spices, nor did I use sugar or other adjuncts. I used an overnight mash, starting at 152 degrees. Over the course of the eight hour mash, I lost several degrees. It measured around 141/142 degrees in the morning when I began to lauter. I pitched the White Labs 550 (Achouffe) at around 72 degrees (I'm in Texas, and my wort chilling setup isn't that efficient during the summer) and kept the carboy in a closet where the ambient temps were around 78 degrees. The 550 seemed to stall out and left the gravity around 1.030 (starting was 1.056), so I pitched a packet of Safale 05. After another week and a racking, the gravity was down to 1.006, which is a little low for the style. I think I can blame my mashing schedule for this one. The yeast produced a lot of ripe fruit aromas and flavors. I've had a few bottles now. The beer is drier than Rare Vos, but the color is close. Mine has lots of fruit aroma, but isn't quite as smooth as Rare Vos.

I'll continue to play with the recipe and technique - next time I'll probably adjust my mash schedule towards something more conventional - just an hour or two rather than overnight. The yeast seemed to be a pretty good choice though, although if the White Labs 512 (Antwerp Ale) were available I'd probably give it a shot.

Did you keep the same grain bill for your new recipe? Do you have a link to the Jamil recipe that you referenced? I am trying to formulate an all grain recipe based on this thread an I am looking for any advice. The other poster in this thread seems to have good results with their recipe.
 
I used a recipe that was published in BYO magazine (I forget the issue/date) under the Style Profile section. The recipe went something like this:

10 lbs Belgian Pils Malt
10 oz Caramunich
4 oz Biscuit

1 oz Kent Goldings - 60 minutes
0.5 oz Styrian Goldings - 15 minutes
0.5 oz Styrian Goldings - 1 minute

Here's a link for one of his other recipes:

http://beerdujour.com/JamilsRecipes.htm
(this one calls for Pils, Munich, and Caramunich malts)

I would say that the recipe I used did produce a tasty beer. When it was time to brew, I decided on using a slightly more simple recipe without spices. I ended up with something similar to, but not exactly like Rare Vos.
 
Broadcast Date: 2012-02-13 16:00:00

Running time: Coming Soon!

I am quite interested to compare my version with theirs or hearing how close they got.
 
Broadcast Date: 2012-02-13 16:00:00

Running time: Coming Soon!

I am quite interested to compare my version with theirs or hearing how close they got.




6 Gallons
OG 1058
FG 1010
SRM 8.8
IBU 20
75 Boil

86.5% or 5.28 Kilo Belgian Pilsner Malt
5.7% or 350 Grams Aromatic
7.7% or 470 Grams Caravienne

24.5 Grams Styrian Goldings 5.25 Alpha Acid for 75 minutes
7 Grams Styrian Goldings 5.25 Alpha Acid for 5 minutes

0.15 oz Corriander Seed for 15 minutes
0.6 oz Bitter Orange Peel for 15 minutes
0.3 oz Grains of paradise for 15 minutes

WLP570 Yeast

Mash Temp 152
72-77 Ferment Temp
 
CYBI did an episode on this recently that you can google, where they spoke to Phil at Ommegang. Nice little tangent at 25:00 where the phrase "dong-chucks" is used, and, one would assume, born.
 
when I brewed this in the summer I threw in 1/4 lb of special b and I used 1/2 star anise. I didn't include the grains of paradise. Mine was a little heavy on the licorice and plum flavor from the anise and special b. I will definitely give this a shot in a few months.
 
I bottled this today and it smelled quite strongly of bananas. I will have to see if this fades in two weeks or not. The local brew store didn't have WLP570 in stock so I used WLP550 which should be close.
 
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