Belgian Table Beer Extract Recipe Help

Hi,

I'm looking to brew a table beer as the title says, and I haven't really found any tested and true recipes on this site. It doesn't seem like a popular beer. I've never had one before, maybe someone on this site who's made a good one can point me to a solid recipe or comment on those posted below?

I've found the following recipes, but not sure if they are true to style and if maybe they should be modified.

Recipe One

5.25 gallons 4% abv

6 lbs Pilsen LME
1 oz styrian goldings at 60 mins
1 oz styrian goldings at 5 mins
s-33 yeast

Recipe 2

6.3 lbs Pilsen LME
0.5 lbs Honey malt steeped
1 oz tradition @ 60
Wyeast 3725 Bier de Garde ... don't think my supplier has this
Alternatives? s-33 or t-58?

The 2nd recipe has steeped grains so maybe this one will have a bit more complexity?

I've love to hear about your recipes or ideas thanks!

s-33 isn't a Belgian yeast so I would definitely use something else. If you are limited to dry yeasts, Danstar Belle Saison, Safbrew Abbaye, Mangrove Jacks Belgian Ale, and T-58 are all Belgian yeasts. T-58 being my least favorite of the 4 by far.

Steeping grains doesnt necessarily mean more complexity. Some fo the most complex Belgians I;ve had are reported to be little else other than pilsner malt and wheat. Its all about the yeast and handling it properly (which further stresses the need to pick a good yeast). Ferment it warm, and let it free rise

m00ps said:

s-33 isn't a Belgian yeast so I would definitely use something else. If you are limited to dry yeasts, Danstar Belle Saison, Safbrew Abbaye, Mangrove Jacks Belgian Ale, and T-58 are all Belgian yeasts. T-58 being my least favorite of the 4 by far.

Steeping grains doesnt necessarily mean more complexity. Some fo the most complex Belgians I;ve had are reported to be little else other than pilsner malt and wheat. Its all about the yeast and handling it properly (which further stresses the need to pick a good yeast). Ferment it warm, and let it free rise

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I've never used liquid yeast before, as I usually like to keep things simple on brew day. I'm not really keen on making a starter, so if I could pick a liquid yeast that I could just open and pour in, that would be great.

The begian liquid yeasts I have available to me are:

All White Labs

Belgian wit ale
Belgian wit 2
Trappist Ale
Bastone Belgian Ale
Antwerp Ale
Abbey Ale
Abbey IV
Belgian Strong Ale
Belgian Ale
Belgian Golden Ale
Belgian Ale Blend

Would any of these work well, and I could just open and pour? Also ambient temp where I am fermenting right now is between 71 and 72 Fahrenheit, so Hopefully something that works well in that range or maybe a degree or two higher would be great.

Try Wyeast smack packs. They can be poured right in. 1 pack will do you just fine for that recipe.

Smack a few hours before brewing and pitch right from the pouch.

What moops said, let it ferment a little higher and it will be delicious.

SirSpectre said:

Try Wyeast smack packs. They can be poured right in. 1 pack will do you just fine for that recipe.

Smack a few hours before brewing and pitch right from the pouch.

What moops said, let it ferment a little higher and it will be delicious.

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Hmmm... my lhbs doesn't seem to have any wyeast Belgian strains. Will have to settle on T-58, or figure out how to make a starter. Thanks for the help!

ive made a similar recipe, copied from Ontario beer kegs site (Belgian table beer).. I used t 58 and it turned out great. cant comment on other Belgian yeast as it is the only one ive tried

I think its basically meant to be a Belgian session beer.. lower gravity than most Belgian beers

sheephrdr said:

ive made a similar recipe, copied from Ontario beer kegs site (Belgian table beer).. I used t 58 and it turned out great. cant comment on other Belgian yeast as it is the only one ive tried

I think its basically meant to be a Belgian session beer.. lower gravity than most Belgian beers

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Thats funny, because the first recipe I posted is exactly the recipe you made from OBK! If you think it turned out great, maybe I'll give it a spin, with the T-58. Thanks for your input!

Really any of the ones listed above will work and make an authentic tasting "Belgian" beer. You may be fine with 1 pack if the OG is below 1.060 or so. May have some lag time which isnt ideal but it should finish OK. Personally, I like those Abbey ones or the Belgian Blend. Those will get you the typical Belgian yeast esters

I'll give you my recipe which turned out great, only problem is that it is all grain so you will have to do a bit of converting.

4# German Pilsner
1# Pale Ale
1# Torrified Wheat
.5# Flaked Barley
7grams Coriander at 5 min

.25oz Northern Brewer at 60
.5oz Saaz at 30

WLP550

OG: 1.035
FG: 1.010
ABV: 3.15%

Mash at 154*
I ferment this at 65* for 14 days then bottle. With it being such a low gravity beer I do not worry about a starter with this one as long as the yeast is reasonably fresh. It's a good beer after 2 weeks in the bottle but really starts to shine at about 6 weeks. I have another batch now and even though I have started kegging I will "bottle condition" in the keg for a month before putting it on tap.

Wyeast smack packs contain the same amount of yeast as a White Labs vial. And probably any other liquid brand. If a Wyeast will work the others will too. You beer is a low gravity beer so any liquid yeast can be direct pitched without a starter.

The OG limit on direct pitching liquid yeast (no starter) is debatable. Some state 1.060. I make a starter for anything above 1.040. A liquid yeast will ferment everything but the very highest of gravities, but the higher the gravity the slower your start will be while the yeast reproduce which can lead to off flavors.

In this case you could look up the idea temperature range and choose one. Direct pitch should be ok. I would look for one that your ambient 71-72 degrees is a the low end of the range since your wort temperature will be warmer during fermentation. Or use a swamp cooler to control your fermentation temperatures.

Thanks for all the replies guys!

From what I gather on all the comments about the yeast, the yeast really seems to be the primary consideration for making a Belgian. I'll hopefully be more educated on this style once I have a couple under my belt.

Thinking of brewing this style.

JohnSand said:

Thinking of brewing this style.

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If you are going to brew it, I'd recommend a liquid yeast over a dry packet - and if you did use dry, Abbaye ale yeast would be my pick. Any of the liquid Belgian ale yeasts would do, really, but that would depend on your taste.
Saison, Chimay, Ardennes .... it's all a big choice. Glad my brewshop has a great selection of White Labs onhand. It makes brewing interesting. My fave happens to be WLP500 fermented to the cool side of the yeast range with Styrian Celeia or Saaz.

Hmm... if doing to BJCP, the Monk's Lawnmower beer would be the Trappist Single.

I use a 70% efficiency (for me)...

6.75lb. Dingemans Pilsner
1.5lb. Munich 10L or Maris Otter as sub (color and body)
1lb White Wheat (head retention)
**Whirlfloc**
Mash 145F-152F for dry beer .... single infusion would do.

1.044-1.054 is the range (this one is at 1.047) with Abbaye ale yeast (dry) WLP530/540 or WPL500.
About 2.5oz Saaz hops @ 3.4AAU and you're on your way.

Nice color, clears well and drinks much like a Pilsner.

Thanks for the advice and the recipe.
I've had great success with 530/3787, and have some on hand. I've tried a couple of dry Abby yeasts and I'm not thrilled.