Sorry to be so negative. I had just had a 2010 Pere Jacques and was disappointed with it. I like Matilda better.
so, let me try this again: Hello, and welcome!
I should probably leave recommendations about making a Pere Jacques clone to someone who actually appreciates it, but my .02c:
I'm not finding any recipes for it. So this is what I can make out.
This is a 'strong belgian' style ale, done in a distinctly americanized style. So we'll start with a base of pale malt most likely; it didn't taste like a pils base to me. Add a bit of wheat. Then, as American belgian-style ales are typically made with a fair number of specialty grains, I can only guess. Probably a bit of special B (just a brush); then a fairly large amount of medium crystal, maybe on the order of 1-1.5 lbs. for 5 gallons. some vienna or caravienna is also a possibility, and there's probably some Belgian biscuit in there as well.
Bitter to about 15-20 IBU's with whatever hop, then add just a tiny touch of aromatic american hops, ones that approximate noble varieties, at 15 minutes to flameout. Liberty would be one good choice, as would crystal.
Ferment with a balanced Belgian yeast strain, such as WLP530 or 545. Ferment relatively cool for this strain. Bottle about a week after fermentation finishes.
If you want more help developing a recipe, or if you want to try finding one already tried, I would try posting a thread in the 'Recipes/Ingredients' section of the site.
