Belgian Pale Ale Belgian Pale Ale

[jekeane]

Kegged the other day using the same %'s just brewed to get a 4.7% ABV for a sub 5% Session competition for my homebrew club. Sample was good so we will see.

Update: Two weeks after kegging this beer is very good. Wife enjoys it as well.

Thanks for the recipe.

 

[jekeane]

UPDATE: I won a Silver Medal with a 39 in a Session BPA Category for a competition sponsored by the breweries in town. The beer I lost to won overall best in show.

Here is What I brewed to get a 4.75% version. Followed OP for overall directions:

Brewed 7/22 very good from grain to keg in 5-6 weeks

7.6 lbs Pilsner
15.3 oz Caravienne
7.6 oz Biscuit
7.6 oz Flaked Oats
3.8 oz Aromatic

1oz EKG at 60
.5oz EKG at 0

I used some saved WLP 500 as my lhbs doesn't have seasonal yeasts during off season. Fermented at 66-68° to keep esters minimal worked very well.

 

[TheHairyHop]

does anyone else not come close to hitting the OP color? mine is most definitely golden to pale rather than copper. Beersmith predicted as well

 

[TheHairyHop]

I tasted a fermenter sample today. Obviously warm and flat, but seems to be promising. Peppery, a bit of grain and some bitter. I fermented at 68, but caught the chamber at 70+ once or twice, which is fine by me. Going to hit it with lager temperatures for a few weeks before serving and see how it goes. Definitely didn't hit the color of the original recipe, however. Also, I hit FG in less than a week which surprised me because the original recipe said 21 days at 68

 

[jekeane]

I tasted a fermenter sample today. Obviously warm and flat, but seems to be promising. Peppery, a bit of grain and some bitter. I fermented at 68, but caught the chamber at 70+ once or twice, which is fine by me. Going to hit it with lager temperatures for a few weeks before serving and see how it goes. Definitely didn't hit the color of the original recipe, however. Also, I hit FG in less than a week which surprised me because the original recipe said 21 days at 68

The 21 days is to let the yeast work with byproducts not for reaching you FG. It's just the standard leave your beer in primary for 3 weeks method he's refering to I believe.

Did you use the Antwerp Ale Yeast? I have used WLP 550 and it while the beer was great, it was missing that pepper. My LHBS doesnt ever get the yeast and shipping liquid yeast to Florida isn't a great idea much of the year.

 

[TheHairyHop]

The 21 days is to let the yeast work with byproducts not for reaching you FG. It's just the standard leave your beer in primary for 3 weeks method he's refering to I believe.

Did you use the Antwerp Ale Yeast? I have used WLP 550 and it while the beer was great, it was missing that pepper. My LHBS doesnt ever get the yeast and shipping liquid yeast to Florida isn't a great idea much of the year.

I'm using 515. Cultured the living hell out of a 2014 sample that my LHBS had in the back of the fridge still. I've never left any of my beers at fermenting temperatures for three weeks, unless you count lagers. Everyone does it different, I guess haha

 

[TheHairyHop]

Tasted this again today. Less pepper, more green apple and a boat load of grain. Too much to be honest. I'll let it sit for another week, taste and then probably dry hop in an attempt to cover the unwanted grain. Probably should have added a bit more late minute noble hops

 

[TheHairyHop]

Tasted this again today. Finally ready to drink. Still may need a dry hop and the srm is completely off. Tasted pretty decent though

 

[jekeane]

I've reworked this recipe a bit to fit my setup and hop/yeast preference. The first time I brewed it with 550 and loved it. The second time I tried 515 and it was good but not great. My third attempt I used 500 and bumped up the grain/hop bill a bit. It is stellar. I won gold with a 43 and the prize is to have the beer brewed and on tap at one of our local breweries.
This is a great recipe base for a Belgian pale ale. As is it is great and with a little playing you can make it to whatever you want.

 

[brew703]

I would like to brew this next weekend however my LHBS doesn't have WLP515. Here's what they do have.
WLP500, 530, 570 575
Wyeast 1214, 1762, 3522
Out of these, which would be the best to use?

 

[jekeane]

500 I ferment 68 for 2 full days then 69 for 1 and let it rise to 70 on day 4-5 of its still going at that point.

530 is similar to 500 is some regards but I have had better consistent results with 500

 

[PhinneyWoodBrews]

I would like to brew this next weekend however my LHBS doesn't have WLP515. Here's what they do have.
WLP500, 530, 570 575
Wyeast 1214, 1762, 3522
Out of these, which would be the best to use?

I can only comment on the yeast I have experience with. I brewed this recipe and used the wyeast 3522. Fermented in the mid 60's for the first week, then let it free rise to finish off. It has a moderate spicy/black pepper character that complements the Saaz hops. FG was 1.013. I thought it worked really well for this style.

 

[brew703]

Thanks for the reply.
I'll go with either 500 or 3522. Whichever one is newer as the LHBS have a wide range of dates.

 

[serum]

I made this in early January and it already tastes fantastic, thanks for the recipe. This batch won't last long!

 

[CorwinGraves]

I'm brewing this for the second time tomorrow, both times will be with 3522. I really enjoy it - nice and simple and I can enjoy a couple without getting smashed. It's nice to have a Belgian brew on tap and not have to pay the crazy prices for Belgian beers at the store. I'm curious if anyone has tweaked this at all (e.g. coriander, etc.).

Thanks for the recipe.

 

[JohnSand]

I may try this with 3787, because I have it on hand. Or I could use Safbrew Abbaye.

 

[Wolfdust]

I just brewed this yesterday, pitched a saison blend I bottled dredged. Forgot to take a gravity reading cuz I was fixing supper at the same time. Also went off and used home grown hops for bittering, nugget and Columbus for at 60 hershbecker 2.6aa for at 15 min and saaz 2.2aa at 5 min.

 

[Shenanigans]

subscribed

 

[dttk0009]

Gonna try this recipe for my next brew using the spare safbrew abbaye pack I have. Looking forward to it!

 

[dttk0009]

Just kegged it today, OG 1.051 and FG 1.011, a bit higher than I thought but still a nice range to be in. Brewed with BE-256, so probably won't get the same notes as the OP's recipe. Smells a bit like a Hefe with a soft banana coming through, but probably to early to tell.

Looking forward to trying it after conditioning for 2 weeks @ room temperature.

 

[TheHairyHop]

Just kegged it today, OG 1.051 and FG 1.011, a bit higher than I thought but still a nice range to be in. Brewed with BE-256, so probably won't get the same notes as the OP's recipe. Smells a bit like a Hefe with a soft banana coming through, but probably to early to tell.

Looking forward to trying it after conditioning for 2 weeks @ room temperature.

what color/SRM did you get?

 

[dttk0009]

Didn't get a look at it in a glass, but judging from inside the bucket and the hydrometer tube i'd say that it'll be a nice golden color, probably lighter than op's pic. Beersmith estimates it at 14.2 EBC.

I used a few substitute malts, for example melanoidin for aromatic and carared for caravienne.

Edit - I'll report back in about 2 weeks with a pic.

 

[dttk0009]

As promised, here's how she looks:

Color's a bit lighter. I also didn't adjust the aa% in my recipe to match my hops, so IBUs are lower than intended.

Regarding aroma, I'm getting a good nose of malts, but not much else, especially not the slightly fruity/spicy notes that I attribute to belgians pales. Safbrew Abbaye seems to have given me a pretty clean finish. It's not a bad beer, just not how I imagined it. Next time I'll stick with a style appropriate yeast.

 

[jekeane]

As promised, here's how she looks:

Color's a bit lighter. I also didn't adjust the aa% in my recipe to match my hops, so IBUs are lower than intended.

Regarding aroma, I'm getting a good nose of malts, but not much else, especially not the slightly fruity/spicy notes that I attribute to belgians pales. Safbrew Abbaye seems to have given me a pretty clean finish. It's not a bad beer, just not how I imagined it. Next time I'll stick with a style appropriate yeast.

I'm a fan of either 500 or 530 for this recipe I've tried the 515 a couple times and I can't get that yeast to do anything special.

I also found swapping out the Caravienne for Cara Munich got the color much closer.

 

[Shenanigans]

Think I might brew a version of next month with wlp550.
would 3 to 4 weeks in the bottle be enough?