Belgian 'Session' Ales?

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snailsongs

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Reposted in the proper category:

Belgian beer is a category I haven't tackled at all, and I think the only proper Belgian beer I've ever had was Chimay Grand Reserve. I liked it and appreciated the flavor profile, but it was quite strong and almost liquour like which precludes it as a regular at my house.

My brewing choices lean more toward the sessionable side most of the time. Maybe what I'm after here would be like a Belgian Single, as opposed to the 'grande reserve' triple.....is there such a thing? What would be some good belgian "session" ales (lets say, anything under 1.060-65) to try and/or try to brew that are characteristically Belgian in flavor and temperment (no Wit's - that I have tried)?

Feel free to link to or post recipe's for me and anyone else interested to ponder......
 
Sure! The 'style' is called Enkel, though none of the Trappist breweries are using the term any longer.

Keep it simple - Pils and sucrose, maybe a touch of Munich, Styrian Goldings for bittering to, say, 25 IBUs and an OG of 1.050ish.

Sounds tasty, don't it? ;)
 
Are you an AHA member? Check out this month's (May/June) Zymurgy magazine. There is an entire article on Belgian Session ales with recipes for 6 different beers. Here are the styles that are discussed and recipe(s) given: Wit, Belgian Blond, Belgian Pale Ale, Tafelbier, Enkel.
 
Are you an AHA member? Check out this month's (May/June) Zymurgy magazine. There is an entire article on Belgian Session ales with recipes for 6 different beers. Here are the styles that are discussed and recipe(s) given: Wit, Belgian Blond, Belgian Pale Ale, Tafelbier, Enkel.

Sign me up!.....I guess I should get a hold of that magazine if I can.

That does sound tasty. Now I want a beer. I have to stop reading this forum at 8 AM.

haha....this happens to me too. I have to admit that, on rare occasions, I actually succumb that 8AM beer thirst with a few "samplings" from this or that brew-in-progress.
 
Here's my work in progress Belgian Pale Ale recipe, adapted from DeathBrewer's accidental DeKoninck-clone discovery. ;) Very tasty session beer, and is quite popular at parties, esp. with the ladies.

8# Belgian Pils
1# CaraMunich
8 oz Flaked oats
4 oz Aromatic
4 oz Biscuit

1.5 oz Saaz 60
.5 oz Saaz 30
.5 oz Saaz 15

WLP515 (best, but it's a fall seasonal Platinum strain) or WLP550
 
I've recently brewed 'Enkles' (I call them that...it's technically not correct I don't think) in order to propagate enough yeast for Tripels/BGSAs. From what I can tell...they really let the yeast shine. The one using the WLP530 (Westmalle) is quite spicy but the one using the WLP570 (Duvel) is fruity. I have not done the WLP500 (Chimay) yet but it's allegedly even fruitier. I guess my point is that the yeast will likely have a huge effect on the final product. So you have to decide if you want the fruity end of the spectrum of the spicy end or somewhere in between. I decided to try them all and then I'll be better equipped to make that decision next time.:)
 
I've recently brewed 'Enkles' (I call them that...it's technically not correct I don't think) in order to propagate enough yeast for Tripels/BGSAs. From what I can tell...they really let the yeast shine. The one using the WLP530 (Westmalle) is quite spicy but the one using the WLP570 (Duvel) is fruity. I have not done the WLP500 (Chimay) yet but it's allegedly even fruitier. I guess my point is that the yeast will likely have a huge effect on the final product. So you have to decide if you want the fruity end of the spectrum of the spicy end or somewhere in between. I decided to try them all and then I'll be better equipped to make that decision next time.:)

try them all......that's ultimately what I'd like to do, too.
 
The only belgian I have made used belgian abbey II. Would this work well with Saccharomyces recipe? I really liked how the beer turned out with this one.
 
I did an Enkel using an Orval harvest last fall that I just bottled after letting the Brett mature six months (last 3 with oak chips). Tasted fantastic going in the bottle. Should be sampling in another week...

2lb Munich
2lb Belgian Pils
.3lb CaraHell
.2lb CaraPils
.5oz Sterling (60m)
.5oz Saaz (1m)
2oz Medium oak

3Gal batch
SRM: 8
IBU: 27
OG: 1.041
FG: 1.007
 
Norther Brewer has a "Patersbier" recipe which seems to be the Westmalle Abbey's "Extra" It gets great reviews and is 047 or 048 OG. I have some bottle aging, 2 weeks will be this Saturday, and I cannot help but try it, even though another week will probably help things along nicely. I have a hunch I will like it so much I'll need another batch so that is what I'm planning.
 
I am planning on doing a ~5.5% Belgian with mostly pils and malted wheat, and maybe a pound of Munich. ~20 IBUs of something mellow near the start of the boil, and spicing with lemon zest and black pepper near the end. Fermenting on the cool side with Ardennes. I’m hoping for a crisp summer beer that will be good with seafood. I’ll probably take a gallon and toss some Brett L in (just for variety).
 
Are you an AHA member? Check out this month's (May/June) Zymurgy magazine. There is an entire article on Belgian Session ales with recipes for 6 different beers. Here are the styles that are discussed and recipe(s) given: Wit, Belgian Blond, Belgian Pale Ale, Tafelbier, Enkel.

Any way we could get some of those? I don't have any access to the mag
 
I'd love to find a clone recipe for Russian River Redemption. They call it a Belgian Single and it's a great session beer.
 
The recipe for Father's Reward Enkel sounds awesome - might need to brew that up for the next brew. Comes in at 1.040 - Pils, Carafa, Special B, mace, cinnamon and turbinado sugar. Hopped to a light 12 IBU.
 
Here's a rough recipe for a belgian pale that I made recently with a group. It's kind of hard to scale, as they just sorta winged it... efficiency was higher than expected, and I'm not entirely sure what the post boil volume was. They also just sorta threw in whatever base malts they had, but started with mostly belgian pale. Anyway, here's an attempt.

5 Gallon Batch

5.00 lb belgian pilsner
3.00 lb 2-row
0.75 lb cara-pils
0.75 lb munich
0.50 lb vienna
0.25 lb crystal 20l
Total: 10.25 lb

0.5oz magnum 60 min
0.5oz sterling 15 min
1.0oz sterling flameout

Target efficiency: 70%
Starting Gravity: 1.053
Final Gravity: 1.010
ABV: 5.5%

Ferment with a belgian yeast of your choice (I used WLP550)

5.5% isn't exactly a session beer. If you dropped the base malts by a pound, you'd end up at 4.8% but I think it would still be pretty good.

You can also simplify the recipe a bit, there's no need to have 6 different kinds of malt. If I was to make it using this recipe, I'd probably just use all belgian pilsner, skip the munich and use more vienna.
 
Norther Brewer has a "Patersbier" recipe which seems to be the Westmalle Abbey's "Extra" It gets great reviews and is 047 or 048 OG. I have some bottle aging, 2 weeks will be this Saturday, and I cannot help but try it, even though another week will probably help things along nicely. I have a hunch I will like it so much I'll need another batch so that is what I'm planning.

I have never had a beer like this. It made me really happy. I planned to do a second one as soon as I had the first sip. I think this is a beer I never want to run out. I may even become Trappiste. If you are looking for a session beer, this one is close, but so flavorful. I carbed it with 7 oz of table sugar to get more carbonation and I would do that again.
 
Here's my work in progress Belgian Pale Ale recipe, adapted from DeathBrewer's accidental DeKoninck-clone discovery. ;) Very tasty session beer, and is quite popular at parties, esp. with the ladies.

8# Belgian Pils
1# CaraMunich
8 oz Flaked oats
4 oz Aromatic
4 oz Biscuit

1.5 oz Saaz 60
.5 oz Saaz 30
.5 oz Saaz 15

WLP515 (best, but it's a fall seasonal Platinum strain) or WLP550

This is a damn fine beer. I've brewed it many times with slight variations. I prefer Styrian Goldings hops and my original recipe was a bit different, but always tasty.
 
I'd love to find a clone recipe for Russian River Redemption. They call it a Belgian Single and it's a great session beer.

Sent an email to Russian River requesting help on making a clone of this and got this a couple days later from Vinnie Cilurzo:

91 percent 2 row
3 percent acidulaed
3 percent wheat malt
3 prcent vienna malt

Bittered with Styrian Golding
Finished with Stering

OG 1.052
TG 1.012

Abbey ale yeast white labs

I hope this helps

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.
 
I haven't had this one, but I am collecting a list of session belgians to brew in order to develop my own house session belgian. What are the IBUs like? for a 5.5 gallon batch, this is what I've got:

9#10oz belgian 2-row (91%)
5.1oz wheat malt (3%)
5.1oz vienna malt (3%)
5.1oz acid malt (3%)

I have no idea on a hopping schedule, or even IBUs. Anyone have any ideas?
 
This is a damn fine beer. I've brewed it many times with slight variations. I prefer Styrian Goldings hops and my original recipe was a bit different, but always tasty.

I posted the recipe that scored a 43.5 at comp, it's in my dropdown. CaraMunich will be closer to DeKoninck, the one in my dropdown is lighter and less sweet. The judges ate it up. I plan to rebrew 10 gallons for the fall and time permitting may make a small batch this summer so I can enter it in the Dixie Cup.
 
So, do you all prefer WLP550 "belgian ale yeast" over WLP530 "Abbey Ale yeast"? I picked up one vial of each for $2 at 6 months expired from my LHBS.....I figured for that price I'd try them both. Which one would be more 'spicy' and peppery? I guess I'd like a similar yeast profile to Chimay vs. the baby-food fruitiness found in wits (I've had hoegarden and my own crappy wit) and saison style beers (Spotted Cow, for example).......
 
I like the WLP550. It's very clean for a belgian yeast, doesn't get the fruity esters the other yeasts have, but still has plenty of character. I think this works much better for the pale, as appose to the strong belgians where you want that crazy fruitiness.
 
I am a fan of the darker dubbels but have also been pondering something less alcoholic. Anyone play around with the darker side of singles? I suppose I could just scale it down in gravity a little but I think they are already thinner than a lot of beers so it might get watery. Maybe what I'm looking for is a Belgian brown ale?
 
Sorry to resurrect this one, but I'm brewing the recipe as follows this weekend:


Russian River Redemption 70% eff.

9#10oz Belgian Pale malt (91%)
5.1oz Acid Malt (3%)
5.1oz Vienna Malt (3%)
5.1oz White Wheat Malt (3%)

1oz Styrian Goldings (5.4%) @ 60 mins
1oz Sterling (7.5%)@5 mins

Mashed @150 for 60 mins, fermented with WLP530
OG: 1.049 IBUs: 23

A combination of what the Russian River site says, and what was posted here. Should turn out well.
 
Sorry to resurrect this one, but I'm brewing the recipe as follows this weekend:


Russian River Redemption 70% eff.

9#10oz Belgian Pale malt (91%)
5.1oz Acid Malt (3%)
5.1oz Vienna Malt (3%)
5.1oz White Wheat Malt (3%)

1oz Styrian Goldings (5.4%) @ 60 mins
1oz Sterling (7.5%)@5 mins

Mashed @150 for 60 mins, fermented with WLP530
OG: 1.049 IBUs: 23

A combination of what the Russian River site says, and what was posted here. Should turn out well.

I'll be brewing the same soon.
 
I brewed this a month or more ago and split into 2 5.5 gallon carboys. In one I added some (1.5#) Dark Candi Brand "Amber" syrup and the other I didn't add anything. So the dark one is a little higher in ABV than the 4.7% Pale and has a nice depth to it without being heavy. Quite the change from the Quad and Triple!!

Yeast was the wlp530 built up on stir plates and aerated with O2. Temp was held in the 66 range for a few days before raising to 70.

Both beers are great drinkers and can be session brews, if you like to drink more than one beer at a time. :D

Belgian Pale
Brew Type: All Grain
Style: Belgian Pale Ale
Batch Size: 13.00 gal
Boil Volume: 15.26 gal Boil Time: 75 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 83.00 %
Actual Efficiency: 83.36 %

Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
12.25 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 59.76 %
6.25 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 30.49 %
2.00 lb White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 9.76 %
3.00 oz Mt. Hood [5.20 %] (75 min) Hops 26.9 IBU
1.00 oz Styrian Goldings [3.20 %] (0 min) Hops -
1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] (0 min) Hops -

Original Gravity: 1.048 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Bitterness: 26.9 IBU (20.0-30.0 IBU) Alpha Acid Units: 15.6 AAU
Actual Alcohol by Volume: 4.69 %
Actual Calories: 212 cal/pint
 
Sent an email to Russian River requesting help on making a clone of this and got this a couple days later from Vinnie Cilurzo:

Sent an email to Russian River requesting help on making a clone of this and got this a couple days later from Vinnie Cilurzo:

Quote:
91 percent 2 row
3 percent acidulaed
3 percent wheat malt
3 prcent vienna malt

Bittered with Styrian Golding
Finished with Stering

OG 1.052
TG 1.012

Abbey ale yeast white labs

I hope this helps

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Brewed up a batch of this a while back but substituted fuggles and wlp500 since that's what I had, and didn't use any acidulated malt because the LHBS near here didn't have any. Tried a sample today and it's dried out more than expected, at about 1.007 now and is going to be delicious once it's done conditioning I'm pretty sure. Also going to be my first keg!
 
Sorry to resurrect this one, but I'm brewing the recipe as follows this weekend:


Russian River Redemption 70% eff.

9#10oz Belgian Pale malt (91%)
5.1oz Acid Malt (3%)
5.1oz Vienna Malt (3%)
5.1oz White Wheat Malt (3%)

1oz Styrian Goldings (5.4%) @ 60 mins
1oz Sterling (7.5%)@5 mins

Mashed @150 for 60 mins, fermented with WLP530
OG: 1.049 IBUs: 23

A combination of what the Russian River site says, and what was posted here. Should turn out well.

I realize this is a VERY old thread, but I am trying to make this beer soon and wanted to know what you guys thought about the clone recipe. Also, what temp did you ferment the WLP530 at? I try to stay at 68F for most of my ales, but go as high as 72-74F when called for (primarily using WLP410 and WLP510 limited edition strains). The 530 just has such a large temp range. Thanks for any tasting notes you can provide for me.
 
Matteo57 said:
Also interested if this was close to the real deal or not. Love Redemption!

I did the strong golden ale Vinny gave out a while back using this yeast. I think it's a winner and tastes like damnation to me. The profile is so dependent on the yeast selection and care. This looks like a good clone to me, but I haven't made it myself. The wlp530 got away from me and fermented at 75-80, but I think that was a good temp range on this yeast.
 
Also interested if this was close to the real deal or not. Love Redemption!

I did a split batch to attempt to clone both Redemption and Sanctification. The recipes are very similar with Sanctification having all of the non 2-row malts at 5% each instead of 3%, and a slightly higher starting gravity. What I find interesting is that the recipes that Vinnie gives for Redemption and Sanctification do not match up with the Russian River website's original gravity for either of them.
 
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