Brewing Delicate Belgians

[trumpetbeard]

I've been brewing belgians for awhile, but I recently tried a few (Caracole Saxo, BFM's √225 Saison, and de Dolle's tripel) that reminded me how good they can be. What I noticed is that each of these beers was enormously flavorful and complex, but neither beat you over the head with any flavor. They feel lighter on the palate and the flavors are extremely refined and delicate without sacrificing presence or clarity. After many attempts I have yet to achieve that kind of balance or character in any of my belgians.

Any tips on how to get that kind of character?

I've used Wyeast's 3655 (belgian Schelde) and 3522 (Belgian Ardennes). I aerate w/ the shake method, use starters appropriate to my predicted OG, and tend to start fermentation @65-67 and ramp up to 75 over the course of 2 weeks. I imagine this has to do w/ fermentation, but any suggestions are welcome.

 

[sptaylor70]

I've used Wyeast 3944 Celis to get light Belgian flavor.

Have your tried overpitching (~10%)? Or approaching fermentation from below - start at 63 degF, come up to 65 degF over a couple of days?

 

[Calder]

Use just pilsner malt, or lightest malt you can. Mash low, and use a lot of plain table sugar (about 20%).

 

[Twinkeelfool]

I find wyeast 3725 beire de garde to give subtle Belgian flavours. Very light in phenols, and nice esters, without being overly strong in flavour. Light mustiness/perfume too, which quite like.

 

[SteelRinger]

As sptaylor stated over-pitching or under-pitching will change the ester profile and will help "balance" the beer. I tend to over-pitch my pales and under-pitch my darks and I usually get what I am looking for.

Another thing to consider is letting the fermentation temp self-rise to ferm temp over 2-3 days vs 2 weeks. In my experience, Belgian yeast is pretty aggressive and you may be missing the best "window" for the yeast to impart its character if you are holding temp down during the most active fermentation.

 

[madpayas0]

I like Wyeast 3787 (Westmalle). I start low 58ish and ramp in to the mid 70s over a couple of days. Then age it at least 3-4 months to let the malt really come to the forefront.

 

[r2eng]

Use just pilsner malt, or lightest malt you can. Mash low, and use a lot of plain table sugar (about 20%).

^^^ this.

I have a tripel I have brewed and won several awards with - simply pilsner malt and candi sugar.

My go to Belgian yeast is WLP545.