Belgian Golden
There is no official “Belgian golden” category. Rather, it is “Belgian pale,” but this beer should not be confused with a regular pale ale of any sort. In fact if it were to be compared with anything, it would be Orval, the deep golden Trappist beer that contains the yeast recommend for fermenting ours or Chimay Cinq Cents, which is also a good choice.
The guidelines for a Belgian-style pale ale are: original gravity 1.044 to 1.054 (11° to 13.5° Plato), bitterness 20 to 30 IBUs, color 3.5 to 12 SRM, and alcohol by volume 4 percent to 6 percent. With that in mind, the profile for our version should shape up as follows: original gravity 1.052 (13° Plato), bitterness 26 IBUs, color 12 SRM, and alcohol by volume 5.4 percent.
Since some hop presence is expected, we will not be using stale, aged hops for this beer as some other Belgian and Trappist styles do. It is going to be malty like a tripel or Belgian strong but dry and crisp like a pale ale and low in alcohol like a saison or blonde.
Brewing Practice
As you can probably tell, brewing this beer is going to be a little different than most of the ales to which you are accustomed.
In the first place, it starts with a 90-minute mash to get more flavor out of the grain than normal, creating an earthy, full palate to the beer. The grain bill should consist of French and Belgian malts, particularly specialty malts, to further create an authentic-tasting beer. For pale malts choose a good pilsner malt of two- or six-row variety. If you choose six-row, select a malt that is as highly modified as possible. Good malt sources are Malteries Franco-Belges (France), De Wolf-Cosyns (Belgium), and Malt Products Corp. (Holland).
The composition of the beer may change slightly depending on which source and product you can get, if any. The Lovibond numbers have been provided for all of the malts in the recipe in case you have to substitute.
For authentic extracts the choices, unfortunately, are very limited, but Brewferm makes a variety of Belgian pale kits that serve as good bases.
The next primary change in your regular procedure is that you will be boiling a bit differently than normal. Rather than a full, rolling boil, you are going to simmer the wort for 120 minutes. This does several things: It prevents the alpha acids in the hops from isomerizing too much (converting into the compounds that create bitterness), keeping the bitterness low; it allows for a long and slow coloring of the wort; it allows the caramel and malt flavors to really develop strong character; and it allows the hot break to be very effective, giving us a nice clear product later. And even though it is not reaching a full, rolling boil, the length is sufficient to drive off the volatiles (unwanted flavor compounds) as usual.
Some Belgian beers, including Orval, simmer the wort slowly overnight, never really allowing it to reach a full boil. You will notice the difference. The extract version, however, will only receive a 90- minute boil because the syrup already has been cooked for so long in the making of the extract.
Hops: Think Noble
For the most part noble hops are the only choice for Belgian beers. The exception is French varieties, which possess noble-type characteristics while not being technically “noble.” Our recipe makes use of Hallertauer and French Strisselspalt grown in the Flanders region of Belgium and the Alsace region of France, respectively. The bitterness should be low to moderate at 26 IBUs, but like the bock, the emphasis will be on the aroma and flavor contributions of the hops.
Belgian Culture
Commercial examples to research for flavor and yeast harvesting include the Trappist pales Orval and Chimay Cinq Cents. The Cinq Cents is the lightest of the Chimay product line, a pale copper with refreshing French hop and Flemish yeast character. Its effervescence and dry finish make it very drinkable and refreshing, like this brew. The Orval is similar in color but has a very unique yeast character that is unmistakably floral and possesses a flavor some describe as “bubblegum.” But don’t let that deter you from trying the Orval yeast. It is so unique that it is perfect for this month’s brew. The other yeasts will do very well, but overall they have the same qualities with the exception of a little spice or ester profile here and there.
Lighter in color but a great Belgian pale is Duvel, another legendary beer. Duvel is a golden straw color with crisp, dry character. Not sweet and definitely well balanced with Styrian Golding and Saaz hops, Duvel is a refreshing departure from the other brands. It is made with all pale barley, so it will not have the caramel balance that yours will.
On the hoppier side, Brasserie Dupont offers a Moinette Saison, a moderately bitter, deep golden beer with high acidity and a dry, earthy finish. It is a bit less malty, or caramel-like, than the Orval, Chimay, or your brew.
Christoffel Blond of the St. Christoffel in Roermond, Holland, is yet another similar style. Somewhat like the Leffe Blonde Abbey Ale and La Choulette Blonde, it is vibrantly golden colored, slightly hazy, but crisp and dry. Like the other beers, it is dominated by the yeast character that is really what sets these beers apart. If you decide on one of these yeasts, the finished product will closely resemble the original beer from which the yeast came.
Orval and Chimay Cinq Cents are readily available and generally better cared for due to turnover, which makes them better candidates for yeast harvest. As always, however, your taste is what is important. Some Wyeast packaged yeasts that will also do well are 1214 (Belgian Ale), although a bit estery if fermented too warm (warmer than 72° F); 1762 (Abbey II); and 1388 (Belgian strong ale), although this yeast is a very low flocculator (it doesn’t settle out easily), so you have to condition cold for a long time to clear your beer.
One other thing to remember is that the bottled yeasts have been around for hundreds of years and are very mature in their flavor profile, whereas the new cultures will not begin to develop real outstanding flavors for several crops.
Belgian Golden
(5 gallons, all-grain)
Ingredients:
- 5 lbs. Belgian pale malt, 1.8° to 2.5° Lovibond
- 0.5 lb. carapils or dextrin-type malt, 1.5° Lovibond
- 2 lb. crystal malt, 10° Lovibond
- 2 lb. Belgian aromatic pale malt,
- 3.5° to 5° Lovibond
- 1.5 oz. Hallertauer hops
- (3.5% alpha acid): 0.75 oz. for 90 min., 0.75 oz. for 15 min.
- 1.5 oz. French Strisselspalt hops
- (3% alpha acid) at end of boil
- 1 pt. starter of Orval yeast
- 2/3 cup priming sugar
Step by Step
Mash grain in 3 gal. of water at 150° F for 90 min. Sparge with 168° to 170° F water to collect
5.75 gal. of wort.
Total boil time is 120 min.; remember to only simmer the wort! (A simmer is defined as a gently bubbling boil, between 185° and 205° F, although temperatures vary with altitude and amount of sugar in solution.) Simmer for 30 min. and add the first charge of Hallertauer. Simmer for 75 min. more. Add the second charge of Hallertauer and simmer remaining 15 min. Add the Strisselspalt for finishing. Whirlpool and cool to 69° F to pitch starter. Oxygenate/aerate well.
Ferment at 69° F for seven days then rack to secondary fermenter, continue for seven more or until fermentation is done or gravity is about 1.008 to 1.010 (2° to 2.5° Plato). Prime and bottle. Allow to carbonate and age at least seven more days before drinking.
OG = 1.052 (13° Plato)
26 IBUs
SRM = 12
5.4% ABV
Belgian Golden
(5 gallons, extract with grain)
Ingredients:
- 5 lbs. Belgian pale extract syrup
- 0.5 lb. carapils or dextrin-type malt, 1.5° Lovibond
- 2 lb. crystal malt, 10° Lovibond
- 2 lb. Belgian aromatic pale malt, 3.5° to 5° Lovibond
- 1.5 oz. Hallertauer hops
- (3.5% alpha acid): 0.75 oz. for 90 min., 0.75 oz. for 15 min.
- 1.5 oz. French Strisselspalt
- (3% alpha acid) at end of boil
- 1 pt. starter of Orval yeast
- 2/3 cup priming sugar
Step by Step:
Start with 5 gal. of 150° F water. Steep grain for 30 min. Sparge grains with enough 170° F water to make 5.5 gal.
Heat to simmering and add extract syrup. Total boil will be 90 min.; remember to simmer only the wort! Add the first charge of Hallertauer and simmer for 75 min. Add the second charge of Hallertauer and simmer remaining
15 min. Add the Strisselspalt for finishing. Whirlpool and cool to
69° F to pitch starter. Oxygenate/aerate well.
Ferment at 69° F for seven days then rack to secondary fermenter, continue for seven more or until fermentation is done or gravity is about 1.008 to 1.010 (2° to 2.5° Plato). Prime and bottle. Allow to carbonate and age at least seven more days before drinking.
OG = 1.052 (13° Plato)
26 IBUs
SRM = 12
5.4% ABV
