Article

Steam-Powered Belgian Brews

The first thing that hits you upon opening the old red double doors to Brasserie à Vapeur is the steam. This is appropriate given that you are entering the world’s last remaining steam-powered brewery. Appearing through the mist, you see a steampunk scene right out of Jules Verne — an amazing industrial age collection of pulleys, belts and gears, all spinning above an open, cast iron mash tun sheathed in wood staves. The gears and belts drive the large paddles, stirring in the malt and hot water at the start of another brew day here in Pipaix, Belgium just a few miles away from France. Piercing the sound of the gears and belts whirring and the paddles stirring, there’s a sharp whistle every few seconds coming from the star of this historic brewing show —  a 12-horsepower steam engine nestled against the brewery’s old painted brick wall.

With both the steam engine and mash tun dating back to 1895, and other equipment like the malt mill even older, a visit to Brasserie à Vapeur is a step back in time to see how beer was made over a century ago. And that is exactly the intent of brewer Jean-Louis Dits, who rescued the brewery and its equipment in 1984 to set up this living museum. Jean-Louis cranks up this historic brewery promptly at 9 a.m. on the last Saturday of every month, to honor the past by showcasing the equipment and brewing techniques to visitors, while producing his regular range of beers, including a saison, a strong, 9% ABV amber ale and an 8% ABV lager. These monthly brew days also double as a community party in the rural Wallonian town, with a group lunch that includes plenty of beer samples to wash down a big buffet of local cheese, breads and foods using Vapeur beer as an ingredient.

Jean-Louis dresses the part for his monthly brew days, wearing an old leather brewer’s apron while hustling around the brewery, talking to visitors and checking on the mash. Brasserie à Vapeur uses a step mash with their beers. The thick mash starts off at 113 °F (45 °C) and the temperature is raised with the addition of more hot water after each rest. After mashing out, the wort drains into a grant sunk into the floor beneath the mash tun. A pump recirculates the wort through hoses from the grant back into the top of the mash tun. When Jean-Louis deems the wort clear enough, runoff and sparging begins. All runoff goes first into the grant and then is pumped upstairs to one of the two cast iron brew kettles, which date back to 1919 and are heated by steam coils. Boil times can last two hours, but most are at least 90 minutes. And being located in Belgium, there are almost always some spices and sugar going into the boil along with hops in his recipes. Fermentation takes a more modern turn with a new stainless steel fermenter and conditioning tank. The beer is bottle conditioned before shipping out for sale.

The brewery in Pipaix dates all the way back to 1785. Gaston Biset used much of this same equipment for his namesake brewery from 1926 to 1984. After 58 years of brewing beer, he was ready to retire. The brewery was slated to be sold off in pieces and demolished, with no obvious buyers interested in an outdated brewery. Jean-Louis —  a fan of Biset’s saison and a homebrewer — decided to step in and save the brewery, restore the equipment and keep brewing operations going. Marc Rosier, then acting Brewmaster at nearby Brasserie Dupont, gave him guidance at the start, helping Jean-Louis transition to brewing professionally. Jean-Louis renamed the brewery after its most memorable quality — “Vapeur” is French for steam. He continues to brew Biset’s saison from the original recipe. A homebrew clone of the saison — spiced with ginger, pepper, star anise, Curaçao and sweet orange peels — can be found below. Over the last 20 years, Jean-Louis has also added his own recipes to the mix, including his best-seller, a 9% ABV strong amber sporting a naked cartoon pig label known as Vapeur Cochonne.

Preparations for the monthly brew requires taking apart old equipment, greasing up all those gears and reassembling it all again. But all the challenges of brewing on this historic system are worth it, according to the brewer. “Every day when you get to brew here it is a good day,” Jean-Louis says smiling. “It’s the best day of work.” Then he spins around and disappears back into the steam of his brewery.

RECIPES

Brasserie à Vapeur’s
Saison de Pipaix clone

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.054  FG = 1.007
IBU = 21  SRM = 11  ABV = 6%

Vapeur’s saison is orange/amber, darker than most saisons. It is also more heavily spiced than other saisons. A slight tartness, relatively low ABV (as Belgian beers go) and dry finish keep the beer eminently quaffable.

Ingredients
7.0 lbs. (3.2 kg) Belgian Pilsener malt
2.25 lbs. (1.0 kg) Vienna malt
2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) Munich malt
0.25 lb. (0.11 kg) amber malt (35 °L)
4.5 AAU Hallertauer hops (60 mins)
(1 oz./28 g of 4.5% alpha acids)
2.4 AAU East Kent Goldings hops (15 mins)
(0.5 oz./14 g of 4.75% alpha acids)
0.25 oz. (7 g) ginger root (15 mins)
0.25 oz. (7 g) black pepper (15 mins)
0.25 oz. (7 g) sweet orange peel (15 mins)
0.25 oz. (7 g) star anise (15 mins)
0.25 oz. (7 g) Curaçao orange peel (15 mins)
White Labs WLP565 (Belgian Saison I)
or Wyeast 3726 (Farmhouse Ale)
yeast (2–4 qt./2–4 L yeast starter)
0.75 cup (150 g) corn sugar (for priming)

Step by Step 
Mash in grains at 113 °F (45 °C) and hold for 15 minutes. Increase temperature to 131 °F (55 °C) and hold for 30 minutes. Raise to 143 °F (62 °C) and hold for 45 minutes. Raise temperature again to 161 °F (72 °C) and hold for 15 minutes. Recirculate until clear and sparge with 176 °F (80 °C) water. Boil for 60 minutes adding the first addition of hops. With 15 minutes left in the boil, add the remaining hops and spices. Cool the wort to 68 ºF (20 °C). Pitch your yeast and aerate the wort heavily. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C), then rack to secondary and drop temperature down to about 55 °F (13 °C). Condition for 1 week and then bottle or keg. Bottle condition for two weeks.

Brasserie à Vapeur’s
Saison de Pipaix clone

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.054  FG = 1.007
IBU = 21  SRM = 11  ABV = 6%

Ingredients
5.0 lbs. (2.3 kg) light liquid malt extract (such as Weyermann  Bavarian Pilsner malt extract)
2.25 lbs. (1.0 kg) Vienna malt
2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) Munich malt
0.25 lb. (0.11 kg) amber malt (35 °L)
4.5 AAU Hallertauer hops (60 mins)
(1 oz./28 g of 4.5% alpha acids)
2.4 AAU East Kent Goldings hops (15 mins)
(0.5 oz./14 g of 4.8% alpha acids)
0.25 oz. (7 g) ginger root (15 mins)
0.25 oz. (7 g) black pepper (15 mins)
0.25 oz. (7 g) sweet orange peel (15 mins)
0.25 oz. (7 g) star anise (15 mins)
0.25 oz. (7 g) Curaçao orange peel (15 mins)
White Labs WLP565 (Belgian
Saison I) or Wyeast 3726
(Farmhouse Ale) yeast
(2–4 qt./2–4 L yeast starter)
0.75 cup (150 g) corn sugar
(for priming)

Step by Step
Steep milled grains in 2.0 gallons (7.6 L) of water at 152 ºF (67 ºC) for 30 minutes. Remove grains from the wort and rinse with 1.0 gallon (3.8 L) of hot water. Add the malt extracts and boil for 60 minutes. Add the hops and spices at the times indicated in the ingredient list. Cool wort and transfer to fermenter.  Top off with cold water to 5.0 gallons (19 L). Aerate wort and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 ºF (20 °C) until fermentation is complete. Transfer to a carboy, and drop temperature down to about 55 °F (13 °C). Allow the beer to condition for 1 week and then bottle or keg. Allow the beer to carbonate and age for two weeks before sampling.

Issue: March-April 2012