The Spirit of Belgium: Belgian Brewing Roundtable
How have you (and other North American brewers) expanded upon the range of “Belgian” beers and have you heard any feedback on your beers from brewers in Belgium?
Tomme Arthur, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey
I believe that American brewers are very much at the forefront of inspiring a world of drinkers. One of the biggest challenges that brewers with as much history as the Belgians have behind them is that they often can’t focus on innovation. American brewers are not bound by much at this very moment. As such, there are incredible liberties and chances being taken.
Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing Co.
Some American craft brewers have done things differently, but I can’t say that too many have expanded upon traditional Belgian style beers as compared to the Belgians themselves. I hop my Belgian-style beers more than what you’d probably see in Belgium, and in that way I’ve put my own signature on the beers. But, keep in mind that when it comes to brewing Belgian-style beers commercially and at home, often less is more. I think American craft brewers have expanded on our barrel-aged beers when compared to actual Belgian brewers. In 2006 when I was in Belgium with Sam Calagione, Rob Tod, Tomme Arthur and Adam Avery, we each took two beers to pour at different events and our beers were very well received. Of course in some cases the Belgians (both brewers and beer enthusiasts) didn’t like some of the beers. But, overall it was an eye opener to many of them of the high quality being brewed by the American craft brewers.
Peter Bouckaert, New Belgium Brewing Co.
Of course I had feedback from my Belgian colleagues, sometimes more than I’m hoping for. As long as we call it Belgian we will have feedback. The problem is that most “Belgian” beer claims really are not Belgian, they are American. We just got into the habit of calling funky, sour or high alcohol beers Belgian. That is not what Belgian beer is; this is what American brewing thinks Belgian is. I think Fat Tire is our best “Belgian” beer. Yes we have expanded upon the range of beers. The US brewing world has evolved so far that it should stop referring to the old world.
Randy Thiel, Brewery Ommegang
As typical Americans, we grasp onto a concept and run with it. Pizza is a great example of a concept that currently does not resemble its origins, but is taken to a new level by zealous American enthusiasts. At Brewery Ommegang, I’ve tried to remain as traditional in flavor profiles as possible, especially with regards to flavor balance and digestibility. Although the ingredients may not always be authentic, the spirit certainly is.
Steven Pauwels, Boulevard Brewing Co.
I recently had a visit from Belgian brewers and they were more interested in American pale ale, IPA’s and stouts. American brewers now think more outside of the box than Belgian brewers do. Belgian brewers follow tradition more than innovation and are currently inspired by craft brewers. We started brewing a saison about five years ago and started making a version with Brettanomyces. Because of capacity constraints we couldn’t put this beer on the market, but took it to festivals. At the Belgium Comes to Cooperstown event this year, there were already copies from some highly respected brewers.
Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing Co.
I’ve spoken to Belgian brewers who said that it’s great that U.S. beer drinkers are so open to experimentation. I think that the nature of this country’s experimental brewing dovetails the two very nicely, especially for Belgian-style brewers, because these styles are experimental by nature. For example, techniques like barrel aging, spontaneous fermentation and ingredients like sugars and spices are now being used by U.Ss brewers in new, non-traditional ways.
What malts lend themselves particularly well to Belgian-inspired beers?
Tomme Arthur, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey
We tend to use quite a bit of imported malt (some of it Belgian) as well as German and English malts. The secret to a great Belgian-style beer is to find the best yeasts possible and complement them without being too overbearing. If I had to pick one or two malts, I would say that Special B from Dingemans is fantastic. I also love to keep a healthy stash of Gambrinus Honey Malt on hand. It has amazing potential.
Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing Co.
I actually like to use more North American malts in our Belgian style brews as well as a few European malts. We use the North American malts because they are more neutral which lets the yeast and fermentation character shine through more. Also, I like the idea of using mostly malts and hops that are grown closer to home; after all, I am an American brewer, not Belgian.
Randy Thiel, Brewery Ommegang
For a white beer, a very low color Pilsner malt accentuates the heavenly pallor of the beer. Pale malts are much too dark for this style.
Steven Pauwels, Boulevard Brewing Co.
First think about what characteristics are important in the beer you want to brew and then decide on what malt you want to use. Most maltsters offer a wide variety of different specialty malts that can do the job. However, we use almost 100% Belgian specialty malt, but use one pale malt for all our brands.
Jason Perkins, Allagash Brewing Co.
We use a wide variety of mostly domestic malts — mostly for freshness. However, we also use some Belgian Pilsner malts. We also mostly avoid using excessive amounts of caramel malts in order to produce a dryer result with the exception of Special B, which if used correctly can be beneficial in Belgian-style brewing.
Should a homebrewer do anything different in the brewhouse when brewing a Belgian or Belgian-inspired beer compared to an English-style ale or German-style lager?
Tomme Arthur, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey
We are currently mashing the majority of our Belgian-style beers with a very traditional one step infusion mash.
Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing Co.
In the kettle, we don’t use as much hops, but the kettle hop addition schedule is almost the same when comparing a hoppy Russian River beer to one of our Belgian-style beers. Where we really differentiate our Belgian styles is in the fermentation temperature schedule.
Peter Bouckaert, New Belgium Brewing Co.
Ingredients and their origin and brewing process are all inter related tools. It’s like asking what water to use to make a Pilsner. Should it be soft water, because that is what the original Pilsners brewers did? I made Pilsners with maximum levels of calcium, mainly because my brewery was not equipped like the original pilsner brewers. Brewing is always a compromise, although my approach can be different than your approach, we both are right. Also, the Belgian Reinheitsgebot states that you should only use knowledge, creativity and experience. Those are the only ingredients that I’m using. I use them in various concentrations, depending on the beer I want to make.
Mark Ruedrich, North Coast Brewing Co.
As the bitterness levels in PranQster, Brother Thelonious and Le Merle are low to moderate, we achieve the dryness we’re after on balance by using a much cooler mash bed. We also employ a couple different sugars to brew these beers.
Randy Thiel, Brewery Ommegang
A brewer should do whatever is practical in the brewhouse with a focus on the end-result rather than the traditions of a production process.
Steven Pauwels, Boulevard Brewing Co.
Modern brewhouses are designed to brew German-style lagers in a very energy efficient way. When we started using our new state-of-the-art brewhouse, we had to make several adjustments to the initial setup. The Belgian, English and German way of brewing is different. The English use overmodified pale malt for single step infusion, Germans only use 100% malt and need decoction mashes to get high fermentation degree while the Belgian brewers use adjuncts.
Jason Perkins, Allagash Brewing Co.
The ingredient additions of hops, candi sugar and spices are the major differentiations for brewing these styles of beer. We also boil longer than most of our non-Belgian-style brews, which may be inefficient but produces nice, deep colors and can add more caramel complexity.
How does fermentation temperature play a role when you brew these beers?
Tomme Arthur, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey
This along with oxygen levels in wort are my two biggest challenges. Most brewers don’t realize that there are a myriad of flavors in Belgian-style beers created by yeast growth and development in the early phases. In each brewery, it is the responsibility of the brewer to determine which range of temperatures best serves each yeast strain and then they must then look at oxygen levels as well in terms of growth and flavor gain.
Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing Co.
Fermentation temperature is the most important component in our Belgian style brews. We have two different Belgian yeasts going all the time. The yeast we use for Damnation is very fruity so we hold back the temperature initially then let the tank free rise after a few days of fermentation. Belgian yeast also reacts very strongly to the shape of the fermenting tank.
Randy Thiel, Brewery Ommegang
The Ommegang yeast ferments at 77 °F (25 °C). We maintain a tight control over the fermentation temperature, and it does not vary by more than 1 °F (0.5 °C) from the target temperature.
Steven Pauwels, Boulevard Brewing Co.
Fermentation temperature helps control the ester and higher alcohol formation. Know your yeast to make the right decision. For some yeasts we only cool the first day to two days, other yeasts make better beer when the fermentation starts at a lower temperature and there is no cooling at all.
Jason Perkins, Allagash Brewing Co.
Temperature plays a big role because Belgian styles are so yeast-strain dependent. It’s good to use trial and error to get to know yeast strains and how temperature affects them because it makes dramatic differences in the beer.
Most beers from Belgium are not very hoppy. Do you think Belgian-inspired beers can be hoppy or is there something about them that does not pair well with hops?
Tomme Arthur, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey
We’re starting to see some really expressive beers coming out of Belgium that are very hop driven. I think there is a whole new generation of brewers who are looking at hops in a way not previously considered. The beauty of Belgian-style beers is that they can be anything they want to be. Just look at Orval. It’s on its own little island, yet it most certainly would not be considered a lightly-handed hopped beer.
Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing Co.
Most Belgian beers are not that hoppy, but they are dry. That is where I think many American craft brewers and homebrewers can improve their Belgian style beers. Dryness can replace bitterness. There are now a few Belgian-style IPA’s coming out of Belgium which often carry a metallic character from the hops they use. We just brewed a 100% Bravo hop beer for an experiment where I used a Belgian yeast. It was our first Belgian style IPA and it turned out great.
Mark Ruedrich, North Coast Brewing Co.
I think the biggest challenge in brewing a hoppy Belgian-style ale would be to find synergy between the esters produced by whichever of the many different Belgian yeast strains you chose to use and the fruity/spicy aromatics in the hops.
Randy Thiel, Bewery Ommegang
More and more Belgian beers are showing an accent on hop character. I think it’s a natural fit for an estery, well-attenuated beer! Surprisingly, the resiny North American hops are as good a match as the noble European varieties.
Steven Pauwels, Boulevard Brewing Co.
Belgian beers were very hoppy 30 to 40 years ago, but decreased in bitterness to follow the trend for less bitter beers. The fruity characteristics of Belgian yeast strains can blend very well with American hops. For some beers, a noble hop is more suitable.
Jason Perkins, Allagash Brewing Co.
I agree that many Belgian styles don’t do well with hoppiness, so brewers should be careful with amounts and selections. I have, however, noticed beers coming out of Belgium that are hoppy. I think that thanks to American-style experimentation with hops that we have come full circle in that some Belgian brewers are now using more hops.
Do you use a house cultured yeast or a commercial strain in your beers?
Tomme Arthur, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey
We use both. I have a cultured strain that we use in many of our Abbey-style beers. We also make a Biere De Garde, a saison and a blond ale with yeasts from the commercial providers. I use as many different yeasts as possible, enabling us to build all kinds of unique beers.
Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing Co.
We use both commercial strains and house cultures. The coolest thing we have going is our house wild yeast culture we use in several of our barrel-aged ales. Also, we use a wine yeast strain to do all of our bottle conditioning.
Peter Bouckaert, New Belgium Brewing Co.
We have multiple yeast strains year round, some of them purchased, some of them “mutated” internally, some with a hazy past.
Mark Ruedrich, North Coast Brewing Co.
We use four different strains, alone or in combination, which we have gathered over the years from different sources. We maintain all our yeast cultures in our lab at the brewery.
Steven Pauwels, Boulevard Brewing Co.
We use house-cultured yeasts for the most part, even though we currently are running a project to compare lambic blends from two different suppliers. Handling multiple strains in a production brewery can be very challenging. We use two Belgian strains. We are process-oriented brewers trying to make a wide variety of beers with the same yeast.
Jason Perkins, Allagash
We use a wide range of commercial yeasts as well as a primary proprietary Brettanomyces strain.
What are your favorite hop varieties to use in Belgian-inspired beers?
Tomme Arthur, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey
Traditionally we have relied on more noble hops for aroma and Northern Brewer and Brewers Gold for dual-purpose usage. My friends know that I am a fan of German Magnum and English Phoenix Hops for bittering. Both are very clean and neutral when used in conjunction with all kinds of malt and yeasts.
Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing Co.
I use Styrian Golding and Sterling almost exclusively in all of our Belgian style and barrel aged beers. Lately I’ve been messing around with some American IPA hops in some of our Belgian-style beers. I’ve had good luck with Cascade and Amarillo.
Randy Thiel, Brewery Ommegang
Styrian Golding, Czech Saaz, Vanguard, US/German Perle and Cascade.
Steven Pauwels, Boulevard Brewing Co.
In some of our beers we use one single noble hop variety, sometimes only for bittering. It really makes a difference. Try to add noble hops before the start of the boil. You will find that hop aroma is carried over in the beer. American clones of noble hops (Vanguard, Sterling) work very well. Hops with a nice citrus aroma also work in a well-attenuated beer.
Jason Perkins, Allagash Brewing Co.
We use mostly noble varieties like Tettnang, Hallertauer and Czech Saaz as well as French Strissel Spalt. For bittering we use varieties with lower alpha acids and avoid anything higher than 10-12%.
Many Belgian and Belgian-inspired beers are high in alcohol. In these beers, what do you need to do to ensure a good fermentation?
Tomme Arthur, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey
The most important thing in any fermentation is to have fresh yeast. This ensures the best chance of creating and recreating the flavors in subsequent batches. We almost always prop our yeast to ensure when it’s time, they’re ready to go. I also like to make an analogy that Belgian yeasts are like children. The key to brewing great Belgian-style beers is to be like a teacher and control and derive the most from each.
Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing Co.
To ensure a good fermentation we rely on a healthy strain of yeast and oxygenate our wort. We also don’t keep the yeast going as long as in our non-Belgian strains. We find that as the Belgian yeast gets higher in generations it doesn’t flock as well, which causes problems down the line. If you are brewing a Belgian-style beer and you just can’t dry it out, lower your initial gravity by a couple of points. You should then find that your terminal gravity is lower at the end of fermentation. In the end, you have the same alcohol content as you did initially when you had a higher specific gravity.
Peter Bouckaert, New Belgium Brewing Co.
Our brewery is well set up for propagation and storage of yeast. We use some yeast nutrient in propagation only. We have been working on cooling rates at the end of fermentation to make those fast and consistent so that the yeast is not sitting too warm for too long. We have some really strong yeast strains in-house that are used to this environment – strong in fermentation rate and able to grow on though lab media and lab conditions that we use to detect cross contamination.
Mark Ruedrich, North Coast Brewing Co.
A good yeast strain to start, and a good knowledge of what it takes to make it work consistently.
Randy Thiel, Brewery Ommegang
A good fermentation of strong wort is achieved by sufficient healthy yeast, good aeration, and yeast nutrients.
Steven Pauwels, Boulevard
Healthy yeast selection, knowing your yeast, controlled pitching rate, good wort aeration, temperature control – and sometimes patience.
How does fermentation temperature play a role when you brew these beers?
Tomme Arthur, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey
This along with oxygen levels in wort are my two biggest challenges. Most brewers don’t realize that there are a myriad of flavors in Belgian-style beers created by yeast growth and development in the early phases. In each brewery, it is the responsibility of the brewer to determine which range of temperatures best serves each yeast strain and then they must then look at oxygen levels as well in terms of growth and flavor gain.
Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing Co.
Fermentation temperature is the most important component in our Belgian style brews. We have two different Belgian yeasts going all the time. The yeast we use for Damnation is very fruity so we hold back the temperature initially then let the tank free rise after a few days of fermentation. Belgian yeast also reacts very strongly to the shape of the fermenting tank.
Randy Thiel, Brewery Ommegang
The Ommegang yeast ferments at 77 °F (25 °C). We maintain a tight control over the fermentation temperature, and it does not vary by more than 1 °F (0.5 °C) from the target temperature.
Steven Pauwels, Boulevard Brewing Co.
Fermentation temperature helps control the ester and higher alcohol formation. Know your yeast to make the right decision. For some yeasts we only cool the first day to two days, other yeasts make better beer when the fermentation starts at a lower temperature and there is no cooling at all.
Jason Perkins, Allagash Brewing Co.
Temperature plays a big role because Belgian styles are so yeast-strain dependent. It’s good to use trial and error to get to know yeast strains and how temperature affects them because it makes dramatic differences in the beer.
What are some of the specific challenges you encounter in brewing your Belgian-style beers?
Tomme Arthur, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey
Over the years, I have developed notions in my head how I want my beers to taste, smell and essentially be. Working on getting all of these areas to come together is the big challenge.
Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing Co.
For those who have visited our brewery and taken a tour you have probably heard of me speak of our 1×1 fermenter, this is a short, fat tank that is as wide as it is tall. I love this tank to ferment our Belgian-style beers! But, as our Belgian-style beers have become more popular, specifically Damnation, we’ve had to move some of the fermentation to our tall conical fermenters. It took us a while to make the change as fermenting a beer in our 1×1 at 72 °F (22 °C) doesn’t translate correctly. For our barrel-aged beers, it has been all experimentation. Temperature, time, and barrel cleaning have been the big issues.
Randy Thiel, Brewery Ommegang
The bottle-conditioning process can be tricky when working with 3,000 cases at a time; the practical learning curve was short and quick, but very demanding.
Steven Pauwels, Boulevard Brewing Co.
Most of the challenges come from beer writers and critics who can’t think outside the box. Why does a beer have to fit into a style? Brewing to style defeats the purpose of being a homebrewer and reduces creativity.
In your opinion, how important is it to use authentic Belgian ingredients such as sweet orange peels and candi sugar. Is it acceptable to make substitutions?
Tomme Arthur, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey
There are certain places where authenticity is important. We have switched from candi sugar to good old dextrose, which is one way we can save some coin. We do still order things like orange peel and certain Belgian malts, which I believe very strongly in.
Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing Co.
I don’t think it’s important. In fact, we try not to use Belgian and other European ingredients. We are making American beer and I’d rather use as much American and or North American malts and hops.
Mark Ruedrich, North Coast Brewing Co.
In the spirit of innovation, it is required.
Steven Pauwels, Boulevard Brewing Co.
Candi sugars can be substituted sometimes. We have done side-by-side comparisons and found the molasses flavor in some of the local sugars to work even better. Spices have to be fresh if you want to get the best out of them.
Jason Perkins, Allagash Brewing Co.
I would say that substitutions can be made on a case-by-case basis, but always be careful when selecting a yeast strain. However, for other additions the sky’s the limit. By nature, Belgian-style brewing is experimental.
What is coming next for lovers of Belgian-inspired beers?
Tomme Arthur, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey
The age of blended beers will be upon us very soon. We are seeing all sorts of American Brewers less concerned with the bottom line and more concerned about toeing the flavor line. These beers will continue to be small batched beers with an emphasis not on marketing but on expression.
Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing Co.
We are doing some new barrel-aged beers and early next year we will release our first ever 100% spontaneously fermented barrel-aged sour beer. We are also focusing on tightening up our Belgian style and barrel-aged brews.
Peter Bouckaert, New Belgium Brewing Co.
The sky is the limit. Nobody knows what we will drink tomorrow.
Mark Ruedrich, North Coast Brewing Co.
We have just released Le Merle, a farmhouse style ale in a 750 ml bottle with a cork and wire finish. Those who tried Silver Jubilee, the beer we brewed for the Whole Foods Market 25th anniversary, will recognize it.
Steven Pauwels, Boulevard Brewing Co.
Hybrid beers or cross-style beers. Dubbels and tripels hopped like an IPA (see Avery and Achouffe) and hoppy wheat beers. A lot of craft brewers’ first love is hops until they find the richness of Belgian beers. Now you see brewers merging the two. Also, I see an increase in the quality of wood-aged beers.
Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing Co.
We chose Belgian-style brewing from the beginning of Allagash, and frankly up until recently it was a tough sell. But recently there has been a big boost in interest in these beers, and now it seems like there are really an unlimited number of styles to make that people have never tried. I think we’re really only just getting started.
Do you have anything else to add? (Any question you wished we would have asked?)
Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing Co.
Find a recipe you like and run with it – style doesn’t matter in Belgian-style brews. Also, I’d strongly suggest that homebrewers dry their beers out. Also, I’d say don’t be afraid to use fermentation temperature as a flavor catalyst, but, keep in mind that some of the Belgian yeast will kick out a lot of phenolic.
Steven Pauwels, Boulevard Brewing Co.
Be innovative – style shouldn’t be dictated by commercial breweries.
Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing Co.
These days it seems that beer is finally elevated to what it should be. It’s no longer a commodity. Like the wine industry, people are now spending more for a great experience. My hope is that consumers can have a unique and special experience from these beers that wasn’t available to them 20 years ago.
