Beer Style: Belgian Strong and Abbey Ales
Silent Tripel
Horst Dornbusch provides a recipe for a Belgian Tripel.
Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat’s Duvel clone
Duvel is the classic Belgian golden ale. Although it is very strong (8.5% ABV), the beer is extremely light in color and dry in taste. The dense, white head that sits above the beer lasts until the beer is done. In the US, bottles of Duvel often show some oxidation in the aroma. Brewing it fresh at home gives you a glimpse of what it tastes like in Belgium. The yeast will not have an easy job here; they are dealing with a high-gravity, high-adjunct wort. Help them (and yourself) out by making a big yeast starter for a high cell count at pitching.
Brasserie D’Orval’s Orval Trappist Ale clone
Orval pours orange-brown with a big, rocky head. The very spritzy levels of carbonation and lightly sour with a distinctive Brett character make the beer feel prickly on the tongue. Orval beer is distinctly dry and has little hop bitterness or flavor, although it is the only Trappist ale to be dry hopped. You’ll really taste the pale malt base, so don’t use US, German or English malts for this.
Belgian-Style Golden Strong Ale
“This was my first Belgian Ale. I had no spare fridge space, so it was fermented at ambient temperatures, getting up to 86°F (30 °C) on day 2 and it was all over after 3 days. I didn’t really like the beer, but all who tried it thought it was great, and so did the judges!” – Michael Carter — Queensland
Red Hot Blond
The second place winner, Steve Hacker, was a Belgian-style golden strong ale enlivened by a healthy addition of Red Hots, the bright red cinnamon candy. Again, the actual entry was a spinoff of a 5-gallon (19 L) batch, so the amounts have been extrapolated.
Organic Dubbel
For a healthy fermentation, aerate very well before pitching yeast. This is a high gravity beer and the yeast needs extra oxygen to get a good start. Recipe submitted by Seven Bridges Organic Homebrewing Supply, Santa Cruz, California
Upstream Brewing Company Grand Cru Clone
What’s the secret to making a good barrel aged beer? “Good wood, great beer, a little imagination and lots of patience.”
—Zac Triemert
Dixie Cup Boardwalk Belgian Quadrupel
This was the beer that was given to each of the attendees of this year’s Houston Foam Ranger’s Dixie Cup Homebrew Competition. The theme was Fredopoly, based on the board game Monopoly and in honor of our annual speaker and homebrew pioneer, Fred Eckhardt.
Mike’s “Devilish” Belgian Strong Golden Ale
“You little devil, you!”
Salmon Creek Brewing Brother Larry’s Belgian clone
In 2012, Salmon Creek Brewing’s founders Ana and Larry Pratt sold their business. Today Old Ivy Brewery and Taproom stands in its place. Here is a recipe from Salmon Creek’s archives for their Belgian Dubbel.
Fermenting Big Belgian-style Beers: Tips from the Pros
What’s the difference between fermenting everyday beers and fermenting the big, strong Belgians? The yeast of course. These three professional Belgian-style brewers talk about what it takes to keep your yeast happy, healthy and productive, even in the most extreme conditions.
Corsendonk Monk’s Brown Ale clone
Corsendonk is an Abbey beer, not a Trappist beer. This designation means the beer is brewed not at an abbey, but under license from — or at least in the style of — a Trappist monastery. In the case of Corsendonk, the name is taken from an Augustine priory that produced beer from the 1600s until the 1780s. Whether the Augustine brothers brewed anything remotely resembling modern Corsendonk is debatable, but they have licensed their name to the beer since 1982.
– Brouwerij Bios, Ertvelde
