Attack of the Half-Belgians

Lately, I’ve come across two beers that fit into the category of Half-Belgian beers. The timing is mostly coincidental, but last weekend I bottled a strong ale that I’ve been brewing every autumn for three years now. I lovingly named this years’ version “Yee Olde Halfe Belgian”. And what surprises me most about my beer is that in my brewing, I have iterated to a hop bill that matches the pros’ surprisingly well.

 

We’ll start with the real Belgian stuff. Brasserie d’Achouffe from Chouffe, Belgium has created a 22 oz. Belgian Trippel IPA. The beer is called Houblon, and it is worth checking out. It is also really neat to see belgian brewers who seem to be influenced by west coast brewers. The hopping seems inspired by California (or maybe Oregon) techniques. Lots of Tomahawk (apparently also known as Columbus) all the way through the beer gives it a good level of bitterness and a grassy flavor, and then good quantities of Amarillo and Saaz give a spicy floral, yet buttery flavor. The beer was pale yellow in appearance, with a beautiful and very volumous white head of very fine bubbles. The yeast that went into this beer was first-rate Belgian goodness. It delivered a smoothness that transitioned the beer from the sweet pale malt and hoppy impressions that are first felt to the grassy yet, alcoholic (9% abv) notes that followed.

 

A similar inspiration took ahold at De Proef Brouwerij to make Signature Ale, although they happily admit that the brewers from Port Brewing Company, of San Marcos, CA collaborated on the beer. The bottle happily states that American Hopping additions went into this beer along with Belgian Brettanomyces that give that complex, distinctly Belgian, yeast profile. The hops, Amarillo, UK Phoenix and German Brewer’s Gold go nicely with the malt and yeast. It was while I was enjoying this beer that I figured out with some confidence how nicely Amarillo hops couple with Belgian yeastiness. Try it! As for the other two hop varieties, I’m not too familiar with either of them. Both are high Alpha Acid-content hops of British pedigree, which suggests they’re probably not dominating the flavor profile of this beer, but providing a mild spice. The malting yielded another pale yellow beer, but Signature is a little more golden than Houblon, and certainly a little less carbonated. The OSG was only 1.076, which is surprising to me since they achieved an 8.5% abv, so the yeast did some good attenuating – which I guess is a trait of a good Belgian strain. The yeast, Amarillo hops, and a malt presence are perfectly balanced.

 

Now for my beer: “Yee Olde Halfe Belgian”. This is the biggest version of this recipe I’ve made, and I’m happy to say that it turned out wonderfully. While the Belgians decided to make pale ales, Yee Olde is a dark amber, reminiscent of brandy in appearance, and aroma (especially since I’ve only tried it un-carbonated). I’ve decided to just include the recipe and brewing notes:

 

 

Yeee Olde Half Belgian

 

12 lb british pale ale

1 lb 60L US crytal

1 lb belg aromatic malt

1.5 lb belg biscuit malt

1 lb dark rock candy

 

14q of mash water

 

mash at 151 degrees

 

lautered and brought 6.25 ga to boil

added 2 oz of amirillo 9.2% AA

boiled for 43 minutes and added

1.5 oz saaz

1.5 oz perle

14 min

1 oz amarillo

3 min

cooled

belgian and dry english ale yeast

osg 1.096, 5.5 gallons. racked 3 weeks later

tastes almost cider-y and not very good at first… waited 7 additional weeks to bottle

weather had highs in the low 60’s for the entire fermentation.

bottled 12/2/07

fsg 1.019, 10.3% alcohol. filled 47 12 oz bottles.

 

Like the pro’s I included the Amarillo finishing hops. They seem to go very nicely with the yeast finish. The Perle gives my beer that spicy flavor just like the Brewer’s Gold, Phoenix and Tomahawk have by the pros, and just like Houblon, the saaz goes in ever so nicely. Hurray hops!