Exploring even more styles that I have not brewed previously, and continuing in the world of Belgian beers, Belgian single is a good goal. This one was spurred by a recipe from the Fall 2025 Craft Beer & Brewing magazine. My version is very close to the published original, although I substituted Willamette for Styrian Goldings (an acceptable substitution according to Hopslist). The yeast was also a slight switch–the original recipe called for Wyeast 1388 Belgian Strong Ale; I couldn’t get this easily, but Fermentis WB-06 is supposed to be equivalent.

Six-Shooter Abbey Singel

• 6 lb. Synergy Select pilsen malt (Briess)
• 6 oz. biscuit malt (Dingemans)
• 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
• 4 oz. white cane sugar (added to boil)
• 1.25 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfrueh hop pellets (2.5% alpha), 60 minute boil
• 1.25 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfrueh hop pellets (2.5% alpha), 15 minute boil
• 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
• 0.5 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
• 0.5 oz. Willamette hop pellets (5.8% alpha), 5 minute boil
• 1 pkg. Safbrew Wheat dry yeast (Fermentis WB-06)
• 0.5 oz. Biofine Clear, added to keg

Target Parameters

• 85 minute infusion mash, 149°, full volume mash
• 1.054 o.g., 1.012 f.g., 5.5% abv, 31 IBU, 5 SRM
• Water built from RO, with target of 53 ppm Ca, 6 ppm Mg, 6 ppm Na, 73 ppm SO4, 67 ppm Cl
• 3 gallon batch

Procedure

• Starting with 4.5 gallons of RO water, I added 0.25 g salt, 1 g epsom salts, 1.5 g gypsum, and 2 g calcium chloride in order to hit my water chemistry targets.
• I heated the water to 154°, added the grains, and then held the mash at 149° for 85 minutes, with recirculation.
• Then, I raised the mash temperature to 168° for 10 minutes, before pulling the grains.
• In total, I collected 4.1 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.043, for 73% mash efficiency.
• I brought the runnings to a boil, added the sugar, and boiled for 60 minutes while adding hops and finings per the recipe.
• After the boil, I chilled the wort to 74° before moving into the fermentation chamber for the final cool-down to 66°.
• Starting gravity was 1.057. I brewed this beer on 8 October 2025.
• Once I pitched the yeast, I held at 66° for fermentation. Vigorous activity kicked off within 12 hours.
• I pulled the beer to ambient on 11 October 2025 for a few hours (while chilling another beer) and then returned it to the fermentation chamber at 67°.
• The beer was still occasionally bubbling on 18 October 2025, with a bubble through the airlock every minute or so.
• I kegged the beer on 8 November 2025, adding 1.65 oz. of corn sugar to start carbonation and scrub any oxygen. Although I used an open transfer, I purged the keg after kegging.
• The keg was held at ambient for a few weeks, before chilling to 34°. I added Biofine Clear on 30 November 2025.
• Final gravity was 1.006, for 6.7% abv.

Tasting

• Appearance
  • Light gold beer, decent clarity but a slight haze; pours with a persistent and fine white head. Good lacing.
• Aroma
  • Fresh pear and melon yeast character at a moderate level–amazing! It smells fantastic. A low doughy malt aroma is also present. The aroma is perfect!
• Flavor
  • Doughy fresh white bread malt character. Medium low pome fruit yeast character. Medium-high bitterness, with a spicy quality.
• Mouthfeel
  • Medium high carbonation. Light body. Dry finish.
• Would I Brew This Again?
  • This is a really, really good beer–I love everything about it, except for the annoyingly persistent haze. Even with fining, it just hasn’t cleared up completely. That said, the aroma is amazing! It’s interesting that WB-06 is suggested for German wheat ales or witbiers; even with adjusted fermentation conditions, I’m hard pressed to see how it would be in that style. The banana and clove aren’t there. The liquid yeast versions of WB-06 (White Labs WLP570 or Wyeast 1388) are also supposed to be slow flocculators, so if clarity really mattered I might try a different yeast strain. I really like what WB-06 brings for aroma and flavor; it’s interesting without being in-your-face. I’m also pleased with how the mash+yeast choices made an appropriately dry beer. I would brew this recipe again! (but probably in the same batch size – 5 gallons might get a little boring)
• Overall
  • 7/10