Category Archives: Belgian beer

Nectaron Saison

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I increasingly enjoy and appreciate saisons, for their easy drinkability and interesting flavors. A good saison can do a lot with simple ingredients! Many homebrew recipes out there are way higher alcohol than I want in five gallon quantities, though, often in the 6 or 7 or even 8 percent range. The first page of results in the AHA recipe archive averages 6.9% abv, and the smallest recipe clocked in at 5.8% abv; that’s just not to my personal tastes.

So, I was intrigued by an article in the Summer 2025 issue of Craft Beer & Brewing, which highlighted saisons and presented a clone recipe for a recent interpretation of the style. Upright Saison Elani originated at Upright Brewing in Portland, Oregon; it was light (4.8% abv), simple (only three grains in the grist), and featured the relatively new hop Elani. This sounded fantastic!

Because Elani is a somewhat new and niche hop, my local homebrew shop didn’t have it in stock, but they did suggest Nectaron as an alternative. I haven’t done anything with Nectaron previously, and the citrus/tropical/stone fruit profile seemed like a good substitute for Elani and a great match for a summer saison. I had some Belle Saison yeast in my stash, so opted for that instead of the Imperial B56 or Wyeast 3276 in the original recipe.

In the spirit of my Brew Year’s Resolution to increase my percentage of “small batch” beers, this was a 3 gallon batch. So far, three out of 13 batches this year (23 percent) have been in this smaller format; by comparison, I had three out of 23 batches in the 3 gallon size last year. I have one or two more 3 gallon batches planned for 2025, so I’m feeling on target to meet my goal. Beyond the metrics, it has been nice to have smaller batches for recipes in the “good beer but I don’t want 5 gallons” categories.

Nectaron Saison

  • 4 lb 2 oz. 2-row pale malt (Rahr)
  • 12 oz. white wheat malt (Briess)
  • 4 oz. Carapils malt (Briess)
  • 1.5 oz. rice hulls
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 0.5 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfrueh hop pellets (2.5% alpha), 75 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Nectacron hop pellets (10.1% alpha), 10 minute whirlpool
  • 1 pkg. Belle Saison yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute infusion mash, 147°, full volume mash
  • 1.044 o.g., 1.007 f.g., 4.8% abv, 21 IBU, 3 SRM
  • Water built from RO, to hit targets of 63 ppm Ca, 11 ppm Mg, 105 ppm SO4, 67 ppm Cl, RA=-52

Procedure

  • I built my water up from scratch, starting with 4.8 gallons of RO, to which I added 2 g epsom salt, 2 g gypsum, and 2.5 g calcium chloride.
  • Then, I heated the water to 151° before adding the grains and holding at 147° with recirculation for 60 minutes. I raised the mash temperature to 168° for 10 minutes, before removing the grains.
  • In total, I collected 4.5 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.035, for 81% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, boiling for 75 minutes and adding hops and finings per the recipe.
  • After the boil, I turned off the heat and chilled to 78° before transferring to the fermenter and pitching the yeast.
  • I brewed this beer on 7 June 2025. Starting gravity was 1.045.
  • I used an open fermentation, putting a bit of foil across the top instead of an airlock. I fermented at ambient temperature, in the mid-70s.
  • A good crown of krausen was on the beer within 24 hours of pitching, and the fermenter temperature was around 76°. The krausen had mostly fallen by 14 June 2025, and I put a blow-off tube on the beer on 16 June 2025.
  • I kegged the beer on 21 June 2025, with 1.8 oz. of corn sugar added. I allowed it to carbonate at room temperature.
  • The final gravity was 1.003, for 5.5% abv. This is drier than stated in the original recipe or predicted by software (1.007 at each), but I’m not surprised given the diastatic yeast strain and low mash temperature.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Pale yellow, slightly hazy beer; pours with a persistent and fluffy white head.
  • Aroma
    • Pineapple, lemony and slightly spicy aroma at a medium-low level; slight doughy character, too. Pineapple and peach come out as the beer warms, and a stronger peppery character.
  • Flavor
    • Medium low malt with slightly grainy quality; medium bitterness which is more apparent due to the dryness of the beer. Pineapple at a low level and peach appear as the beer warms.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Light body, high carbonation, dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a highly drinkable, refreshing saison! I could see this becoming a house recipe, especially one against which to try out yeast variants. Because Belle Saison is no longer available in homebrew quantities, I suppose the issue is somewhat forced. I really like that strain’s subtlety here, though, and that it’s not a phenol bomb, even with ambient fermentation temperatures. I don’t know that Nectaron really stands out here; it might be better as a dry hop. That said, the hops show more character as the beer warms. It might be interesting to try a dry hop addition or a warmer fermentation, for more hop and yeast character–if that’s what I was looking for. As I have sampled the beer more recently, I’m happier and happier with the current level of things. So maybe it doesn’t need to become a dry hop bomb?
  • Overall
    • 8/10

Steve’s Cali-Belgique IPA Homage

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Homebrew is best enjoyed with friends and family, whether it’s a brew day or a warm summer afternoon sharing a new recipe out on the patio. The social aspect is a big part of my enjoyment of the hobby, as I make new friends and welcome old friends into the world of brewing.

Steve and I met through work, and we had our first brew session together in 2009. He was quickly hooked, and soon started his own brewing adventures. Like many brewers, Steve began with extract and transitioned into brew-in-a-bag before too long. He loved experimenting (an early attempt at smoked beer involved some Liquid Smoke added at bottling; do not try this at home, because even Steve grudgingly admitted that it wasn’t very good), and he also loved riffing off of commercial recipes. We would often bounce ideas off of each other, do side-by-side tastings, and give feedback for each others’ beers. We also had semi-regular “hostage swaps,” trading a growler of his homebrew for a growler of mine. Steve and I had many adventures in beer over the years, with brew days together, the San Diego AHA meeting in 2015, carpooling to club meetings, pouring our beers at festivals, and more. He was a creative brewer in ways that I am not–I like to carefully plan each recipe, and Steve was more the type to say, “hey, I wonder what happens if I add sage to this,” or “can I get an approximation of this style with a random yeast?” Steve’s sudden and untimely passing earlier this year has been hard–I lost a close friend, a role model, and a good brewing buddy.

In honor and memory of Steve, I wanted to brew one of “his” beers. A few recipes stand out for me – a sage saison, a Mirror Pond Pale Ale clone, and most all his Cali-Belgique recipe. Cali-Belgique IPA was one of Steve’s early brewing obsessions, attempting to clone one of Stone Brewing’s beers. No longer commercially available, Cali-Belgique was a modification of the flagship Stone IPA, fermented with Belgian ale yeast. Steve enjoyed this beer, and wanted to make his own version; I sampled a few early brews, as he got closer and closer to his vision for the beer. Along the way, it turned into an excellent recipe and one that was truly Steve’s own, not just a clone. I’ll forever associate this beer with him!

Crafting Steve’s Cali-Belgique

Unfortunately, I didn’t have Steve’s Cali-Belgique IPA recipe (I had never gotten around to brewing it myself, because I could readily get the beer from Steve), but I remembered that Steve pretty regularly phoned his recipes in to our local homebrew shop. So, I reached out to Charles at Pacific Brewing Supplies, and I was in luck! Charles happened to have the grain bill and hop list, which set us well on the way to reconstructing this recipe.

The latest version of Steve’s Cali-Belgique had 50% 2-row, 33.3% Belgian Pilsner malt, 8.3% Carapils, and 8.3% Dark Munich. Steve double-milled his grains, and Charles thinks Steve was hitting around 75% efficiency in his system. He started as an extract brewer, spent much of his brewing career using brew-in-a-bag, and spent the last part with an Anvil Foundry all-in-one system. Based on all of this, target gravity was probably around 1.064 or 1.065. For my own version, I increased the 2-row from 6 lb to 8 lb to improve the gravity on my system and make it match Steve’s system better. A future brew on my system should increase percentage on all grains. I assumed a mash temperature of around 152°, just for simplicity.

The latest version of Steve’s recipe included 1 oz. of Chinook (13% alpha), 2 oz. of Columbus (15% alpha), and 1 oz. of Centennial (10% alpha). I had to guess at usage, but assumed Chinook as the main bittering hop and then a combination of late hop and dry hop additions for the rest. Steve seemed to always be adjusting the recipe, so it’s safe to play around in the hopping approach, because that’s what he would do. Following Steve’s preferences and the original Stone IPA recipes, it was probably hitting around 65 IBU.

Yeast varied over the years, but Steve’s most recent batches used Abbaye or Monk dry yeast. For fermentation temperature, I remember the beer having the nice spicy yeast notes and phenols that come with a warmer temperature for these Belgian strains. So, I decided to ferment around 72°.

With all of this information gathered, it was time to brew and sample Steve’s Cali-Belgique. Cheers to you, Steve, and thanks for the many happy hours of stargazing, conversation, philosophy, and beer tasting.

Steve’s Cali-Belgique IPA Homage

  • 8 lb. 2-row malt (Great Western)
  • 4 lb. pilsen malt (Dingemans)
  • 1 lb. dextrin malt (Viking)
  • 1 lb. Munich dark malt (Viking)
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 1.15 oz. Chinook hop pellets (12.3% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.75 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), 10 minute boil
  • 0.75 oz. Columbus hop pellets (15.6% alpha), 10 minute boil
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Abbaye Belgian ale yeast (Lallemand)
  • 1 pkg. Monk ale yeast (CellarScience DY106B)
  • 1.25 oz. Columbus hop pellets (15.6% alpha), dry hop in fermenter
  • 0.25 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), dry hop in fermenter

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute infusion mash, 152°, full volume mash
  • 1.063 o.g., 1.016 f.g., 6.2% abv, 68 IBU, 6 SRM
  • Claremont water adjusted with lactic acid and minerals to hit 76 ppm Ca, 22 ppm Mg, 89 ppm Na, 182 ppm SO4, 110 ppm Cl, 20 ppm bicarbonate

Procedure

  • Starting with 7.6 galllons of water, I added 6.33 mL of 88% lactic acid, to drop out the carbonates. Then, I added 4 g of epsom salt and 4 g of gypsum to kick up the sulfates.
  • I heated the strike water to 159°, before adding the grains and 25.7 mL of 10% phosphoric acid, holding the mash at 152° (with recirculation) for 60 minutes.
  • At the end of the mash, I pulled the grains. In total, I had 6.75 gallons at a gravity of 1.052, for 68% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the kettle to a boil and boiled for 60 minutes, adding hops and finings per the recipe. Then, I turned off the heat and chilled the wort to 72° before transferring to the fermenter and pitching the yeast.
  • Starting gravity was 1.060. I brewed the beer on 30 March 2025, and fermented at ambient (~65°).
  • When I checked the fermenter on 1 April 2025, there was no activity in the airlock, so I opened the fermenter and confirmed no activity. I had a pack of Abbaye Ale yeast on-hand, so pitched that. Krausen was visible by the next day. I put a heat pad on the beer, but it got a bit hot; around 80° by 3 April. Oops! I let it ride at ambient at that point.
  • I kegged the beer on 14 May 2025, adding the dry hops in a bag. I removed the hops on 18 May 2025.
  • Final gravity was 1.015, for 6.0% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • A very clear, gold beer, which has a thick and persistent white head
  • Aroma
    • I get a strong sensation of pineapple in the aroma as the beer warms up; some moderate alcohol notes, too. Yeast character dominates, and I don’t get much for hops or malt.
  • Flavor
    • This is a very bitter beer with a resinous edge to the hops. It has a medium-low maltiness, with a light caramel quality. There is a touch of clove flavor as the beer warms. The bitterness lingers on the tongue.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body, medium carbonation, slightly dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • Yes! This beer goes down surprisingly smoothly, which I didn’t necessarily expect. I would like more dry hop aroma, and probably should just let the hops float free in the fermenter rather than bagging them. For a variant, I might try Eclipse and El Dorado, while keeping the same yeast. Mosaic or Galaxy could also work. The beer overall is quite good – the low hop aroma / low flavor complexity is the main reason that I gave it a lower score (no fault of the recipe – just my handling of the hops). That said, I don’t really remember Steve’s version of this having much for hop aroma. So, I might adjust the beer for my own preferences, but as something that captures his beer as I remember it, it’s pretty close!
  • Overall
    • 6.5/10
Steve helping with a festbier tasting, stacking my homebrew against commercial examples. I always enjoyed beer tasting with him…”I brewed up this new recipe…I’d love to get your thoughts on it!”

Patersbier 2025

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I love the concept of a patersbier (“Father’s Beer”), as a relatively light and low alcohol yet flavorful take on a Belgian ale. As with many Belgian ales that were associated with the monastic traditions, there is plenty of romance and a good dollop of fantasy around these brews. I’m not particularly interested into delving into historicity–I’m more interested in making a beer that I want to drink!

This particular version is a bit of a kitchen sink beer, intended to sweep out odds and ends from my brewing supply. Even so, I aimed to have a sturdy malt backbone. Hops were chosen, again, to use up a few varieties. I knew a Belgian yeast was in order, so Lallemand’s Abbaye Belgian fit the bill. It’s very different from the previous patersbier I made, which was a SMaSH with pilsner malt and Cascade hops.

Along the lines of my Brew Year’s Resolution to make more small batches, this was a 3 gallon batch. I also did a quick brew day, with 30 minute mash and 30 minute boil.

Patersbier 2025

  • 2.75 lb. Vienna malt (Weyermann)
  • 2 lb. 2-row malt (Great Western)
  • 0.5 lb. Caramel Munich 60L malt (Briess)
  • 0.5 lb. Munich II malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.25 lb. Caramel Malt 120L (Briess)
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 1 oz. Styrian Goldings hop pellets (3.2% alpha), 30 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Crystal hop pellets (4.5% alpha), 30 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Abbaye Belgian ale yeast

Target Parameters

  • 1.045 o.g., 1.015 f.g., 3.9% abv, 13 SRM, 26 IBU
  • Full volume mash at 158° for 60 minutes
  • Claremont tap water, no adjustment

Procedure

  • I heated the mash water to 164°, added the grains, and held at 158° with recirculation for 30 minutes. Then, I raised the mash to 168° for 10 minutes before pulling the grains.
  • In total, I collected 4 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.037, for 66% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the kettle to a boil and added hops per the recipe. After 30 minutes, I turned off the heat and chilled the wort to 68° before transferring to the fermenter.
  • Starting gravity was 1.044. Once I pitched the yeast, I let it ferment at ambient. I brewed the beer on 12 March 2025.
  • I kegged the beer on 24 March 2025. Final gravity was 1.013, for 4.1% abv. I added 1.5 oz. of corn sugar dissolved in ~0.5 cup of water and boiled, in order to do natural carbonation. I finished off the carbonation with forced CO2. At the time of kegging, a pleasant and spicy yeast character was evident.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Medium amber beer, clear, ivory head with good persistence.
  • Aroma
    • Moderately high yeast aroma with good phenolic character; spicy notes, some red apple. Some bready and caramel notes come through as the beer warms up.
  • Flavor
    • Spicy yeast character at the forefront; medium level of malt character with a malty, bread crust quality. Medium-low level of hops.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Light body, medium level of carbonation, dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is good for what it is–easy drinking and lots of yeast character. It’s a bit thin on the body, so might benefit from a touch more crystal malt. The yeast character is perfect! As compared with my previous patersbier, I like the 2025 recipe much better.
  • Overall
    • 7/10

Unruly Gnome Belgian Blond Ale

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La Chouffe is a darned good beer, and I will often get a pour if I find it on-tap at a quality alehouse (shout-out to The Back Abbey!). Belgian Blond Ale (or Belgian Blonde Ale) is not a style I have brewed previously, so it’s time to rectify that! I did a bit of research to find a clone recipe for La Chouffe, and a version from Brewer’s Friend inspired my own version, along with “The Gnome” recipe in Gordon Strong’s Modern Homebrew Recipes. The original recipe on Brewer’s Friend used decoction, but I decided to just put a little melanoidin malt into the grist instead. I also included a mash rest at 126°, in an attempt to improve the head.

Because this is an experimental beer, and a high alcohol one at that, I decided to make a small (3 gallon) batch.

Unruly Gnome Belgian Blond Ale

  • 7.75 lb. pilsner malt (Rahr)
  • 3 oz. melanoidin malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB (mash)
  • 12 oz. clear candi sugar (added to boil)
  • 1 oz. Styrian Goldings hop pellets (3.2% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Saaz hop pellets (2.0% alpha), 15 minute boil
  • 0.25 tap. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 0.5 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Saaz hop pellets (2.0% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. yeast nutrient WLN1000 (White Labs), 5 minute boil
  • 6 g. coriander seeds (Turkish), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Abbaye Belgian ale yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

  • 1.068 s.g., 1.009 f.g., 7.9% abv, 6 SRM, 21 IBU
  • Full volume step mash, with 15 minutes at 126°, 90 minutes at 146°, and 10 minutes at 168°; 60 minute boil
  • Water built up from RO and Claremont tap water, to hit water target parameters of 50 ppm Ca, 4 ppm Mg, 45 ppm Na, 56 ppm SO4, 82 ppm Cl, 10 ppm bicarbonate, RA=-30.

Procedure

  • To get my strike water, I mixed 2.5 gallons Claremont tap water and 2.5 gallons distilled water, added 2.1 mL of 88% lactic acid, 1/4 Campden tablet, 1 g CaCl, and 1 g CaSO4.
  • I heated the strike water to 131°, added the grains and 1 tbs. of 10% phosphoric acid, and held the mash at 126° for 15 minutes, before raising the temperature to 146° for 90 minutes. Then, I raised the mash to 168° for 10 minutes before pulling the grains.
  • In total, I collected 4.5 gallons of runnings at a gravity of 1.050, for 75% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, adding finings per the recipe. After a 60 minute boil, I turned off the heat and chilled to 74° before transferring to the fermenter and pitching the yeast.
  • I brewed this beer on 7 December 2024. Starting gravity was 1.070.
  • I had vigorous fermentation within 18 hours of pitching the yeast; temperature was down to 72°, and so I moved the fermenter into the fermentation chamber on 8 December 2024, and set it at 74°.
  • Fermentation (as evidenced by bubbling) was pretty much done by 10 December 2024.
  • I kegged the beer on 23 December 2024, adding 1 oz. of corn sugar in 0.5 cups of water for carbonation, and let it sit at room temperature.
  • Final gravity was 1.011, for 7.8% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Very clear gold beer that pours with a creamy and persistent white head of foam. It’s quite pretty! I’ll note that it clarified a bit more after the photos were taken (about 10 days before this post).
  • Aroma
    • Moderate spicy phenolic notes, but overall pretty clean. A little light caramel malt comes through, and some citrus quality with light alcohol notes as it warms.
  • Flavor
    • Moderately high bitterness, crackery malt at a moderate level, with a touch of candy. Balance is towards the hops a bit. Orange peel citrus comes through as the beer warms. The yeast is perhaps a touch more prominent than what I remember in the commercial beer.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Highly carbonated, light body, dry finish. It drinks very easily!
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a good start. The yeast was perhaps a bit forward in the early samplings of the beer, but it has mellowed considerably over time. It might benefit from lower temperatures with this dry yeast strain, or a different strain at least relative to the style ideal (probably Ardennes for my next version, which isn’t available in dry yeast form; Belle Saison is another dry yeast I’m considering). Even so, this beer is dangerously drinkable! I might dial hops back a touch, perhaps to 15 IBU or so. The bitterness on the finish is just a touch harsher than I like. The coriander doesn’t come through, so I could safely ditch it; I don’t think anything would be lost. I might also try a fresher coriander from a different source area, which could also help.
    • Note added 10 February 2025: The beer has cleared to brilliant now!
  • Overall
    • 8/10

Winter in Antwerp 2024

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I like to make a holiday beer every once in awhile, for drinking during the Christmas and New Year’s stretch. It’s an opportunity to do a smaller batch of something unusual, which might not warrant a full 5 gallons. This year, I chose a version of a recipe from Gordon Strong’s Modern Homebrew Recipes, called “Winter in Antwerp.” It’s a spiced Belgian ale, roughly in the realm of a dark pale ale (yes, that’s an oxymoron). I made some malt substitutions and also used the Abbaye dry yeast, although the overall “feel” is pretty close.

Winter in Antwerp 2024

  • 4 lb. 2-row brewer’s malt (Great Western)
  • 2 lb. Vienna malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 lb. aromatic malt 20L (Briess)
  • 0.5 lb. caramel malt 60L (Briess)
  • 0.5 lb. Caramunich II (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 lb. Munich dark malt (Viking)
  • 0.25 lb. biscuit malt (Dingemans)
  • 2 oz. chocolate malt (Bairds)
  • 2 oz. Special B malt (Dingemans)
  • 0.5 oz. Liberty hop pellets (5.0% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Liberty hop pellets (5.0% alpha), 10 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Liberty hop pellets (5.0% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 vanilla bean, split, scraped, and steeped for 5 minutes after the boil
  • 1 cinnamon stick, steeped for 5 minutes after the boil
  • 1 pkg. Abbaye Belgian ale yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

  • 1.068 s.g., 1.021 f.g., 6.2% abv, 30 IBU, 24 SRM
  • Full volume infusion mash, held at 156° for 60 minutes and 168° for 10 minutes
  • Claremont tap water with Campden tablet, with approximate ppm of 110 Cl, 50 SO4, 40 Ca, 156 HCO3, 12 Mg, 87 Na

Procedure

  • I heated 5 gallons of water (with Campden tablet) to 163°, and then mashed in the grains. I held the mash temperature, with recirculation, at 156° for 60 minutes before raising the temperature to 168° for a 10 minute mashout.
  • Once I pulled the grains, I collected 4.5 gallons of runnings at a gravity of 1.049, for 71% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe. After 60 minutes, I turned off the heat and added the spices in a mesh bag. Because the cinnamon was a bit old, I added two sticks (broken up). After a 5 minute steep, I removed the spices and continued the chilling process.
  • I chilled the wort to 78° before transferring to the fermenter. I chilled the rest of the way, down to 68°, in the fermentation chamber. I pitched the yeast at 68°, holding at this temperature for fermentation. Expecting a vigorous fermentation, I used a blow-off tube.
  • Starting gravity was 1.065. I brewed this beer on 17 November 2024.
  • I kegged the beer on 30 November 2024. Final gravity was 1.024, for 5.4% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Deep reddish amber beer, very clear; pours with a creamy and persistent ivory head. It’s very pretty!
  • Aroma
    • Some dried dark fruit character as the beer warms and a hint of very ripe banana. Rich maltiness, but just a hint. Very faint cinnamon as it warms.
  • Flavor
    • Bread crust malt character, dried dark fruit in the yeast, medium level of bitterness. Less complex than I expected!
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body, medium high carbonation, very slightly dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a good beer but nothing special. I was hoping for a bit more spice character, but there isn’t really any. I would probably increase the spicing rate a touch. For a similar beer next time, I would condition longer. It needs more body and malt “oomph”! Given all of the crystal malts, I’m surprised it doesn’t give the impression of more body. Perhaps for this kind of beer, it would benefit from a higher starting gravity or swapping in Munich for the 2-row malt. I would also age it for awhile longer. Another challenge is that I have this beer in my conditioning chamber, at around 35°, so it takes awhile to warm up after pouring. It’s definitely better at warmer temperatures!
  • Overall
    • 6/10