Last year, I had fantastic results with a Belgian pale ale, even if it’s not a style I typically make. They can be interesting beers, so it seemed worth another attempt. This time, though, I’m not worried as much about brewing to style as I am wanting to use up ingredients on-hand. The result is a kitchen sink recipe that tastes pretty good, even if it isn’t precisely any style. We’ll just call it a Belgian ale.

Odds ‘n’ Ends Belgian Ale

• 9 lb. 15 oz. 2-row malt (Rahr)
• 8 oz. Carared (Weyermann)
• 6 oz. honey malt (Gambrinus)
• 2 oz. Carafa Special II malt
• 2 oz. coffee malt (Simpsons)
• 2 oz. Special B malt (Dingemans)
• 1 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfrueh hop pellets (5.2% alpha), 60 minute boil
• 1 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfrueh hop pellets (5.2% alpha), 10 minute boil
• 1 oz. Saaz hop pellets (3.5% alpha), 5 minute boil
• 1 pkg. Abbaye Belgian ale yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

• 1.050 s.g., 1.013 f.g., 4.9% abv, 29 IBU, 13 SRM
• Full volume mash, 152° for 60 minutes, 168° mash-out for 10 minutes
• Claremont tap water adjusted with lactic acid and mineral additions, to achieve calculated water profile of 60 Ca, 6 Mg, 84 Na, 30 SO4, 137 Cl, 156 HCO3, RA=82 ppm.

Procedure

• I mashed in with 7.5 gallons of water at 158°, to hit a mash temperature of 152°. I added 4.3 mL of 88% lactic acid to adjust the mash pH.
• I held the mash at 152° for 60 minutes, while recirculating, before raising the temperature to 168° for a 10 minute mash out.
• After the mash, I removed the grains. In total, I collected 6.6 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.041, for 66% mash efficiency.
• As I brought the runnings to a boil, I added 1 g of CaCl to adjust the water.
• I boiled for 60 minutes, adding hops per the recipe. After 60 minutes, I turned off the heat and chilled the wort to 64° before transferring to the fermenter.
• I started with 5.5 gallons total and a gravity of 1.048. I brewed this beer on 7 April 2023, and fermented at 64°.
• On 15 April 2023, I pulled the beer to ambient.
• I kegged the beer on 30 April 2023. It had a final gravity of 1.010, for 5.1% abv. A thin white pellicle was forming on top of the beer, but overall it tasted just fine. Either way, I’ll need to do a deep sanitize/sterilize of my equipment.
• The beer was a bit hazy to start, but had dropped fairly clear by 23 May 2023, and had dropped brilliantly clear by 1 June 2023.

Tasting

• Appearance
  • The beer pours with a fluffy, ivory head that subsides to a persistent blanket across the entire top of the beer. The beer itself is a deep amber color and brilliantly clear.
• Aroma
  • This beer has plenty of clove yeast character at the front, with some black pepper. There is caramel and dark bread crust maltiness behind that.
• Flavor
  • Yeast is at the front, with clove and sweet apple fruitiness, with a bit of pepper. Malt character is smooth, with some caramel and bread. Moderate level of bitterness, but not much hop character otherwise.
• Mouthfeel
  • Medium body, medium carbonation, smooth finish with an off-dry quality.
• Would I Brew This Again?
  • This is overall a good beer, with interesting qualities but not too interesting. Is it a Belgian pale ale? Sure, we can call it that. I’m grateful that I caught the pellicle before it went too far down the sour or funky road….as it is, I don’t really pick up anything. Phew! It’s squarely in the category of “decent, but probably won’t be brewed again.”
• Overall
  • 7/10