Beer.003 - Belgian Patersbier/Single-ish Beer
I've been wanting to brew a beer like this for a while, but hadn't gotten around to it. A recent trip to Belgium inspired me to get on it! I had Orval's "Orval Vert," which is their lower-ABV version of their flagship/export beer-- it was great! It was a nice day out on the day off I had, so I decided to brew this at the last minute.
I had some Shoreline malt kicking around that I have been doing some testing/experimenting with, so I decided to use mostly their pilsner malt for the base, with a little bit of wheat as well (mostly for foam stability/head retention). I added a touch of Special B to give a bit of colour, a slight touch of body, and a subtle nuance of dark fruit. I have heard from a few places that Orval uses Special B, as do a handful of other Trappist breweries, so I felt it was good (It's a Belgian malt to begin with, so I deemed it apt). I also tossed in a bit of Cara-Pils/Dextrine, just for foam stability (this is actually my first time using Cara-Pils). Recipe below.
Batch size: 21L
BH Efficiency: 66%
Mash: 25min @ 145F
25 min @ 158F
10min @ 168F
(Hochkurz-type mash)
Boil: 90 minutes
IBU: 36-40
ABV: 4.5-4.8% projected
Water:
I believe I used the Brussels water profile in Bru'n Water-- not because it was from Brussels, necessarily, but because it had a profile that looked close to what I was thinking. Not too high in sulfate or chloride, but enough to give me what I wanted. There is also an Orval profile on there, but I didn't quite like the look of it. In hindsight, BeerSmith didn't match the target very well-- if I were to brew this again, I would do my own water in Bru'n Water, and would have used Epsom salt to get more magnesium.
Target profile:
Ca: 100
Mg: 12
Na: 18
SO4: 70
Cl: 41
Bicarb: 250
(32 L Halifax Water)
Grist:
Hops:
I had some Shoreline malt kicking around that I have been doing some testing/experimenting with, so I decided to use mostly their pilsner malt for the base, with a little bit of wheat as well (mostly for foam stability/head retention). I added a touch of Special B to give a bit of colour, a slight touch of body, and a subtle nuance of dark fruit. I have heard from a few places that Orval uses Special B, as do a handful of other Trappist breweries, so I felt it was good (It's a Belgian malt to begin with, so I deemed it apt). I also tossed in a bit of Cara-Pils/Dextrine, just for foam stability (this is actually my first time using Cara-Pils). Recipe below.
Batch size: 21L
BH Efficiency: 66%
Mash: 25min @ 145F
25 min @ 158F
10min @ 168F
(Hochkurz-type mash)
Boil: 90 minutes
IBU: 36-40
ABV: 4.5-4.8% projected
Water:
I believe I used the Brussels water profile in Bru'n Water-- not because it was from Brussels, necessarily, but because it had a profile that looked close to what I was thinking. Not too high in sulfate or chloride, but enough to give me what I wanted. There is also an Orval profile on there, but I didn't quite like the look of it. In hindsight, BeerSmith didn't match the target very well-- if I were to brew this again, I would do my own water in Bru'n Water, and would have used Epsom salt to get more magnesium.
Target profile:
Ca: 100
Mg: 12
Na: 18
SO4: 70
Cl: 41
Bicarb: 250
Grist:
| 4.50 kg Shoreline Pilsner Malt (2 Row) Can (1.6 SRM) 88.2 % 0.25 kg Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) 4.9 % 0.25 kg Shoreline Wheat Malt, Can (3.0 SRM) 4.9 % 0.10 kg Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) 2.0 % |
Hops:
| 15.00 g | Hallertau Magnum [14.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min | 23.9 IBUs | |||
| 30.00 g | Saaz [3.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min | 3.7 IBUs | |||
| 20.00 g | Hallertauer Hersbrucker [4.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min | 3.3 IBUs | |||
| 20.00 g | Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min | 3.3 IBUs | |||
| 30.00 g | Saaz [3.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min | 2.0 IBUs | |||
| 20.00 g | Hallertauer Hersbrucker [4.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15.0 min, 194.4 F | 2.3 IBUs | |||
| 20.00 g | Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15.0 min, 194.4 F | 2.3 IBUs |
Since this brew day was impromptu, I didn't have time to source the exact yeast I wanted, nor did I have time to run around to multiple shops to look for it. I opted to get a dry yeast pack of the Mangrove Jack M47 Abbey Ale Yeast. I rehydrated when I started my brewday.
I added quite a bit of hops to this, in my opinion-- I wanted it to be full of noble hop character. Everything went pretty well for the most part. Mash temps were about 145/157/166, which is totally fine by me. The goal is to hit both of the amylase ranges, and then do a mash-out for a clear transfer. I had a bit of wort leftover, so I transferred it to a small pot to boil to make a bit of a starter for the yeast, as I had a feeling I wouldn't be pitching that night (ground water temps were note cold enough to get the wort down to pitching temp).
After mashing, I did a pitcher & strainer type vorlauf a few times, then slowly filled my kettle up to the 2nd rivet on the handle, which if I remember correctly, is something like 24L, but I honestly can't remember. I would like to calibrate my kettle a bit better in the future. Pre-boil gravity was 1.042.
My boil took a while to achieve, and then my propane ran out 40 minutes in, 10 minutes after I added my bittering hops. I was forced to run out and get more propane, and decided to pick up an additional tank so that this wouldn't happen again. It took me probably 15 or 20 minutes to get this done, so I reduced the remainder of my boil from 51 minutes down to 40, to account for the steeping time (think whirlpool isomerization). It also took me a good while to get back up to a boil, probably another 20 minutes. After that the rest was pretty standard. It was quite late at the end, so I cast into a carboy at around 90F, and let it cool overnight.
My OG ended up being 1.046, which is pretty near where I wanted it (I wanted the beer to be somewhere between 4-5%). I pitched the yeast the next day at around 72F, and saw signs of fermentation the following morning. This is a bit warmer than I like to ferment, but my keg fridge is too full to put a carboy in right now, and I don't want to disturb the temperature of the kegs in there. I need to get a separate fermentation chamber made up! So unfortunately, this batch is going to be fermented at ambient temp. I will be able to put it in my furnace room for a couple days for a diacetyl rest, though.
Will update as the beer finishes!
11 Aug 2019:
I decided to add a dry-hop with the remainder of the hops I had for this batch--
10g H. Hersbrucker
10g H. Mittelfrueh
30g Saaz
Activity is pretty slowed down now-- I put the carboy in my furnace room for a diacetyl rest, which is approximately 2-3 degrees warmer than ambient room temp. Will leave for a couple days, check gravity, then likely package (keg). For the record, the beer was brewed on Monday 5 August-- active fermentation was observed on Wednesday, and it seems to have finished for the most part. So the dry hop is being added on day 5, in my book.
11 Aug 2019:
I decided to add a dry-hop with the remainder of the hops I had for this batch--
10g H. Hersbrucker
10g H. Mittelfrueh
30g Saaz
Activity is pretty slowed down now-- I put the carboy in my furnace room for a diacetyl rest, which is approximately 2-3 degrees warmer than ambient room temp. Will leave for a couple days, check gravity, then likely package (keg). For the record, the beer was brewed on Monday 5 August-- active fermentation was observed on Wednesday, and it seems to have finished for the most part. So the dry hop is being added on day 5, in my book.
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