Barley, hops, and yeast descriptions
This little cheat-sheet describes some of the common ingredients used in our homebrews, mainly the Belgian-style beers.
Barley and Other Grains
Pilsner (2-Row or Belgian Pilsner) - Base malt. Comprises most of the grain.
North American 6-row pale malt - "Base malt for all beer styles. Contributes light straw color. More husk than 2-Row Malt. Higher enzymes than 2-Row malt. Well suited for high adjunct brewing 1." Used in the Spencer Trappist Ale clone.
Aromatic malt - Adds a deep amber or walnut brown color. Used in blonde.
Caramel 10 malt - Adds a light honey-like sweetness. The focus is on a sweet flavor. Used in wit and trippel.
Caramel 40 malt - Adds some amber color and a light caramel sweetness. Used in dubbel.
Caramel 60 malt - "This is the most commonly used caramel malt. It adds a full caramel taste and body to the beer 2." Used in the Spencer Trappist Ale clone. The naming conventions confuse me. Caramel Munich vs Munich. Is Caramel 60 the same thing as Caramel Munich 60L Malt 3 ? "... adds a rich amber to red color and caramel, roasted, malty flavors."
Caramel 120 malt - Adds a lot of dark color. "It has a toasted, bittersweet caramel flavor, with hints of burnt sugar and raisin 4." Used in dubbel.
Cara-pils malt - Dextrin malt. "... enhances the body, mouthfeel, and foam stability of the beer without affecting the color or flavor 5." Used in blonde.
Munich malt - Amber color and a vary malty flavor. Used in wit and dubbel.
Special B malt - Belgian malt with a roast or toasty flavor of dark caramel and raisin, a characteristic flavor in dubbels. "Larger amounts, i.e., more than a half-pound in a 5-gallon batch, will lend a plumlike flavor to abbey ale styles like dubbel 6." Used in dubbel.
Pale Wheat malt - This can aid head retention and provide a cloudiness to the beer. Used in wit.
Hops
| Hops | Country | Bitterness | Description |
| Amarillo | U.S. | Medium to High | Grapefruit/Tart/Lively |
| Centennial | U.S. | High | Rounded/Pine Needles/Tangerine |
| East Kent Golding | U.K. | Low to Medium | Dried Flowers/Moss/Plum |
| Hallertau | Germany | Low | New Leaves/Crisp/Grassy |
| Saaz | Czech | Low | Dried Herbs/White Pepper/Apples |
| Styrian Golding | Slovenia | Low to Medium | White Pepper/Moss/Undergrowth |
| Tettnang | Germany | Low | White Flowers/Straw/Peach |
| Willamette | U.S. | Low | Herbal/Woody/Pleasant |
Source 7.
Saaz might be the most common hops variety that I've seen used in Belgian beers. Amarillo, Centennial, and Tettnang were used in the Warbler Wit recipe. Tettnang and Tettnanger are the same thing. We were suppose to use Willamette hops with the Spencer Trappist Ale clone recipe, but we did not have any, so we substituted Tettnanger.
We used Nugget hops in the Spencer Trappist Ale clone. The Brooklyn Brew Shop book did not contain info on Nugget. From the Beer Advocate Hop Guide : "Nugget is a great bittering hop with a heavy herbal aroma." Wikipedia states, "Floral, resiny aroma and flavor. Primarily a bittering hop."
Yeast
Wyeast Belgian Strong Ale, 1388 - "The classic choice for brewing golden strong ales. This alcohol tolerant strain will produce a complex ester profile balanced nicely with subtle phenolics. Malt flavors and aromas will remain even with a well attenuated dry, tart finish 8." Used in wit.
Wyeast Trappist HG yeast 3787 - "A classic strain for brewing Belgian dubbel or Belgian tripel. This Abbey strain produces a nice balance of complex fruity esters and phenolics, making it desirable for use in other Belgian style ales as well. A flocculent, true top cropping yeast (additional headspace is recommended), that will work over a broad temperature range 9." Used in blonde and trippel.
White Labs WLP566 (Belgian Saison II) - "Saison strain with more fruity ester production than with WLP565. Moderately phenolic, with a clove-like characteristic in finished beer flavor and aroma. Ferments faster than WLP565 10." Used in saison.
Belgian ale dry yeast Safale S-33 - "General purpose ale yeast with neutral flavor profiles. Its low attenuation gives beers with a very good length on the palate. Particularly recommended for specialty ales and trappist type beers 11." Used in dubbel.
Our Belgian Homebrews
- Yellow Warbler Wit
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak Blonde
- Tricolored Heron Trippel
- Song Sparrow Saison
- Fox Sparrow Dubbel
- Spencer Trappist Ale Clone
Sources
The above information was culled from the following sources:
- Book: Make Some Beer
- Book: How to Brew
- Website: Wyeast Laborities
- Website: White Labes
- Website: Fermentis