Belgian & French Ales What makes these beers unique? What are the homebrew challenges? Tom Johnstone London Amateur Brewers June 2013 

Belgian Beer: A History ● 530: The rule of St Benedict is written, including need for work to be self- sufficient, and to give hospitality to travellers ● 750: Charlemagne promotes monastery brewing ● 1098: The Cistercian Order is founded - they go on to establish themselves at Orval, Rochefort, and La Trapp (hence Trappists) ● 1790: The French revolutionary government suspends monastic brewing and confiscates their property. Monks flee France to go to America, but stop to brew beer in (what is now) Belgium and more or less decide to stay ● 1919: The Belgian government bans the sale of spirits in bars, thus creating a demand for strong beers. The monks oblige ● Over the next 71 years, the Belgians create the best beers in the world ● 1990: Unibroue in Canada, followed by New Belgium and Celis in the USA, start selling Belgian-style beer in North America. This introduces these styles to home brewers, who do what Americans always do: reinvent the beer using completely different, often outrageous, frequently ridiculous, but sometimes inspired ingredients and methods 

Belgian Beer What's it all about? ● It's gassy ● It's got weird tasting additives ● It's like the English weather: cloudy all the time ● There's no hops – where are the bloody hops?! ● It's strong! 

Belgian Beer Drink it in pints... 

No content

Yeast & Fermentation ● Yeast flavours very much part of most Belgian ales. They are not masked with heavy hopping YOU CAN”T HIDE BEHIND THE HOPS ● Factors that produce “good” yeast aromas & flavours also produce “bad” aromas & flavours. This is why brewing good Belgian beer places more of an emphasis on great fermentation than for beers with more neutral yeast ● Temperature during primary fermentation can range from 15C-27C, though typically tops out around 23C. – Belgian yeasts can crash if the temperature is too high and is suddenly cooled. Brewing in summer this can be a problem, especially with very vigorous fermentations at higher temps, which will raise the temp even more ● Trick is achieving the best fermentation temperature profile for the yeast and beer style/characteristics you're aiming for. 

Fermentation: “Hot” Belgians No, not that type, Dave Halse... 

Fermentation: “Hot” Belgians http://untamedbeer.com/2011/03/25/fermentation-temperature-experiment/ Wyeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes yeast Pale Ale recipe 1.064 OG Two fermentations: 20C and 27C 

Belgian Yeast: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly ● The Good – High alcohol tolerance – High attenuation – Esters: Fruity aromas, Citrus, Pinnapple, Banana* – Phenols: Pepper, Spiciness, Cloves* ● The Bad – Esters: ethyl acetate (solventy), isolamyl acetate (banana) – Fusel alchohols ● The “Ugly” – Cloudiness due to low flocculation, protein haze 

● http://www.whitelabs.com/files/belgianchart_0.pdf 

Beyond Yeast: Fermentables ● Pilsner malt used as base malt in many/most ales ● Sugar commonly 15-20% – Plain old sucrose – Belgian “candi” sugar is actually caramelised sugar, NOT candi rocks ● Sparing use of darker malts ● For Wit: About 50% unmalted wheat 

Beyond Yeast: adjuncts ● Misconception that spiciness & citrus notes come from added spice – often not the case. Most Trappist beers do not have spices added ● Some breweries add small amounts of spices (e.g. coriander), but balance is key ● Citrus peel (orange, lemon) 

Beyond Yeast: hops ● Typically Styrian Goldings, Hallertau, Saaz used for bitterness, flavour & aroma ● Subdued use of hops, particularly flavour and aroma. Bittering used to counter alcohol sweetness ● Use of New World hops now becoming more common in small breweries 

Beyond Yeast: Wild beasts ● Brettanomyces: “Wild” yeast strain – introduces funk/barnyard aromas to beer – Can dominate if not careful – Extremely high attenuation: caution – Different strains of Brett with different characteristics ● Lacto: Some degree of sourness is sometimes present in Wit beers, due to.... 

BJCP Category 16: Belgian & French Ales ● 16A. Witbier ● 16B. Belgian Pale Ale ● 16C. Saison ● 16D. Bière de Garde ● 16E. Belgian Specialty Ale 

16A: Witbier ● 50:50 malted barley and unmalted wheat ● Whitish pale and cloudy ● Sweet up front with a crisp, dry finish ● Sometimes spiced with coriander ● Sweet orange peel or Curaçao can also be used ● Sometimes has very subtle lactic fermentation 

16B: Belgian Pale Ale ● Pislner or pale malt, with added Vienna or Munich malt for colour and body/complexity ● Sugar often not used due to lower alcohol ● Amber/copper in colour, quite clear ● Fruity, malty, spicy 

16C: Saison ● Season summer beer from Wallonia (French part) ● Mainly pilsner malt, with a little Vienna or Munich and sometimes wheat ● Pale, golden and sometimes cloudy ● Often more hopped than other Belgians ● Also use of “local” herbs and spices ● Sourness and acidity in some examples ● Fruity, citrusy aroma, fruity taste, moderate spiciness ● Moderate hop bitterness – more so than other Belgians 

16D: Bière de Garde ● From the North of France, Calais region ● “Beer that's been kept” ● Strong ale (avg. %6.5) ● Can be pale, amber, brown or dark ● Aged in barrels prior to bottling ● Original version made by Brasserie Duyck now called Jenlain, an amber beer ● Unlike many Belgian beers, yeast is fairly neutal/discrete ● Medium hoppiness, little hop flavour: Malt dominates 

16E: Specialty ● YES – this is where all you hopheads go ● And BRETT-heads ● What you are trying to do should be clearly described ● Still an emphasis on balance ● Many small breweries now playing with New World hops (e.g. De Rank, Popperings) 

Belgians: They LOVE washing up