Belgian Golden Strong Ale

17 September 2006 @ evening time | Comments (0)

Perhaps one of my favorite styles of beer is the Belgian strong ale. It has a beautiful yellow-gold color and a fruity and slightly spicy aroma that lightly mixes with its smooth malt flavor. Basically, it’s just so damn tasty. With any luck, this first attempt will land itself somewhere in the realm of Russian River’s Damnation Golden Ale.

The recipe

• Style: Belgian Golden Strong Ale
• Type: All grain
• Batch size: 5 gal
• Color: 6 SRM
• Bitterness: 27 IBU
• OG: 1.071
• FG: 1.011
• BU/GU: 0.38
• Alcohol: 7.7%
• Mash: 76% efficiency
• Yeast: Belgian Golden Ale (WLP570)
• Grain:
  • 9 lb. Pilsner malt (Belgian)
  • 1 lb. CaraVienne (Belgian)
  • 0.25 lb. Dextrine malt (Cara-Pils)
• Boil
  • 1.5 lb. Belgian candi sugar (clear, 60 min)
  • 1 tsp. Irish moss (10 min)
  • 0.5 oz. Dried orange peel (5 min)
• Hops:
  • 1.25 oz. Northern Brewer (60 min)
  • 1 oz. Styrian Goldings (aroma)

The result: 3.5/5.0

The final result of this beer has a fairly strong phenolic aroma with some light hints of apple and pear. Alcohol is notable on both the aroma and mouth, creating a bit of residual warmth. Huge white head, light amber color, and moderately clear in appearance. Its spiciness and bitterness definitely lingers on the finish for a while. There is a bit of mouth-coating, possibly from a high mash temp (157F), but not so much to cause serious problems. All in all, a decidedly strong, refreshing, spicy, and warming Belgian beer.

Lessons learned

• It’s good to check that there actually is a filter inside your GE SmartWater filter prior to usage, especially when the “filter” you think you’re using is actually a rotting wad of paper mush that used to be the water filter’s instructions, stored inside the casing.
• Having a backup propane tank is a Good Idea.