Skip to main content

In the Fermentor: A Dog Bit My Enkel, or how to have fun at a brewing party.

I was invited to my first brewing party a few weeks ago. A bunch of people would be brewing beers and I wanted to get in on the action. With only one brewing station setup, I knew the KISS method was important. With that in mind, I threw together this simple Belgian Abbey Enkel (Single) recipe. Enkels; usually seen in the US as an Abbey Blonde or 6, have a lower strength than their Dubbel, Tripel and Quad cousins. Mine is at the lower end of the Single strength scale, with a target ABV of 5.4%. Here's the recipe for a five gallon batch:

Grains:
6 lbs Pilsen Light LME (Liquid Malt Extract)
12 oz CaraVienne
4 oz Special B

Hops:
0.5 oz Sterling: 60 min
0.5 oz Saaz: 20 min
0.5 oz Saaz: 7 min

Yeast:
Safbrew T-58

Extras:
1 lb Clear Belgian Candy Sugar

Original Gravity:
1.052
Estimated Final Gravity:
1.011

Fermentation Schedule:
3 Weeks Primary
2 Weeks Bottle Conditioning

Cost: $15 per case
Rough Commercial Equivalent: Avery Karma: $29 per case
Savings: $14

It was a party, so there wasn't exactly careful monitoring going on. Grains were steeped at ~158F for about 30 minutes. The hops went in more or less on schedule during the 60 minute boil. Candy Sugar was added with 15 minutes-ish left.

I usually shy away from dry yeasts, but I'd read positive things about Safbrew T-58. Rumor has it that it comes from Chimay. Dry yeasts are easier to work with and less expensive (a recurring theme here) than liquid, so I grabbed a pack for the party and gave it a whirl. I was shocked at how quickly the yeast went to work. Within a few hours, the fermentation lock was bubbling rapidly. I was also shocked with how fast it was done doing its thing. After 48 hours, fermentation ground to a halt. I'd read that T-58 was a fast worker, but had low attenuation. I'll report back in a few weeks with gravity readings, tasting notes and a pretty picture.

To the astute reader, it probably looks like I have a love of both Belgian Beer and Belgian Candy Sugar. You would be correct. However, I promise that in the next "In the Fermentor" article, I will be brewing something completely different.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Out of the Bottle: Insert clever use of the word Wit here

My latest Wit was a hit at my friend's birthday party. He especially liked the beer's citrus components. Others found it to be light and refreshing. I heard no Blue Moon comparisons, which actually made me quite happy. Compared to My Wit's End , this beer is much closer to style. Unmalted Wheat is part of the reason, as there's much less grainy sweetness at work. Instead, the beer is crisp and dry. The bitter orange peel really does its thing. The peel's sharp flavor melds nicely with the sweet orange peel I also used. Coriander pushes the beer's spicy character along. If I were to change anything, it would be to dial it back a notch or two. Some light sourdough aromas round out the flavor and aroma. Despite the relatively low ABV of right around 5.0%, the beer sports a fairly hefty body. Overall, I'm quite happy with this Wit. Next time, I'll hold back on the coriander. Maybe I will even take a shot at a Turbid Mash, which sounds like a great sub...
Post a Comment
Read more

Birthday Brewing: Dark Session Saison

I've been asked to brew all of the beer for my friend's Birthday. It's in mid-August, so I have to get everything going right now . There will be five beers in all: Dunkelweiss, Wit, Saison, Dark Saison and Kölsch. Rather than post all of the recipes at once, I'm going to spread them out into separate posts. My Session Saison and SMaSH Kölsch were already underway before I was asked to brew the other beers. The Dark Saison below is an extension of the Session Saison. I've expanded the original recipe to make a darker beer. CaraMunich Malt adds a little caramel sweetness, while Carafa II brings a light dark chocolate edge to the brew. The rest of the beer is as it was before, with the same hops and yeast. Adding extra grains does push the alcohol content up a bit, but the beer still shouldn't break the 5% ABV mark. I'm anxious to try my two Saisons out side by side and taste the difference that two extra grains can make. For five gallons: Grai...
Post a Comment
Read more

In the Fermentor: Wood Aged Quadrupel-Imperial-Doppel-Barley-Weizen-Wee-Sour

Who says you can't have everything? Well, I'm doing just that by creating a beer that combines the best aspects of eight big beer styles: Quadrupel, Imperial Stout, Doppelbock, Barleywine, Weizenbock and Wee Heavy. But wait, there's more! The beer will be aged for year with everyone's favorite bacterias to make a Sour. On top of that, Sherry infused oak cubes will provide that little extra something. A massive grain-bill, plus a healthy dollop of Candi Sugar should push the alcohol content up over 11%. Compensating for the strength is a biting combination of Noble, English and American hops. A Decoction Mash gives the beer an extra bit of German character. Heavily caramelizing the First Runnings provides more depth of flavor than a standard boil. For that extra push over the cliff, 11 malts are working to make the beer one louder. I'm giving this one at least a year of fermentation before I even touch it. Here's the five gallon recipe: Grains: 4 ...
Post a Comment
Read more