RSSI have been on a big Belgian ale kick lately so when it came to creating a holiday beer recipe this year I decided to try my hand at creating one of my own. I love Belgian ales that have a mixed flavor profile of a German Hefe and a spicy Belgian ale so I decided to steep German Carawheat, which is the dark wheat used to create German Dunkelweizen to give the Belgian pale malt a little more wheat flavor, and then I added two different types of sugars, brown and Belgian candy… the Belgian candy sugar gives the distinct Belgian ale flavor, but the brown sugar ads a deeper rich backbone, and then I add both ground Cloves and ground Nutmeg to give it a spicy holiday kick. The result was better than I could ever expect. It is spicy, rich and complex… it is a wheaty, banana, clove, holiday punch in the taste buds.
Ingredients:
4.5 Gallons of water
1lbs of German Carawheat crushed
8lbs of Belgian Pale Extract
1lbs 8oz Brown Sugar
1lbs 275L Belgian Candy Sugar
1oz Sterling Hop pellets @ 60min
1oz SAAZ Hop pellets @ 20min
.5oz SAAZ Hop pellets @ 10min
1oz Ground Cloves
1oz Groung Nutmeg
Wyeast 1762 Belgian Abby Ale II yeast
Extra Equipment Needed: The only extra equipment you might need to make this beer is a steeping bag. They run about 5 bucks at your local homebrew shop.
Directions: Place the pound of crushed German Carawheat in your steeping bag make sure to tie the top tight so the grains do not escape. Place the steeping bag in your water as it comes to a boil. Your water should take a good half hour to come to a boil so make sure to stir your steeping bag every 5 minutes. You should immediately see that your water turns almost amber from the crushed grains. Remove your steeping bag when the water reaches 170 degrees.
When you remove your steeping bag, lift out allowing it to drain into your pot…don’t squeeze the bag, just let it drip dry and then place aside. Once your water begins to boil, remove from heat and add in your Belgian pale malt extract making sure to stir the water so the bottom doesn’t scorch. Next add your brown sugar also stirring the wort to mix it in and then add your Belgian candy sugar also stirring. Once the extract, brown and Belgian sugar has been added, crank up the heat and bring your wort to a boil.
When a good rolling boil has been reached add 1oz on Sterling Hop pellets and start your timer for 60min. Keep an eye out for boil overs. After 40min of boiling add your flavoring hops (1oz SAAZ Hop pellets) and at 50min add your last .5oz of SAAZ Hop pellets.
At 60min, turn off the heat and add in the 1oz of ground Cloves and 1oz of ground Nutmeg and give your wort a little stir. Once your wort stops boiling use your spoon to create a whirlpool in your wort and set aside for your normal way of cooling… I use a water bath. Once your wort is cooled down to about 68 degrees move to your fermenter, top off your water to 5 gallons and pitch your yeast. Also make sure to take note of your starting gravity so you can figure out your final ABV.
Let this guy ferment for about 10 days and then bottle. Once bottled, store at room temperature for another 10 days in a dark place and then pop in the fridge for consumption.
OG: ~1.060
FG: ~1.010
ABV: ~6.56%
what do i need to do to get my lips on one of these bottles?
you know what you have to do…