Belgian Double Hopped Shaggy Blond Ale

Batch Size: 5 Gallons

Grain Bill:

• 8 lbs 2 Row Pale American Malt
• .5 lbs Carapils – Dextrin Malt
• .5 lbs 70l Caramel Malt
• .25 lbs Rolled Oats
• 1 lb Dark Mountain Honey

Hop Schedule:

• 1 oz Summit hops @ 75 Min (Start of Boil)
• .5 oz Summit hops @ 60 min
• .5 oz Summit hops @ 30 min
• 1 oz UK Progress @ 30 min
• 1 oz UK Progress @ 5 min

Additives

• .5 oz sweet orange peel @ 10 min flame out
• 1 oz coriander @ 10 min flame out
• Super Moss @ 10 min to flame out

Specs:

• O.G. 1.056 – 16 Plato
• Single Grain mash at 150-154 degrees for 1 hour for sugar conversion. Raised temperature to 158 for sparge out.
• SA04 Dry Ale Yeast – alcohol tolerant to 10%. Good Flocculation and Sedimentation. Medium Attenuation.
• Fermented at 65 degrees on primary for 5 days and secondary at 50 degrees for two weeks.
• F.G. 1.010

Tasting Notes

This brew will please the palettes of many beer connoisseurs. It is brewed with traditional Belgian spices (sweet orange peel and coriander), using American dry ale yeast and malts, with a bit of honey for higher alcohol and lighter mouth feel.  A small percentage of rolled oats have been added to the recipe to aid in head formation. A generous amount of hops have been applied to bitter the beer in order to balance the malt and to add a floral aroma to the nose.  Dextrin malt has been added to increase the body to handle the added hops, and a small amount of caramel malt has been added to darken the color a tad in order to reflect the heftier body and alcoholic weight of this ale.  The alcohol content weighs in at an estimated 6.5%. While present, it is not overpowering and the beverage drinks easily. Fruity aroma’s from the UK Progress Hops, Coriander and Honey dominate the nose. The finish is dominated by the bittering affect of the summit hops.  The beer is dry, with a spicy yet refreshing depth. It has a consistency and mouth feel similar to a ginger ale, yet with much greater depth and complexity. The immediate finish is dominated by orange and citrus flavors.

This brew is a hybrid between a traditional American IPA and a Light Belgian Double Blonde Ale. The pairing suits both styles well. The brew has the body of a Belgian beer with all of the associated complexities, yet manages to have the dry finish of a highly attenuated IPA. The combination is a surprisingly good balance between hoppy, malty and Belgian flavor profiles.

Served under low carbonation the brew drinks similar to an English ESB perhaps due to the UK Progress Aroma Hops and Dry Ale Yeast which produces slight fruity esters. Under low carbonation the head remains small and lacy on the glass. Under high carbonation, the brew drinks closer to a Belgian double with a full 1 inch thick head of white foam originating from the underlying oats and dextrin malts.

If produced again, I would only potentially change the hop profile. A bittering hop and floral aromatic fruity hop should be used. The addition of a cascade hop or centennial hop during a dry hopping phase could potentially add additional citrus notes on the nose which may add additional complexity.  The citrus flavor in the brew today becomes present on the finish.

This beer would be best served as a late summer or early springtime beer. There is not enough color or malt backbone to serve as a fall or winter beer. It would pair well with most foods, especially spicy foods and aged sharp cheeses.