Belgian tripel.

For some reason Belgium and beer go together as well as pizza and beer. Having been there a few times and wanting to go back, that's Belgium I mean. ( I've been to pizza many times and go often. ) I can say their beer and their beer culture has a tremendous appeal to someone with a creative streak, such as a home brewer. Belgium has a long historic relationship with alcohol as the Trappist monks would fund their monasteries through production and sale of beer.

Belgian beers encompass everything from lightweight sours through fruit beers to seriously heavy Belgian Quads of about 10%, they have breweries and recipes that have lasted through centuries and yeast strains just as old. A beer for everyone and for any occasion. Problem is, to buy Belgian beers in Australia you need to take out a 2nd mortgage on your humble cottage.

There is another way.

As a home brewer you can just crank one out of the fermenter and enjoy.

The availability of dry yeasts today can help make any style, and a few google searches can find a recipe for an all grain mash using locally available ingredients to satisfy any taste.

My latest brew is a Belgian Tripel.

Its described as a strong pale or blond ale with a high alcohol content 7.5% to 9 %. Golden in colour with spicey and fruity esters and a dry finish.

Historically was the strongest beer in the Trappist monastery's lineup of bev's enjoyed by the monks and those donating to the cause. Though I don't believe the tradition is as continuous as thought considering the interruptions of wars and laws over the last few centuries. From the Napoleonic war through 2 world wars, the destruction of monastic culture was great. But those monks are cunning fellas and rebuilt their breweries many times and even now have copyright over the name 'trappist beer' so their market is safe.

Names like "La Trappist Tripel", "St Bernardus Tripel" and the ever popular "Chimay Tripel," they have a reputation of being a beer to taste and sample more so, than chug, and with the Aussie dollar pricing there is no chugging to be done. Till now.

The Chugging Tripel.

Brewed at the Habit six monastery, now known as The six Habits.

Definition: Habit: A settled practice, one that is hard to give up. or, A long loose garment worn by a member of a religious order.

Brewer Monk. Abbot Andrew.

Monastery, The Six Habits.

Beer. Chugging Tripel.

Start with a good quality Pilsner malt, chase a bitterness of 25-35 IBU's, add some Noble hops for tradition, and aim for an original gravity of around 1.080 with simple sugars. Finally ferment with a Belgian Abbey style yeast.

For a 21 Litre batch

Gladfield Pilsner Malt 7kg 88.1%

Gladfield Munich malt 0.25kg 3.1%

Dextrose 0.7 kg 8.8%

30g Magnum for clean bittering at 60min

30g Tettnang for traditional flavour at 5 min

Yeast Fermentis Abbey Ale Be 256 11 grams x 2

Mash in a fine crush at 52 degrees for 10 mins as a protein rest and another 60 mins at 65 deg. The protein rest is not really required with modern malts but traditional for a Belgian, it also gives me a chance to doe in completely while waiting for my system to reach mash temp.

Lauter and sparge to get as high a gravity as you can.

Pop it on for a boil and calculate the amount of dex needed to get the desired Original Gravity. 60 minute boil will do it.

The dextrose will increase the alcohol content and lighten the beers body while not contributing any flavour or aroma.

Brewfather calculated this as needing 700g dex to come in at an Og of 1.080 with my system profile and a few salt additions in my water.

Ferment at around 20 Degrees for 7 - 10 days with a small cleanup rise in temp the last couple days and cold crash. Add finings in the crash and bottle or keg. I like to bottle these ones, and bottle condition too, it just seems right, suits champagne bottles. These bad boys go well with Mussels and Belgian fries or Pizza.

Brew Love Andrew