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The Finished Belgian Single I've been tweaking my Belgian Trappist Single recipe for some time now. Each iteration has gotten me a little closer to my goal, which is a Single that I'm happy to drink and which (I hope) would do well in competition.  My last version , made in July 2017, came the closest yet. The previous version could have used more floral/herbal notes in the aroma, so I've added a late hopping with Hallertau Mittelfruh to provide that.  I include coriander and sweet orange peel in the recipe to help provide some fruity notes, too. I've also included a  ferulic acid rest  in the mash to provide the yeast with the precursors needed to increase esters and phenols.  I recently read that this is common in many Belgian breweries.  The same source also suggested a two-step mash, with the first step at 145F and the second at 162F, so I included those in the mash as well. It wasn't as clear as it could be, so I'm treating it with White...

Tonight I decided to run yet another test to dial in the gravity and volume calculations for my sous vide based brewing setup.  Since I had a Dubbel, Tripel, and Quad fermenting, doing a Trappist Single seemed like a good next step. I have a Single recipe that I've been pretty happy with, but still wanted to tweak it a bit more.  This was a good chance to make those tweaks and see work on the calculations at the same time. Ingredients 1 pound and 7 ounces 2-row Pilsner Malt 1 ounce Aromatic Malt 1 ounce Cara-Pils Malt 1 ounce Melanoidin Malt 0.15 oz. Styrian Goldings hops pellets @ 6.2% AA 60 min. 0.25 oz. Czech Saaz hops pellets @ 3.2% AA 15 min. 0.20 oz. Czech Saaz hops pellets @ 3.2% AA 5 min. 0.25 oz. Sweet Orange Peel 0.10 oz. Crushed Coriander 1/4 tsp. Irish Moss Wyeast 3787 Trappist High Gravity yeast According to my BeerSmith calculations, this brew should have the following characteristics: Style:  Trappist Single Original G...

One of the beers I've brewed that I enjoyed the most was an extract-based Belgian Single from a recipe on the E.C. Kraus web site.  Having made the switch to all-grain brewing, I wanted to take a stab at brewing an all-grain version of the beer.  Using the Kraus recipe and the BJCP guidelines for the Trappist Single style, here's my all-grain recipe. The Recipe and Ingredients 8 pounds of Belgian Pilsner Malt 7 ounces of Biscuit Malt 4 ounces of Aromatic Malt 1 pound of Brewer's Crystals 1.25 ounces of Sweet Orange Peel 0.25 ounces of Indian Coriander, crushed in a mortar and pestle 0.8 ounces of Styrian Goldings hops pellets at 6.2% AA 1.25 ounces of Czech Saaz hops pellets at 3.2% AA 1 ounce of Czech Saaz hops pellets at 3.2% AA 1/2 teaspoon of Wyeast Yeast Nutrient 1 Whirlfloc tablet 1 tablespoon of pH 5.2 Stabilizer 1 package of Wyeast 1762 Belgian Abbey II Ale Yeast 90-minute mash at 152F followed by 167F mashout for 10 minutes 90-minute boil with h...

Back in late July, I made an extract-based Belgian Single using a recipe from E.C. Kraus.  The beer turned out to be one of the better ones I've made, and we've gone through (and given away) almost all of it, so I decided to try brewing a second batch. In my notes from the original version, I noted that I would dial the hops back slightly and add some sugar to dry out a little of the sweetness.  Here is the updated version 1.1 recipe: 1 pound Biscuit Malt 8 ounces Aromatic Malt 3 pounds Golden Light DME (early addition) 3 pounds Golden Light DME (late addition) 1 pound Brewer's Crystals (to boost fermentables) 0.5 ounces Styrian Goldings pellets (6.2% Alpha) - 60 minutes 1.0 ounces Czech Saaz pellets (3.2% Alpha) - 15 minutes 1.0 ounces Czech Saaz pellets (3.2% Alpha) - 5 minutes 1 package of Wyeast Belgian Abbey II yeast (1762) 0.5 ounces of Coriander, crushed 0.5 ounces of Sweet Orange Peel, crushed Yeast nutrient (based on package directions and kettle vo...

I recently brewed a Belgian Dubbel and my third or fourth Belgian Tripel, so it seemed worthwhile to brew a Belgian table beer - sometimes referred to here in the States as a Belgian Single.  The Belgian "Single" style is a lighter, more sessionable style than the Tripel or Quadrupel, due to its lower alcohol content.  But like the other more-common Belgian styles, it's got plenty of flavor and complexity. I found this recipe on the E.C. Kraus brewing supply site and decided to make it.  It was apparently supplied to them by David Ackley, a "beer writer, brewer, and self-described 'craft beer crusader'" who has a certificate in brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, so it ought to be a good recipe. I altered the original recipe, which called for Light DME and Wyeast 1762, to this: 3 pounds of Extra Light DME (early addition) 3 pounds of Extra Light DME (late addition) 1 pound of Dingeman's biscuit malt 0.5 pounds of Dingeman...