This is the 3rd installment in our quest for Belgian Pale Ale.  As you may tell from the picture it seems extra pale and not the orange tones as in the last two.  I used about half a percent of Weyermann Carafa in the grist of the previous example, and a darker crystal malt in the first.  I forgot to include Carafa in this bier, thus the Belgian Extra Pale Ale moniker.

BPA III

15#   GW 2-row

2#    Weyermann Vienna

1#    Briess C-20

2 oz   Cascade   6.3% aa  @  90 minutes

2 oz   US Tettnang            @  KO

3/8 oz  Cascade                @  KO

Wyeast 3711 French Saison & 3739 Flanders Golden Ale

Irish Moss & Yeast Nutrient, No salts added

28ish quarts.  Mashed @ 15: 30 minutes, then up to 167.  Ph : 5.1/5.2

OG:  1.051

TG:  3711: 1.008   84.3% AA, 5.73% abv

       3739 : 1.007   86.3% AA, 5.86% abv

The 3739 shows to be a "true top cropper".  It had a giant krausen.  It also proved to be a big attenuator at about 86% in this bier.  Our usual star, the 3711 yeast, produced an unbelivably sluggish ferment.  I recieved both yeasts at the same time.  (I believe they were both stamped September 17th?)  And for some reason that package of 3711 was bunk.  It finished though.  I still have a pack from that lot, but since then Wyeast has offered it up as a product available year around.  Woot!

When I mashed this bier I intended to saccharify at 152F, but I overshot it and rolled with it.  Even at a higher temp, both yeasts attenuated fabulously.  When tasting this bier, I can tell that it has more mouthfeel and viscosity than the previous BPA.  That one I mashed at 152.  This 3711 BEPA is deep gold with a nice white head that produces some lacing.  It's super fruity with big tropical esters, like pineapple.  There's flowery hop, maybe some citrus in the nose and on the palate.  It's pretty balanced and drinkable with some remaining bitterness on the tongue.  I still want it to be a smaller bier, let alone with more color.  I'm shooting for a 5.2% bier next time.  I'll also have the De Koninck yeast, the Schelde, for the next one.

I drank some Belgian Pale today. We finished the keg with the 1214 strain. It was good. Estery and more earthy than the one we have now. Currently on draft is the Belgian Pale fermented with the 3944 Belgian Wit strain. It's very different. The emphasis seems to be more so on the malt and hops. At least in this case. I can get the Styrians in the aroma. It has phenols, but I think those have become more background to malt and hops. It's balanced, dryish, slightly malt emphisized. Biscuity from Castle Biscuit and grainy from the GW 2-row. The aftertaste is fully grainy 2-row. I thought that I liked the 1214 half more, but now I'm not sure. They were both good. I should have them next time side by side.

My next task is to buy a bag of Gambinus Pale malt and compare it with GW 2-row.

Single day, double shot.

On the tuesday of Spring Break I opted to make a batch of beer. April Fool's! I decided I'd make 2 batches of beer back to back in one day! I know. You say Sam Calagione used to brew 2 or 3 batches a day 5 days a week when he first opened Dogfish Head. Well, it was a first for me and my body ached for days afterwards.

My friend Wade opened up his garage for use. I usually make beer in the great outdoors, so it was nice to be semi indoors and have the heat dish available. I started assembling gear at 8 am. I brewed for about 9 hours and was there for a total of about 12. When the kettle came up to a boil for the first beer I began heating the hot liquor for the second while I was cleaning out the mash tun. It worked fine, but I think I could've shaved a few minutes off at this point. The biers:

Ahtanum 'ApriFoo' Saison

14# 5oz Castle Pils
3# 12oz Wagner hard white wheat
5 oz Ahtanum pellets 5.5% AA (2.5@90min 2.5@ KO)
Wyeast 3711 French Saison

9.75 gallons @ 1.049 OG


Cracklin' Belgian Pale

17.5# Great Western 2-row Brewers Malt
1.25# Briess C-40
3/4# Castle Biscuit 25L
5 oz Slovenian Goldings 4.7% AA (3.5@90 1.5@ KO)
Wyeast 1214 Belgian Ale & 3944 Witbier

10+ gallons @ 1.051 OG


That's 20 gallons in under 12 hours. Both are in primary. The Saison has fermented between 76 & 80F with the Pale at 66-68F.














Rosie Russnet: Brewing Assistant and Brown Dog