Belgian Ale – Pierre Rajotte

Note the mash filter in the background and the crushed malt hopper. Photo by Jérôme Denys. Some of the mash tanks have incorporated false bottoms and others use a separate lautering device. The sparging of the grain is accomplished in a traditional lauter tun or in a device called a mash filter. This device receives the whole mash pumped onto a plate with a frame filter especially constructed for sparging.

There the mash is held in place between filter cloths and pressure is applied. The wort is then automatically filtered and the necessary sparge water added. Modern versions of these filters are completely automatic and are said to deliver a very clean wort in less time than traditional devices. – Brew Kettles – Brew kettles come in all kinds of shapes and materials.

Copper is still widely used and the most popular. Larger breweries who have purchased new equipment tend to favor stainless steel. Some breweries have brew kettles with no vents or chimney to direct the kettle vapor outside. Needless to say, the smell of wort is quite noticeable in those breweries. Under the kettle, all kinds of heat sources are used: steam, gas, and even coal shoveled by hand. Some brew kettles have rotating paddles inside to prevent caramelizing of the wort. Both pellet and whole flower hops are used. After the boil the hot wort is usually put through a centrifuge to separate it from the hot break and the pellets.

When whole hops are used the hop residue is usually squeezed in a special device to wring out the last drop of wort. Under Belgian law, the beer becomes taxable right after the boil, therefore every effort is made to retrieve or keep wort on which the brewer has already paid taxes. – Wort Cooling- Although plate-type heat exchangers are now quite commonly used, traditional brewers still rely on the open Beaudelot wort cooler.

None of the brewers I visited used pure oxygen to aerate the wort; they all relied on filtered air. After a second cooling, the slow fermentation starts in open tanks. During this fermentation period, the yeast mounting to the surface is skimmed off daily. At the end of this fermentation, this mash has turned into beer.

Photo courtesy of Leifmans Brewery. – Fermenters – Fermentation takes place in all kinds of vessels. Larger breweries rely almost exclusively on cylindroconical fermenters. These are usually large enough to be installed outside. Being totally insulated and jacketed with glycol Systems, they can be cooled or even warmed to adjust the ambient temperature.

Classic Beer Style Series Edited by Ed Yost Copyright 1992 by Pierre Rajotte ISBN-13: 978-0-937381-31-1 ISBN-10: 0-937381-31-4 EISBN: 978-1-938469-31-2 Published by Brewers Publications, a division of the Brewers Association PO Box 1679, Boulder, Colorado 80306-1679 USA (303) 447-0816 • FAX: (303)447-2825 BrewersAssociation.org Direct all inquiries/orders to the above address.

All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, no portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the publisher. Neither the author, editor nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for the use or misuse of information contained in this book. Cover design by Robert L. Schram Cover photography by Michael Lichter, Michael Lichter Photography. Table in cover photo courtesy of The Country Cricket, Antiques and Collectibles, Boulder, Colo.

Photographs and labels courtesy of Pierre Rajotte, Jérôme Denys, Iain Loe of the Campaign for Real Ale, Chuck Cox, Eric Warner, Leifmans Brewery and Rodenbach Brewery. A special thank you to Walter Lewis of Sabena Belgian World Airlines and Durobor Glassware of Belgium. 1kitap1.com/en Table of Contents Acknowledgements About the Author Foreword Introduction Chapter 1: History of the Belgian Style Advent of Hops Regional Palates Innovation Based on Tradition Legal Classifications Chapter 2: Character Profiles of Belgian Beers Trappist and Abbey Beers Special Beers Ales and Saisons White Beer Oud Bruin Chapter 3: Brewing Belgian Beers—Materials and Equipment Sugar Malt Hops Mash Tanks Brew Kettles Wort Cooling Fermenters Chapter 4: Brewing Belgian Beers—Processess Brewing With a Belgian Masterbrewer Fermentation Ester Formation Higher Alcohol Refermentation in the Bottle Technique Chapter 5: Recipes for Belgian Beers Recipe Notes Using Malt Extract Appendix A: Commercial Examples Appendix B: Reading Belgian Beer Labels Appendix C: Belgian Brewing Schools Glossary Index Bibliography 1kitap1.com/en Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following persons who have contributed directly or indirectly in the preparation of this book.

First and foremost is Joris Van Gheluwe, a retired brewmaster. His encyclopedic knowledge of brewing science, and his generosity in letting me use many references in his extraordinary private library were of utmost importance in preparing the text in its historical perspective. His personal review of the manuscript confersed a seal of authenticity on its content.

Equally important is Jérôme Denys of “Le Cheval Blanc” whose generosity made possible the brewing of some of the recipes, and the conducting of all kinds of weird experiments. He also contributed personally by visiting breweries and taking numerous photographs of establishments that I could not visit.

Alain Fisette of “Les Promotions ZIG-ZAG” (agents for many of the breweries mentioned in this work) contributed by obtaining many technical specifications of beers presently brewed in Belgium, and by presenting the style in its right perspective. His keen sense of tasting was also invaluable.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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