Oh beer...how you come in so many different colors and flavors... I'm currently enjoying something from the Kiuchi Brewery in Japan, and was surprised at the amount fo ginger flavor that hit me immediately. It makes me want to totally avoid all this 'to style' brewing I do daily. I guess it's sort of a Picasso thing- most great artists change history through their creation of something completely new on the basis of their strong understanding of their art form. Picasso painted classically first, and studied art, and then did his own thing. I meet a lot of brewers who have created their own recipes without a basic grasp of what they're looking for, and don't get what they're looking for, and may be good or bad. I feel a study of the different brewing styles, even those you don't like, is a good thing. It gives you a strong base to create from.
On to the beer...
Beer #25 - Westneworleean 12
Style: Belgian Dark Strong Ale (18E)
Recipe: For 1 Gallon (Extract)
2.5 lb Light Liquid Malt Extract
2 oz Amber Belgian Candi Sugar
2 oz Aromatic Malt (135L) (steeped at 152F for 20 minutes)
2 oz CaraAroma Malt (steeped at 152F for 20 minutes)
.25 oz Styrian Goldings Hops (3.4%) (30 minutes, full boil)
Wyeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes
Beer notes: I tried to simplify this style, but wanted the flavor to remain complex. I've seen recipes upwards of 12 different grains. I'm planning on a warm fermentation, which can bring out a lot of unique phenolic flavor in Belgian yeast. After using this yeast a few times now, I'm a big fan. The Ardennes seems like a very versatile Belgian Yeast. Any sort of Abbey ales- Dubbel, Tripel or just Belgian Strongs, it has a great spicy and fruity aromatic flavor to it. OG rang in high, I may need to add a little water. It makes a big difference in these small batches. Reading was 1.113.
Cheers!
Aaron
UPDATE 9/10/2009 (12 Hours) : I added more water, and may have went a bit too far! I'm down to 1.070 for a gravity now. A bit low...
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