Belgian Strong Amber (12/19/12)

Aroma: Black pepper, clove, apple.

Taste: More clove, with notes of toasted bread and nuts in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Light in body, with lively carbonation. Very drinkable.

Overall impression: The Munich and Biscuit malts add a nice sweet maltiness to balance the classic Belgian yeast aromatics. I'm going to re-brew this beer soon. Next time I'll dial back the maltiness just a bit, lower the bitterness by ~5 IBUs to increase its crowd appeal, and add some aroma hops for complexity.

This beer is a variation of the Golden Bear, which I've brewed a couple of times before, both times being universally well-received. That beer was in the style of a Belgian golden strong ale: a pale, dry beer dominated by fruity (think apple, pear) and spicy (think black pepper) yeast flavors. I'm a big fan of the WLP570 yeast, which is from Duvel Moortgat. This time, I decided to give the beer a bit more color and malt flavor by adding some Munich and Biscuit malt.

Vitals:

OG: 1.071
FG: 1.006
ABV (Est): 8.5%
IBUs (Tinseth): 33

Yeast: WLP570 (Belgian golden ale)
Starter: 3 liters
Pitching temp: 66F
Max temp: 70F

Malts Mashed		Amount	%	Max Pts.
Biscuit		0.5	4%	36.00
Munich		1.5	13%	36.00
2 Row		8	67%	36.00

Other Fermentables		Amount	%	Max Pts.
Cane Sugar		2	17%	46.00

Hops/Additions		Amount	Time	AA%
Saaz		3	60	3.0%

12/21/12: Added 2 lbs of sugar.

12/27/12: Gravity is 1.008.

1/1/12: Bottled at 1.006 to 2.9 volumes of CO2.