5 yeast Belgian trial

[lou2row]

Made up a five gallon golden Belgian, then split it between five different yeasts in five one gallon jugs. Let them ferment out, bottled them up, and am starting the taste tests.

Hennepin bottle harvest: Very light scent. Foamy head. Some funk but flavor is light with a slight sour note. Wife did not like; said it had an "IPA" like taste. Reminds me of a extract kit Belgian I made that was a little heady for me young, but improved with age.

Pranqster bottle harvest: Very clean light scent with a very thin head. Nice Belgian taste. I can't tell if this is what people refer to as clove, but it is a familiar flavor from Belgians in the past. Wife liked this okay, said it was much smoother. I would make this in a five gallon batch.

 

[ChessRockwell]

Subscribed, interested to hear about the others.

 

[tagz]

Interesting. Keep them coming. You might consider quantifying the flavors somehow. Perhaps you could identify flavor elements (fruit, spice, tart, sweet, etc) and give each one a numerical value for intensity.

 

[lou2row]

Tagz, we actually did that a little with the Belgian "funk" on these.

 

[lou2row]

Fin du Mond bottle harvest: Fairly low head that dissipated quickly. Fruity scent with some funk. More of the Belgian funk than Flying dog or Orval, not as much as the Hennepin. Flavorful, but not overwhelming. Wife said has "twang" she doesn't care for; much like Henny but not as strong.

Flying Dog Belgian IPA bottle harvest: Best head of all, but breaks down fairly quick. Very light scent of fruitiness. Almost no Belgian character to start, but developed as it warmed. Wife at first said was bland, but as kept tasting felt was the best of the day's trial.

Orval Quad bottle harvest: Not much head from pour, but effervesced more than any of the five. Very light scent; sweet with a little clove. Fruity and clean with a light Belgian taste. Wife thought was most bland; but her last couple drinks the clove came to the forefront.

 

[lou2row]

Funk level (most to least):

1. Hennepin
2. Fin du Mond
3. Flying Dog
4. Pranqster
5. Orval

 

[Calder]

Nice experiment. What was the fermentation temperature.

 

[lou2row]

Nice experiment. What was the fermentation temperature.

In my basement; stays around 64 to 66 degrees. With they being one gallon containers, I doubt you would have as much thermal build to get it up in the 70s. I wanted to see what they did at my practical fermenting temps. My wife likes porters and stouts, so I try to shoot for less yeast driven flavors. Anything over the top and I am going to be alone in drinking all five gallons.

I will put up the recipe once I get beersmith loaded on my shop computer and transfer my recipes.