L'Appel du Vide (4/1/12)

After learning that we could acquire yeast sourced from De Dolle Brouwers, one of our favorite Belgian breweries, we knew we had to brew something with it. The yeast will take the lead in this beer, producing lots of spicy phenols and fruity esters. We added some sugar to the recipe, as we are wont to do with Belgians, in order to prevent the beer from ending up too sweet. (Funny how brewing works, sometimes.)


On a whim, we also added a very small amount of grains of paradise, a pepper-like African spice used in some Belgian-style beers, such as Chimay Grand Reserve (Blue) and Ommegang's Rare Vos. This being our first time brewing with spices, we only used a quarter of a gram, or about 20 seeds, crushed and added at the end of the boil. Grains of paradise have an intense and complex pepper/lemon/ginger flavor, which we hope will complement the flavors contributed by the yeast.


Batch Size: 2.5 gal
Boil Volume: 3.5 gal
Calculated OG: 1.073
Measured FG: 1.016
Calculated ABV: 7.5
Calculated IBUs (Tinseth): 40
Pitching Temperature: 63F
Yeast: Wyeast 3942 (De Dolle)
Starter: none
Fermentation vessel: Bucket

Other Fermentables		Amount	%	Max Pts.	Color
DME		3.25	75%	42.00	2.00
Corn Sugar		1.1	25%	42.00	0.00

Hops/Additions		Amount	Time	AA%	IBU's
Nugget		0.5	60	12.5%	40
Grains of Paradise		0.25g	5		0.00

Temperature dropped to 61F the night after pitching, and the beer showed no signs of fermentation after 12 hours. We warmed the beer up to 70 the next day, and it has fermented steadily since then. Sugar added on the third day of fermentation.

Tasting notes 5/2/12: Pepper, lemon, pear, watermelon, rose. Lingering spicy note in the finish. Balanced bitterness. Still fairly cloudy. Could be drier, but still very crisp and drinkable. Delicious.