The Belgian (an Ale)

One of my favorite things to do is order something interesting that’s on tap at my local restaurant, then try to replicate it at home. That’s what happened when I tried Brewery Ommegang‘s Hennepin some months ago.

I was able to find a clone recipe published by Brew Your Own magazine.

As is typical, of course, the ingredients that I found weren’t exactly what was in the recipe. But what I made was a fantastic beer!

The Belgian
(5 gallons, extract only)

OG = 1.073 FG = 1.010 IBUs = 24 ABV = 8.1%

Fermentables

• 6.6 lbs. Muntons light malt extract syrup
• 0.5 lbs. Muntons light malt extract powder
• 1 lb. light candi sugar
• 1 lb. dark candi sugar
• O.75 cups corn sugar (for priming)

Bittering

• 1.25 oz Styrian Golding hops (bittering hop)
• 0.5 oz Saaz hops (bittering hop)

Yeast

• Wyeast 1214 (Belgian Abbey) yeast
• Wyeast 1388 (Belgian Strong)

Adjuncts and Additives

• 1 tsp. Irish moss
• 1 oz. dried ginger root
• 1 oz. bitter orange peel

Step by step

Heat three gallons of water to boiling. Remove from heat and stir in the malt syrup, powder and candi sugar. Resume heating and bring the wort to a boil. Add Styrian Golding (bittering) hops, Irish moss and boil for 60 minutes. Add the ginger root, bitter orange peel, and 0.5 oz Saaz (aroma) hops for the last 9 minutes of the boil.

When done boiling, strain out hops, add wort to two gallons of cool water in a sanitary fermenter, and top off with cool water to 5.5 gallons. Cool the wort to 80º F, aerate the beer and pitch your yeast. Allow the beer to cool over the next few hours to 68–70º F, and ferment for 10–14 days. Bottle your beer, age for two to three weeks and enjoy!