Trappist Ale

Classification: Trappist ale, Belgian ale, extract

Source: Rex Saffer (saffer@stsci.edu), r.c.b., 2/14/94

This is the third batch of this ale I've made in the last 5 days, each time propagating about 1-2 fluid ounces of yeast left over from the previous starter after pitching, but this is the first one using Irish moss. Both previous batches showed a strong cold break immediately after sparging, with many, many particles about the size of large sand grains settling slowly to the bottom of the carboy. The morning after each boil, about 2 inches of trub was visible at the bottom of each carboy, fairly cohesive so that it was not much disturbed during the racking to the fermenter.

This morning, when I went down to rack the wort to the fermenter, there was less trub than before at the bottom of the carboy, only about 1 inch. It was quite fluid, not stuck together as usual, and it sloshed gently about the bottom of the carboy at the slightest disturbance. Large (1-2 inch diameter), milky, gelatinous, stringy, and irregularly shaped globs of precipitate were floating all throughout the wort. As I racked into the fermenter, I could see these globs being sucked up into the siphon hose and into the fermenter. Since I was having a homebrew, I didn't worry, but went ahead and completed the racking, pitched the yeast, attached the blowoff hose, and covered the carboy. But this time my smile was slightly distorted by the furrow of puzzlement that appeared upon my brow.

Ingredients:

6.6# M&F plain light extract
3.3# M&F plain dark extract
1.0# Clover honey
1 oz Fuggles leaf hops @ 3.3% alpha
1 oz Boullion leaf hops @ 7.1% alpha
1 oz Hallertauer leaf hops @ 5.4% alpha
1 oz Cascade leaf hops @ 6.4% alpha
1 tsp Irish moss
Yeast Lab Trappist Ale liquid yeast culture

Procedure:

Add 1 oz Fuggles + 1/2 oz Boullion hops to 8 pt cold H2O, bring to boil. Add malts and honey, bring back to boil for 60 min. At 30 min, add 1/2 oz Boullion + 1/2 oz Hallertauer + 1/2 oz Cascade hops + 1 tsp Irish moss. At 5 min add 1/2 oz Hallertauer + 1/2 oz Cascade hops. Sparge directly into 2 gal cold H2O in 5 gal carboy (note wort chiller *not* used...). Sparge water was previously boiled and allowed to cool to about 175 deg F. Stopper and cool overnight in basement (which at this time of year is a nearly constant 60-62 deg F). Rack into clean, sanitized carboy, leaving trub behind. Pitch yeast (about 18 fluid ounces of starter, just after high krausen), attach blowoff hose, cover to exclude light, and smile while having a homebrew.

Trappist Ale

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