Belgian Strong Ale

Classification: strong ale, Belgian ale, Belgian strong, van Steenberge Golden Dragon, all-grain

Source: Dion Hollenbeck (hollen@vigra.com), r.c.b., 12/13/95

This is as close to the original Golden Dragon as I have been able to get and it is darn close. Golden Dragon took first place in its category at the California Beer Festival and another van Steenberge beer, Piraat, took Best of Show. These are excellent beers, and IMHO, mine is right up there with them.

Ingredients:

18# pale malt
1 lb. Belgian amber candi sugar
1 oz. of Fuggles
1/2 oz. Tettnanger
1/2 oz. coarsely ground coriander seeds
1/2 oz. sweet orange peel
yeast grown up from a bottle of van Steenberge Golden Dragon Belgian Strong Ale

Procedure:

Mash in and protein rest at 122F for 25 min. Raise to 151F, rest for 90 min. Raise to 168F, rest for 10 min. Sparge. Collect 7.5 gals. Add 1 lb. Belgian amber candi sugar when it begins to boil. 1 oz. of Fuggles at 90 min., 1/2 oz. Tettnanger at 30 min. 1/2 oz. coarsely ground coriander seeds and 1/2 oz. sweet orange peel at 10 min. Collect 5 gals (about 1 gal left behind in boiler - since I cannot get the last bit out, this is the recipe you get).

Pitch at 75F with two liters of healthy yeast grown up from a bottle of van Steenberge Golden Dragon Belgian Strong Ale. Ferment at 75F for 10 days and rack to secondary. Ferment at 65F for 3 more weeks, closed up in a SS fermenter to naturally carbonate it with a pressure relief valve set at 25psi. Cold condition at 38F for two months. Rack to serving keg.

Will yield an SG of about 1.090 and a FG of about 1.016. Enough alcohol for you??

Specifics:

OG: 1090
FG: 1016