I have recently been lucky enough to try New Belgium’s Belgo, and as a result I am now obsessed by the prospect of a Belgian IPA. To me the premiere ingredient in such a brew is the yeast, but I’ve never used Belgian yeast before. What Wyeast strain would be best for that “Belgian” taste?
WY3522 makes a good Belgian IPA. 3787 is always a go-to as well.
Wyeast 3522 is what I used in the one I brewed last spring. Tasted very similar to NB Belgo.
I find 3522 really complements the American hops I like to use in a Belgian IPA. Here’s my recipe…
#336 Belgian IPA
A ProMash Recipe Report
Recipe Specifics
Batch Size (Gal): 5.50 Wort Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 17.50
Anticipated OG: 1.083 Plato: 19.93
Anticipated SRM: 6.6
Anticipated IBU: 100.9
Brewhouse Efficiency: 73 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Pre-Boil Amounts
Evaporation Rate: 1.50 Gallons Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 7.00 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.065 SG 15.89 Plato
Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
94.3 16.50 lbs. Pilsener Germany 1.038 2
5.7 1.00 lbs. CaraVienne Malt Belgium 1.034 22
Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.
Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
0.50 oz. Amarillo 2007 Whole 9.50 4.6 First WH
0.50 oz. Simcoe 2007 Whole 12.30 6.0 First WH
1.00 oz. Cascade (homegrown) Whole 8.10 7.9 First WH
1.00 oz. Summit Pellet 18.00 55.0 60 min.
1.00 oz. Centennial Whole 8.60 18.4 30 min.
1.00 oz. Amarillo Whole 8.90 9.0 10 min.
0.50 oz. Simcoe 2007 Whole 12.30 0.0 0 min.
0.50 oz. Amarillo 2007 Whole 9.50 0.0 0 min.
1.00 oz. Cascade (homegrown) Whole 8.10 0.0 0 min.
1.00 oz. Cascade (homegrown) Whole 8.10 0.0 Dry Hop
1.00 oz. Amarillo Whole 7.30 0.0 Dry Hop
1.00 oz. Chinook 2008 Whole 13.00 0.0 Dry Hop
Yeast
WYeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes
Mash Schedule
Mash Name:
Total Grain Lbs: 17.50
Total Water Qts: 24.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Total Water Gal: 6.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Tun Thermal Mass: 0.13
Grain Temp: 65.00 F
Step Rest Start Stop Heat Infuse Infuse Infuse
Step Name Time Time Temp Temp Type Temp Amount Ratio
sacc 0 60 152 152 Infuse 168 24.00 1.37
Total Water Qts: 24.00 - After Additional Infusions
Total Water Gal: 6.00 - After Additional Infusions
Total Mash Volume Gal: 7.40 - After Additional Infusions
All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.
All infusion amounts are in Quarts.
All infusion ratios are Quarts/Lbs.
I was going to brew something similar today but I could not stop sneezing when I was getting my water ready.
I use the white lab equivalents of 3787 (530) and 3522 (550). They work great with this style although I probably like the Ardennes yeast better for this style.
I am going for a gravity of 1.075-80 and 40 IBU.
I am going to use Centennial and Sterling for bittering, Styrian Goldings for flavor and then hop bomb with some Saaz. I will probably dry hop with Saaz too.
I love this forum. There is never any question that goes unanswered. I noticed Denny’s recipe used the type of hops you’d expect in a nice big IPA. I was thinking of using Nugget and Williamette hops for my recipe, the thinking being that their spicy/herbal flavor would balance with the Belgian yeast well, any thoughts on that? Has anybody used that combo for an IPA before?
recipe looks awesome denny! thanks for sharing!
I am not a fan of Nugget or Willamette, but if you like them, you should brew with them. Everybody has different ideas of what they think tastes good. Sometimes combinations of things I don’t like turn out to be amazing. I had an unhopped English ale last week that was spiced with bog mertle and it reminded me of a Fuller’s ESB.
i have been brewing a Belgian ipa’s for a while, i was trying to clone flying dog brewery’s raging bitch. on my 2nd or 3rd attempt i made a beer that i enjoyed much more than the raging bitch, that is extremely close to the new Belgian belgo.
10 lb 2row
.5 lb crystal 10
.5 lb crystal 20
1 lb torrified wheat
50g centennial first wort hop
50g centennial 10m
50g centennial dry hop 10days
wlp 550 i ferment this @ room temp around 72
i mash at 145 for 15 mins than raise to 155 for 45 mins mash out at 170
you may want to scale this down a bit i 7%ish beer out of this and the belgo is around 6 i would also replace the c20 with a bready tasting malt like biscut.
thanks for the recipes, I’ve been wanting to try this style sometime.
