For the summer, I wanted to have a fruit beer, but instead of the classic American wheat, I wanted something a little bigger. So, I decided to go for a big Belgian golden strong – especially since I had peaches and strawberries given to me by a friend. With all of the kids activities, I haven’t had as much time to squeeze in brewing – and it’s a fruit forward beer – so I decided to make it an extract batch. Additionally, I wanted to give it a little additional residual sweetness, so I added a bit of lactose to the batch. Here’s the recipe:
Belgian Golden Strong with Fruit
25-C Belgian Golden Strong Ale
Size: 10.5 gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 276.83 kcal per 12.0 fl oz
Original Gravity: 1.083 (1.070 – 1.095)
Terminal Gravity: 1.021 (1.005 – 1.016)
Color: 6.9 SRM (3.0 – 6.0)
Alcohol: 8.19% (7.5% – 10.5%)
Bitterness: 36.4 (22.0 – 35.0)
Ingredients:
3 lb (14.1%) Dry Extra Light – added during boil
12 lb (56.5%) Dry Light – added during boil
2 lb (9.4%) Pilsen Malt – added during mash
4 lb (18.8%) Corn Sugar – added during boil
.25 lb (1.2%) Lactose – added during boil
3 oz (66.7%) Saaz (5.0%) – added during boil, boiled 60 m
1.5 oz (33.3%) Saaz (5.0%) – added during boil, boiled 30 m
2 tsp Wyeast Nutrient – added during boil
Belgian yeast
2lb of fruit per gallon – added in secondary fermentation
I ended up splitting the 10 gallons into two 5 gallon batches to ferment, and then added 2lbs of peaches per gallon to one and 2lbs of strawberries per gallon to the other during the secondary fermentation.
Final verdict: My friends and family seemed to love the peach one, especially during the hot summer, and it went down easy. The peach flavors went nicely with the light Belgian yeast spiciness. The strawberry one had a good aroma, but the flavor was much more subtle. Overall, they were both good, big, summer fruit beers.