Brewing a Clone Beer (Westvleteren 12)

Previously in this series of articles on How to brew different Styles of Beer? we covered Brewing an American Brown Ale, this time the Beer Style comes from the ‘Specialty Beer’ category in the BJCP 2015 Guidelines and is the style of a Clone Beer. Specifically the Trappist beer Westvleteren 12 by Brouwerij Abdij Saint Sixtus which is a Belgian Quadrupel.

In the following sections we are going to examine different aspects of this style such as its background, the style guidelines, ingredients used, sample recipes, brewing process, and finally the outcome of brewing a batch of this beer.

Background

Westvleteren 12 is my personal favorite beer as it is with many other drinkers of craft beer. This has been shown by it repeatedly being voted the best beer in the world.

This beer is a Belgian Quadrupel of 10.2% ABV and produced in limited batches by the monks at Abdij Saint Sixtus. Given the beer’s rarity and high price to purchase, if you can find it, I decided it would be a perfect beer to try and clone.

According to the BJCP Guidelines the Specialty Beer category is for those beers that do not fit anywhere and that the Clone Beer style is meant for clones of specific commercial beers that aren’t good representations of existing styles.

Belgian Quads and Belgian Dark Strong Ales are very similar in style with the former being a bit fuller in mouth-feel with some extra residual sweetness compared to the latter.

No commercial examples of this style are cited within the guidelines.

Guidelines

In the BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines there were two categories where clones could be specified:

• 16: Belgian and French Ale
  • 16E: Belgian Specialty Ale
• 23: Specialty Beer

These have now been replaced in the BJCP 2015 Style Guidelines by the following category and styles:

• 34: Specialty Beer
  • 34A: Clone Beer
  • 34B: Mixed-Style Beer
  • 34C: Experimental Beer

In both the old and new style guidelines the vital statistics vary depending on the declared beer and style (if appropriate). In the case of Westvleteren 12 these are as follows according to Brew Like a Monk:

• Original Gravity (OG) = 1.090
• Final Gravity (FG) = 1.012
• Alcohol By Volume (ABV) = 10.2%
• Bitterness (IBUs) = 38
• Color (SRM) = 40

Ingredients

According to Brew Like a Monk these are the ingredients used when brewing Westvleteren 12:

• Malts: Pilsener and Pale malts.
• Hops: Northern Brewer (for Bittering), Hallertau & Styrian Goldings (for Flavoring).
• Yeast: Westmalle strain.
• Water: Not specified.
• Additions: Various sugars (sucrose & caramelized sugar).

For the purposes of the next recipe section below are the ingredients for the Belgian Dark Strong Ale style given that a Belgian Quadrupel is very similar in style:

• Malts: Impression of a complex grain bill, although many traditional versions are quite simple.
• Hops: Saazer-type, English-type or Styrian Goldings hops commonly used.
• Yeast: Belgian yeast strains prone to production of higher alcohols, esters, and sometimes phenolics are commonly used.
• Water: Not specified.
• Additions: Caramelized sugar syrup or unrefined sugars. Spices generally not used; if used, keep subtle and in the background.

Recipes

Due to it not being possible to obtain the exact recipe for this clone beer I had to extend the search to include Belgian Dark Strong Ale recipes in order to get a base that could then be tweaked and adjusted.

These recipes for 5 gallon batches come from leading authors in the homebrewing community together with some analysis on how they comply with the ‘known’ recipe:

– Belgian Dark Strong –

Source: Zymurgy (Sep/Oct 2007 issue p.41)
Author: John Applegarth

Ingredients (6 gal batch):

• 10.75 Lb Pale malt
• 1.75 Lb Dextrin malt
• 1.0 Lb Vienna malt
• 1.0 Lb Aromatic malt
• 1.0 Lb Special B malt
• 13 oz Flaked Barley
• 0.75 Lb Wheat malt
• 0.5 Lb Biscuit malt
• 2.0 oz Chocolate malt
• 3.0 Lb Piloncillo sugar
• 1.0 oz Styrian Goldings hops (bittering – 60 mins)
• 0.75 oz Styrian Goldings hops (flavoring – 30 mins)
• White Labs Trappist Ale yeast (WLP500)

Process:

• Boil for 90 mins
• Ferment @ 70-74 deg F (21-23 deg C) for 7 days in primary
• Ferment @ 70 deg F (21 deg C) for 40 days in secondary

Statistics:

• OG: 1.097
• FG: 1.012
• ABV: 11.2%
• IBU: n/a
• SRM: n/a

Analysis:

• Malts: A complex grain bill that does not reflect the simplicity of the Westvleteren 12 ingredients or Belgian Dark Strong Ale style.
• Hops: The variety is listed for both Westvleteren 12 and Belgian Dark Strong Ale style though the former has this as one of three hop varieties.
• Yeast: The choice is appropriate for both Westvleteren 12 and the Belgian Dark Strong Ale style.
• Statistics: Compared to the Westvleteren 12 statistics the Starting Gravity is 7 points above whilst the Finishing Gravity is correct resulting in an extra 1.0% of alcohol content. Bitterness and color are not specified for the recipe.

– Brew Like A Homebrewer –

Source: Brewing Classic Styles
Author: Jamil Zainasheff & John J. Palmer

Ingredients:

• 15 Lb Pilsener malt
• 3 Lb Munich malt
• 0.5 Lb Wheat malt
• 1.0 Lb Aromatic malt
• 1.0 Lb CaraMunich malt
• 1.0 Lb Special B malt
• 0.5 Lb Melanoidin malt
• 2.42 oz Hallertau hops (bittering – 60 mins)
• White Labs Abbey Ale IV (WLP540) or Wyeast 1762 Belgian Abbey II yeast

Process:

• Mash @ 153 deg F (67 deg C)
• Boil for 90 mins
• Ferment @ 68 deg F (20 deg C) rising to 72 deg F (22 deg C)
• Carbonate to 2.5 volumes

Statistics:

• OG: 1.103
• FG: 1.024
• ABV: 10.6%
• IBU: 31
• SRM: 20

Analysis:

• Malts: A complex grain bill that does not reflect the simplicity of the Westvleteren 12 ingredients or Belgian Dark Strong Ale style.
• Hops: The variety is listed for Westvleteren 12 but not the Belgian Dark Strong Ale style.
• Yeast: The choices are appropriate for both Westvleteren 12 and the Belgian Dark Strong Ale style.
• Statistics: Compared to the Westvleteren 12 statistics the Starting Gravity is 13 points above and the Finishing Gravity is 12 points above resulting in an extra 0.4% of alcohol content. Bitterness is 7 points lower and the color is half of what is expected.

– Gulden Draak –

Source: Clone Brews
Author: Tess & Mark Szamatulski

Ingredients:

• 16.75 Lb Belgian 2-row Pale malt
• 1 Lb German Crystal 65L malt
• 5 oz Belgian CaraMunich malt
• 4 oz Belgian Biscuit malt
• 2 oz Acid malt
• 1 Lb Rice solids
• 0.75 oz Brewer’s Gold hops (bittering – 90 mins)
• 0.25 oz Styrian Goldings (flavoring – 15 mins)
• Wyeast 1762 Belgian Abbey II or Wyeast 3787 Trappist High Gravity yeast

Process:

• Mash @ 152 deg F (66.7 deg C) for 90 mins
• Boil for 90 mins
• Ferment @ 70-73 deg F (21-23 deg C)

Statistics:

• OG: 1.107-1.109
• FG: 1.025-1.026
• ABV: 10.5%
• IBU: 26
• SRM: 26-28

Analysis:

• Malts: A complex grain bill that does not reflect the simplicity of the Westvleteren 12 ingredients or Belgian Dark Strong Ale style.
• Hops: The Styrian Goldings variety is listed for Westvleteren 12 and the Belgian Dark Strong Ale style. The Brewer’s Gold is an English variety so in-line with the Belgian Dark Strong Ale style but not Westvleteren 12.
• Yeast: The choices are appropriate for both Westvleteren 12 and the Belgian Dark Strong Ale style.
• Statistics: Compared to the Westvleteren 12 statistics the Starting Gravity is 17-19 points above and the Finishing Gravity is 13-14 points above resulting in an extra 0.3% of alcohol content. Bitterness is 12 points lower and the color is 14 points below what is expected.

Process

The recipe chosen for brewing this batch of Westvleteren 12 clone is the Belgian Dark Strong from Zymurgy Sep/Oct 2007 with the main reasons being:

• Belgian Dark Strong has the attenuation that Westvleteren 12 requires and the choice of hops is a close match though not as varied.
• Brew Like A Homebrewer has an attenuation that is not as low as Westvleteren 12 and might leave more residual sweetness.
• Gulden Draak has an attenuation that is not as low as Westvleteren 12 also the English hop choice is not desirable.

Below is the actual tweaked recipe that I went with:

• 12 Lb Belgian 2-row Pale malt
• 1.75 Lb CaraPils/Dextrine malt
• 13.8 oz Aromatic malt
• 13.8 oz Biscuit malt
• 13.8 oz Special B malt
• 13.8 oz Vienna malt
• 8 oz Flaked Oats
• 9.3 oz White Wheat malt
• 1.5 oz Dingemans Chocolate malt (600-700L)
• 1.0 Lb Rice Hulls
• 2.25 Lb Corn Sugar (dextrose)
• 1.2 oz Styrian Goldings hops (bittering – 60 mins)
• 1.2 oz Styrian Goldings hops (flavoring – 30 mins)
• White Labs Abbey Ale (WLP530) yeast

The recipe was modified with some of the quantities to adjust the IBUs upwards and also the following due to availability of ingredients:

• Flaked Barley substituted with Flaked oats for mouth-feel and increased White Wheat malt for head retention and body.
• Chocolate malt reduced due to having a higher Lovibond rating.
• I find adding Rice Hulls to stronger beers helps avoid a stuck mash.
• Change in yeast type as I have previously tried WLP500 and instead wanted to see how WLP530 performed.

The 5 gallon batch of beer was brewed following these steps:

• Charcoal filtering the borough water and leaving it to stand overnight in order to vent off the chlorine.
• Measuring out and milling the grains, also measuring out the hops and Irish Moss.
• Sterilizing the fermentation equipment.
• Heating the strike water to 151 deg F before mashing-in.
• Mashing for 75 mins at 149 deg F for the Saccharification rest so the starches convert into sugars (pH 5.0).
• Raising the temperature to 168 deg F to mash-out for 10 mins to stop enzymatic activity i.e. halt the conversion of starches to sugars.
• Removing the grain bag.
• Boiling for 10 mins to allow time for the hot break to clear.
• Boil for 30 mins with Corn Sugar addition.
• Continue boiling for 30 mins with the bittering hop addition.
• Continue boiling for 20 mins with the flavoring hop addition.
• Add Irish Moss at 10 mins to help clear the beer.
• A yeast starter was prepared comprising of 8 oz of DME (Dry Malt Extract) in two liters of water and placed in a flask on a stir plate together with one packet of yeast.
• Yeast nutrient was added to the wort once it had been cooled.
• Wort was aerated with Oxygen (60 secs) via a diffusing stone connected to an O2 tank with a regulator.
• Yeast starter was decanted prior to pitching into the wort so that most of the spent wort did not go into the beer.
• Primary fermentation was at 68 deg F rising to 72 deg F over a period of four weeks in a temperature controlled freezer.
• The beer was racked off the trub (sediment) into the secondary fermenter cold crashed.
• Beer will be force carbonated to 3.0 volumes of CO2 after cooling the beer to 36 deg F.

Outcome

According to the style guidelines a Belgian Dark Strong Ale should have the following characteristics which are good indicator allowing for the fuller mouth-feel and residual sweetness of a Belgian Quadrupel:

• Appearance: Deep amber to deep coppery-brown in color (“dark” in this context implies “more deeply colored than golden”). Huge, dense, moussy, persistent cream- to light tan-colored head. Can be clear to somewhat hazy.
• Aroma: Complex, with a rich-sweet malty presence, significant esters and alcohol, and an optional light to moderate spiciness. The malt is rich and strong, and can have a deep bready-toasty quality often with a deep caramel complexity. The fruity esters are strong to moderately low, and can contain raisin, plum, dried cherry, fig or prune notes. Spicy phenols may be present, but usually have a peppery quality not clove-like; light vanilla is possible. Alcohols are soft, spicy, perfumy and/or rose-like, and are low to moderate in intensity. Hops are not usually present (but a very low spicy, floral, or herbal hop aroma is acceptable). No dark/roast malt aroma. No hot alcohols or solventy aromas.
• Flavor: Similar to aroma (same malt, ester, phenol, alcohol, and hop comments apply to flavor as well). Moderately malty-rich on the palate, which can have a sweet impression if bitterness is low. Usually moderately dry to dry finish, although may be up to moderately sweet. Medium-low to moderate bitterness; alcohol provides some of the balance to the malt. Generally malty-rich balance, but can be fairly even with bitterness. The complex and varied flavors should blend smoothly and harmoniously. The finish should not be heavy or syrupy.
• Mouth-feel: High carbonation but not sharp. Smooth but noticeable alcohol warmth. Body can range from medium-light to medium-full and creamy. Most are medium-bodied.
• Overall: A dark, complex, very strong Belgian ale with a delicious blend of malt richness, dark fruit flavors, and spicy elements. Complex, rich, smooth and dangerous.

How did my batch of Westvleteren 12 turn out?

The brew day went relatively smoothly with a minor hiccup of forgetting to add the Corn Sugar at 90 mins to the boil so prior to chilling the wort I drained off some of the wort and on the stove top added the sugar then boiled for 10 mins before returning it to the Brew Kettle for cooling.

I targeted an Original Gravity of 1.089 and hit 1.092 which is close enough for me with such a strong beer.

The fermentation attenuated to 1.020 rather than 1.012 over a period of three weeks. I do not believe it would have attenuated any further unless I lowered the mash temperature  or perhaps did a 90 min instead of 75 min mash.

Here are the actual vital statistics:

• OG: 1.092
• FG: 1.020
• ABV: 9.5%
• Bitterness: 27.6 IBUs*
• Color: 20.3 SRM*

* calculated via BeerSmith software.

In theory the hops and darker malts should have been adjusted upwards to be closer to the Westvleteren 12 statistics.

The tasting notes are as follows:

Dark amber in color with a cream head and slight haze. A sweet malt aroma. Flavor is banana and spicy. Highly carbonated with a good mouth-feel and slight slickness on the tongue. This beer should improve with age and has an alcohol level that can handle it.

What’s Next?

In my next article in this series I will be examining Brewing a Kolsch V2 which is in the ‘Pale Bitter European Beer’ category so please check back for that article to be published.

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