Belgian

In NYC at the Chelsea Art Museum on Friday, March 24, 2006 from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. will be the Ultimate Belgian Tasting! Belgian beers are fascinating. A few facts:

• Belgian Wit, for example, derives part of its unusual character from dried Curacua orange peel and coriander.
• Belgian ale yeast has low flocculation, meaning that yeast tends to stay more in solution; and it has high attenuation (~75%), meaning that relatively more of the fermentable sugars will be converted to alcohol.
  
• Belgian ale yeast is characterized by cherry and banana flavors (esters), and some clove-like tartness (phenols). Fermentation ideally should be at relatively cool ale fermentation temperatures (66-72 degF) with plenty of aeration (or it may taste like bubblegum!).
• One unusual Belgian kilned malt, Special B, can add a sweet, roasted nut flavor to beer. More than a 1/2 pound in five gallons can make the beer taste of plum.
• Brewing Belgian Lambics requires the unusual step of introducing two strains of carefully cultured lacto-bacteria in the brew. The author on the linked site is clearly quite experienced (and technically proficient) on the subject of yeast culture.
  
• There are many, many varieties of Belgian yeast and beer, so this description really only scratches the surface!

A new general fact I learned recently - you can culture yeast from commercial beer! It is a good way to acquire difficult-to-find yeast strains. My understanding of it is you need three or so bottles, and once drunk (the bottles or you - your choice), sanitize the top of the bottles, extract the yeast sediment (by swirling with water) and pour it into a yeast starter. Voila, you have your Trappist Ale yeast! More info on that when I try it!

Almost forgot to add, here is a great article on Trappist Breweries in the Ale Street News.