December 14, 2007
Belgian Lighthouse & Belgian Wit — Tasting Notes
Well, these two beers have been fermenting for a while— too long, in fact. The Belgian Lighthouse Ale was brewed in early August, quite a long time for a 4.5% ABV beer to be sitting around “aging”. The Belgian Witbier was brewed back in early September, which is a bit long for the style, but the bigger issue is that it sat on the yeast for 2 1/2 months, which means it is in danger of a symptom called “autolysis”, where the live yeast begins “eating” the dead yeast, causing off flavors.
Both were bottled two weeks ago. The Lighthouse is still slightly undercarbonated, which I think has to do with the fact that it has sat for such a long time. It should be fully carbonated in another week or two. The Belgian Wit is about at the right level of carbonation.
As for the taste, the Lighthouse is pretty much spot-on for what I intended. It’s a light-colored ale, with a mild-yet-not-boring taste. Hop levels are low, so the bitterness should not be off-putting to most beer drinkers. Where I think it shines is the use of Vienna and Caravienne malts. They give the beer a depth of body, but without really a heavier caramel note, like you’d find in a Bass. The belgian yeast also lends some complexity, but it’s nowhere near as fruity or spicy as heavier belgian ales. I still need to take it to experienced BJCP judges to get an idea if there are any flaws that my novice palate is not detecting, but that is something I’ve got plenty of time to do.
The Belgian Wit is a different animal. At the moment, I don’t taste any technical flaws (although like the Lighthouse, I need to take it to someone more experienced to get a better sense), but I think there is a recipe flaw. The original recipe called for 1 oz of crushed coriander seed, 1 oz of sweet orange peel, and 1 oz of bitter orange peel. On advice from the guys at beeradvocate.com, I dropped the coriander by about 50%. I should have done the same with the orange peel. If anything, I think the orange is a bit too powerful. That being said, it’s still a tasty beer. The only issue I have is the slight overspice of orange, I like everything else. And someone who appreciates a little heavier orange note might find it preferable the way it is.
Next Sunday (Dec 23), we’ll be bottling 5 more gallons of Lighthouse, as well as 10 Gallons of the re-vamped recipe of the IPA I entered into the Sam Adams contest, and 5 gallons of a Rye Pale Ale. All told, that’s another 8 cases of beer to split between three of us. At the same time, we’ll have 10 gallons of Belgian Tripel aging, and brew 10 gallons of an Amber Ale and 5 gallons of a milk stout. That will all be bottled in early or mid-January. So within two months, we’ll have bottled 50 gallons of beer. Good stuff 
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