Bière de Garde in the Style of Castelain

ALL-GRAIN

One of the most celebrated breweries in French Flanders, Castelain is an artisan independent brewery best known for producing bières de garde. Annick Castelain—the granddaughter of the brewery’s founder—has been pivotal in the movement to revive artisan brewing in France. This version of bière de garde is a bit higher in alcohol and somewhat sweeter, with a pleasant honey aroma and flavor. The appearance is deep golden. The yeast I’ve chosen shows some spicy notes, typical in this version. This malt-forward beer with a very subtle hops presence ages well.

OG: FG: IBUS: ABV:

1.085 1.022 20 8.2%

MALT/GRAIN BILL

15 lb (6.8 kg) Pilsner malt 1 lb (454 g) Honey malt 1 lb (454 g) Crystal 10 1 lb (454 g) Clear Candi Sugar

(added the last 15 minutes of

HOPS SCHEDULE the boil)

1 oz (28 g) Northern Brewer pellets [6.9% AAU] at 60 minutes

YEAST

Wyeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes or White Labs WLP510 Belgian Bastogne

DIRECTIONS

Mash the crushed grains at 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes. See “Mashing Technique” and “Fermentation and Conditioning” (page 83) for details.