I'm fermenting a Affligem Bond clone right now, I used this recipy:
http://www.candisyrup.com/uploads/6/0/3/5/6035776/affligem_blonde_-_040.pdf
I cultivated the yeast from a Affligem Blond bottle, made a 2 litre starter and used beet sugar instead of the candisyrup.
Interesting, might give that grain bill a try. I tried harvesting yeast from a bottle of Affligem a few months ago, but the yeast was dead. I assumed they'd pasteurized it. Might try again with a fresher bottle. Have you smelled/tased the starter to confirm its the primary yeast strain?
Yeast age may be an important factor indeed. Luckily I got my Affligem from a dutch supermarket which has a pretty short shelve life. Only after 4 days the yeast showed signs of life. On a dutch forum I read that it's not advised to feed it apple juice and the like so I started with a 200ml 1040 (extract)wort, 10% sugar and a little yeast nutrient on a stir plate and stirred vigorously for 4 hours, then continued stirring very slowly to keep the yeast in suspension. I repeated this with +400ml step and a +1400ml step to get a very active 2L starter. The 5 litre erlenmeyer I used for the 2 litre starter was not even big enough to hold the foam so I had to add a blow off.
My findings were that keeping the yeast in suspension is really important for it increases yeast growth quite a bit with this one.
It smelled a bit sour and sulfur but I did not taste it. On the dutch forum I was told the smell is supposed to be like that so I'm not that worried it's another strain. I know the brewery was bought by Heineken some time ago and hope they did not tinker with the yeast!
You're in Europe? I'm jealous. I heard many European breweries pasteurize before shipping across the pond to North America to extend shelf life. Will attempt again though.
Hi Leonie,
Glad you found it and like it!
The clone recipe I brewed a couple months ago is an approximation (http://www.candisyrup.com/uploads/6/0/3/5/6035776/affligem_blonde_-_040.pdf), but I think the yeast might be a little different than what CSI recommends). I'm really not sure; it has been a year since I moved back to the US from the Netherlands, and despite drinking dozens of bottles of this over the year I was there, I honestly can't remember what it tastes like (just that I liked it!). I brewed it because I was trying to chase the feeling of sitting in a crowded plaza in Delft with my wife on a warm summer day, just before we moved home:
View attachment 645216
Color was spot on, and it was nice and effervescent, yet smooth. I think the only big tip I have over what CSI recommended in their recipe is that it might be best to leave it in primary for two weeks instead of 5 or 6 days, then rack to secondary and cold condition. CSI has good reasoning for why you want to get the beer off the yeast cake before too long, but I know that there's a lot of opinions around that so I'll just say I followed the recipe without experimenting myself. I'd probably opt for bottling this one if I were to brew it again (I kegged it and blew through too much of it before it really came together, flavorwise). Cold condition, fine with gelatin, bottle with a fresh pitch of yeast and store for 2 or 3 weeks before opening your first one. Then pop them all in the fridge before the flavor degrades!
The Styrian Goldings addition was pretty strong, but they softened around a month in. Maybe cutting back on these aroma hops would also be a good idea. I've always found those hops to be a little pungent and funky, and neither of those descriptors are what would use to describe the real Affligem. Still, after 4 or 5 weeks it tasted great in the keg!
My wife fell in love with it when we visited Belgium and the Netherlands, so I brewed an approximation which she also loves. I think it's just OK (both the real thing and my version).Strange to hear people are wanting to clone affligem, i am from belgium, and here it is seen as a industrial blond beer that is nothing special and is mainly sold to the Netherlands and tourists, but if you like it brew it!, i presume your version is probably better than the real thing.
Ha, that is funny! I picked it out of the 1000 beer menu list and really liked its flavor. My favorite Belgian beer is Tripel Karmeliet. @Jeroen79 what are some of your favorite blonde beers from your homeland? I would like to try them if I get the chance.Strange to hear people are wanting to clone affligem, i am from belgium, and here it is seen as a industrial blond beer that is nothing special and is mainly sold to the Netherlands and tourists, but if you like it brew it!, i presume your version is probably better than the real thing.
Thanks. Yes, so many choices in Belgium. I guess the blonde category is viewed as kind of boring in comparison to everything else. Anyway, Affligem Blonde drinks like a well made beer and is a treat in comparison to many American beers.
Another thing to consider is pressure fermentation. I made one at 30PSI and it captured the mouthfeel but the esters were a bit too muted. I would think the tanks for Affligem are fairly large for the distribution amount which tells me they have some decent hydrostatic pressure in their fermenters. My next try will be at 5 PSI. I will see how that turns out. Fun to chase but the yeast is the key and I have accepted that I will just make something similar but good!
I'm not sure if the Duvel strain is the right choice; however, it's used quite a bit around Belgian breweries and fermenting at different temperatures and pitch rates can produce different character.
The westmalle strain could be another direction to attempt.
Five years on and I'm finally going to rebrew this. My equipment and knowledge (and patience!) is better now, so I think the odds of success are much better this go around. IIRC, I rushed the last one, had mash issues, and sped through conditioning. Shame, shame.
Might as well revive this thread from the dead and document the process fully. Could be fun and informative, right?
System: 16 gallon 3 vessel 240V eHERMS
Recipe:
76% Weyermann Pilsner Malt
16% Munich 10L
8% Dextrose (Corn Sugar)
13 IBU Mittelfruh at 60
8.5 IBU Spalt at 30
4.5 IBU Styrian Golding at 15
Yeast: WY1388 + Starter
0.80M cells / mL / °P (1.2L starter, approx)
OG: 1.064
SRM: 5.9
IBU: 26
Water: Ca: 50, Mg: 5, Na: 5, SO4: 55, Cl: 70 (BrunWater Yellow Full) - salts as needed + potassium metabisulfite for chlorine neutralization.
Mash pH 5.4 (adjusted as needed with lactic acid, per brewersfriend advanced water calc)
Fermentation: 65 pitch, ramped to 75F over 1 week, then chilled once reaching FG to 50F for 2 weeks' conditioning via DIY glycol chiller before kegging (sorry, I know it's less authentic, but this beer is routinely on tap in the Netherlands so I don't think it's a huge violation.
Notes and process:
Mash temp held at 150F for minimum 1 hour--likely several. I recirculate the entire time, keeping temperature stable via pumping through a HERMS coil and using a PID controller for the element in the HLT (Auber cube 2E). I also do full volume, no sparge mashes as my efficiency is fine at ~75%, but I save tons of time by not fly sparging. For me, I don't see benefit in getting 85% efficiency or so if I have to babysit the system in order to achieve it. With my method, the pH never drops, and I end up with crystal clear wort and reasonable efficiency from recirculating anywhere from 1-6 hours while I go about my day.
I'm also using dextrose instead of candisyrup. I never buy clear candisyrup, but am taking to heart an exBEERiment I read regarding dextrose vs my longstanding go-to of table sugar (sucrose). The experiment concluded there was a very perceptible difference in side-by-side tastings between the two--the sucrose one had a harsher bitterness, and it sounds like others have experienced this same outcome. Since this beer holds a special place in my heart, I might as well do everything I can to make an approachable, soft, malty yet lively Blond. Maybe I'll pull it off and it'll transport me back to that lovely square in Delft in 2018, or the seaside restaurant in Zandvoort from our visit in 2023:
View attachment 841831
I'll grab ingredients for this tomorrow, get cracking on the starter, and brew it this weekend, with full photos and process documentation. After all: What we measure, we manage!
View attachment 841832
Huh? You must be thinking of some kind of dextrine malt. Dextrose is a pure monosaccharide. Also known as glucose. Table sugar (sucrose) is a disaccharide (one glucose and one fructose). The yeast have to work ever so slightly harder to ferment sucrose compared to dextrose.Since dextrose is going to leave unfermentable dextrins that help round out the flavor
Huh? You must be thinking of some kind of dextrine malt. Dextrose is a pure monosaccharide. Also known as glucose. Table sugar (sucrose) is a disaccharide (one glucose and one fructose). The yeast have to work ever so slightly harder to ferment sucrose compared to dextrose.
I think your are mistaken, i am not on IG, and i don't live in Tiel, i actualy even have no idea where Tiel is , its probably some other Jeroen, in holland there are many!.Jeroen! I think we're friends on IG--I am "hoodwinkedbrewing" over there, and I believe you live in Tiel? I have family in Tiel. Small world. I might've mentioned that to you forever ago, but maybe I sent you that message in my head instead of through the app, haha.
I'm not sure I buy that either, Brulosophy experiments or not. Wort contains sucrose and fructose anyway. Utilizing sucrose is one more enzymatic step, and the enzyme that does it is present in the yeast all the time.neither of us were quite sure how/why a beer might turn out more harsh with sucrose. Maybe because it degrades yeast cell health with the extra labor and spins some off-flavors earlier on? I have no idea.
Yeah, it is pretty cloudy. I did use whirlfloc but I had an issue with my brewing salts (forgot to add them to the mash--ended up boiling and cooling a little water with them in it and adding it a few hours after yeast pitch. Not ideal at all. I think I am going to just hit it with gelatin and leave it alone until the weekend, draw off whatever I can, and see if that helps.Thanks for the update. That is very cloudy. Did the beer look this cloudy when you kegged it? I would check your process from boil kettle to fermenter and then finished beer to keg. Also, did you use any kettle finings like Whirlfloc? Calcium plays a part in wort clarity, so definitely get your calcium up to 50-100 ppm next time.
Enter your email address to join: