Frosty Brew

On Sunday my Johnny Brother and I got together in the snow and brewed 2 batches of beer. For non-brewers out there this entailed standing over large boiling pots in freezing weather for around 7 hours. The end result is around 12 gallons of quietly fermenting beer in my basement.

Johnny brewed a big batch of Brown Porter and split it into 3 parts. The large part was left as is and the other two are one gallon experimental batches; one with coffee and one with bitter chocolate.

I am on a quest to brew a Belgian Ale similar to the Trappist Beer, Orval. I have only just discovered this beer and it is now one of my favorites. I created this recipe myself so we will see if I can come close in my godless frozen backyard brewery.

Fun fact, authentic Trappist Beers must be brewed under the supervision of Trappist monks. These are men who have given up everything to ponder the big questions while perfecting some of the best beers in the world. Worldwide, there are only 7 of these breweries and 6 are in Belgium. Isn't Belgium lucky?