As a follow-up to his “Make Your Best Belgian Tripel,” Josh Weikert shares his award-winning recipe. The “golden” in the name of this recipe is a nod to Victory Golden Monkey, but Josh’s family crest features a peregrine falcon, hence the name.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.076
FG: 1.012
IBU: 34
SRM: 7
ABV: 7.8%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
12 lb (5.4 kg) Pilsner malt
8 oz (227 g) Victory malt
8 oz (227 g) Aromatic malt
1 lb (454 g) Cane sugar
HOPS & ADDITIONS SCHEDULE
0.8 oz (23 g) Nugget [10% AA] at 60 minutes
0.5 tsp ground coriander at 60 minutes
1 oz (28 g) Crystal [6% AA] at 5 minutes
YEAST
Wyeast 3522 (Belgian Ardennes) Yeast
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and mix with 4 gal (15.4 l) of 163°F (73°C) strike water to reach a mash temperature of 152°F (67°C). Hold this temperature for 60 minutes. Vorlauf until your runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge the grains with 3.2 gal (12 l) and top up as necessary to obtain 6 gal (23 l) of wort. Boil for 60 minutes, following the hops and additions schedule.
After the boil, chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, about 67°F (20°C). Aerate the wort with pure oxygen or filtered air and pitch the yeast.
Ferment at 68°F (20°C) until the completion of primary fermentation, then allow the temperature to rise at will. Cold crash the beer to 35°F (2°C), then bottle or keg the beer and carbonate to approximately 2.75 volumes.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
Trust your recipe. It may seem simple—maybe too much so—but “complex” doesn’t have to mean a riot of flavor. If you have a beer with four or five complementary and identifiable flavors, you’ll have plenty of interest for your palate!