Orval

Website: http://www.orval.be/website/#

Orval Brewery is a Belgian Trappist brewery located in the Guame region of Belgium. Its flagship beer, Orval, is known for going through a secondary fermentation in the bottle with a single strain of Brettanomyces bruxellensis . Beer historian Ron Pattinson has claimed that there is evidence to suggest that Orval is a close relative and perhaps even reflective of historical English pale ale .

MTF Threads

• Discussion of cloning ingredients/microbes, and possible sources of microbes (WLP650 and WLP510).

• Discussion on using Orval dregs.

Clone Recipe

Wyeast Orval Clone Recipe

ORVAL CLONE - Overview

• The brewing techniques similar to those of pale ales and bitters.
• A two or three step infusion mash is done using a blend of malts to yield bright orange wort.
• Styrian Golding and Hallertau-Hersbrucker hops are used throughout the boil to contribute flavor and bitterness around 33-35 IBUs.
• Belgian candy sugar is used to boost the gravity in the kettle.
• Primary fermentation is carried out with a mild Belgian strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
• The beer is dry hopped in the secondary to produce a delicate spicy hop aroma.
• Brettanomyces culture in the secondary and for bottle conditioning.
• This gives the beer a very unique flavor profile.
• Beer develops flavors and aromas reminiscent of pie cherry and other Brett characters.
• Ferments some of the remaining complex sugars present in the beer, which gives it a high level of carbonation.

BREWING TECHNIQUES

Malt Bill

• Pale 2-Row 49%
• Pilsner malt 31%
• Munich 10L 10%
• Carapils 10%
• Crystal 60L 1%

Mashing

• Mash in malts at 142 °F (61 °C) and rest for 15 minutes.
• Heat mash to 154 °F (67 °C) and rest for 25 minutes.
• Heat mash to 162 °F (72 °C) and rest for 30 minutes.
• Heat mash to 170 °F (76 °C) and rest for 10 minutes.
• Sparge at 170 °F (76 °C) until kettle is full (1.042 specific gravity).

Boil

• Add Belgian candi sugar to increase gravity to 1.054.
• Boil for one hour, adding hops at the following times:
• At the beginning of the boil add 1 part Styrian Golding and 2 parts Hallertau-Hersbrucker to contribute ~23 IBUs.
• 30 minutes into the boil add 1 part Styrian Golding and 2 parts Hallertau-Hersbrucker to contribute ~10 IBUs.
• End of boil add Styrian Goldings for finish hops.
• Cool wort to ~63 °F (17 °C).

Fermentation

• Pitch with a mild Belgian ale strain (Wyeast 3522).
• Ferment at 65 °F (18 °C) for 4-6 days.
• Rack to secondary.
• Add the Brettanomyces culture (Wyeast 5526)
• Add Styrian Golding whole hops.
• Condition for two weeks in secondary at cellar temperature (50-60 °F/10-15 °C).

Bottling

• Prime with dextrose or malt extract and bottle.
• Condition at cellar temperature for 6 weeks.
• This beer can be stored for months to years, during which the hop aroma will subside and the Brett character will become more pronounced.

External Resources

• Orval's website details how the beer is produced.
• "A visit to Orval brewery", Ed's Beer Site - information about recipe, process, and fermentation profile.
• "Coming to an understanding with Orval yeast", Ed's Beer Site.
• "Inside Orval" by Christian T. DeBenedetti, BrewingTechniques, 1998.
• Gus Addkison's "Inspired Beer - Orval."