Wanted - Easy 'foreign' beer

[danbrew]

Thanks again! Anyone got a basic belgian recipe then? Which hops and a mash temp?

[steve_flack]

If you wanted to do a Saison you could just do it with lager malt. Personally I'd stick a bit of Munich (10%), wheat malt (10%) and sugar (5-10% depending upon how strong the saison would be) in there. The yeast to use would be WLP565 - it likes to finish warm (25C+). Hops stick with Goldings for bittering and something like Saaz or maybe Styrian Goldings for aroma/flavour. In IBU I'd aim for around 2/3 or 3/4 of the gravity of the beer. OG can be anything from 1.050 upwards.

Tripels are easy. Lager or pilsner malt with 15% sugar. Hops are usually Saaz but you could use anything noble - IBU range from fairly low 20-ish to fairly high around 40. Yeast, loads of choice here. The Westmalle strain does a decent job (WLP530) but you could use any of the WLP5x0 strains. Try to keep it coolish to start with (18-20C) but once going let it get as warm as it wants. OG 1.075+

For both mash fairly cool, 65C

[simple one]

Good advice.

[coatesg]

The Belgian beers are often surprisingly simple - it's the yeast and the way it's handled that does the magic - Steve's advice looks like it'd turn out pretty tasty.