| |
Van Steenberge, St Stefanus Blonde is a Belgian Abbey beer brewed in conjunction with the Augustinian Order, whose abbey of Sint Stephanus was the first Augustinian monastery in the Low Countries and dates from 1295. The beer is brewed by the Van Steenberge family-owned brewery based in Ertvelde near Ghent: in common with many Flemish breweries, it started life as a farm and beer was made from at least 1784 to refresh the family and the workers.
The original floor plan of the monastery shows that the buildings included a brewery where beer was made for the abbot, the monks and visiting pilgrims. In 1978, as a result of the declining number of monks in the abbey, a decision was taken to have the beers made by a commercial brewery, which would pay a royalty to the church. Van Steenberge specialised in warm-fermenting ales and was keen to take on the contract.
The monks not only handed over the recipes for their beers but also - crucially - made available their yeast culture. The culture was developed by Janis Jerumanus, the child of refugees from Latvia during the Soviet period. He was raised by Augustinian monks and became a microbiologist and was appointed a professor at the University of Leuven. He was invited to become an advisor to the Sint Stefanus monastery brewery and later discussed recipes and the yeast culture with Jozef Van Steenberge when he won the contract to brew the abbey beers. The brewery labels the culture Jerumanus Yeast is honour of the professor.
In total, three yeast cultures are used to make the beer, which is refermented in the bottle. It's made with pale, Pilsner and Munich malts, a small amount of brewing sugar, and hopped with Saaz. The brewery
uses hard water that is filtered to remove iron and then Burtonised with the addition of gypsum and magnesium. At the end of primary fermentation, some yeast is removed by centrifuge but sufficient
remains for a four-week maturation period at 2 degrees C. The original yeast is then filtered out and two new strains, including the "wild yeast" Brettanomyces, added.
The bottles are stored at 24 degrees for two weeks, allowing a secondary fermentation to take begin. The bottles are then stored in the cellar for a minimum of three months before being released. The head brewer says the beer will develop over three years.
Van Steenberge, St Stefanus Blonde (Belgium) 
Pale bronze with a lively head of foam and a big peppery hop aroma on the nose, along with custard cream maltiness, pineapple fruit and a hint of �horse blanket� sourness from the Brettanomyces yeast culture. Creamy malt and ripe fruit coat the tongue with a solid backbone of spicy hop resins and a continuing sour note. The finish is bittersweet but becomes dry at the end with ripe pineapple, creamy malt, tangy hops, warming alcohol and lingering sourness. The brewery says that after 18 months the colour deepens, the fruit is reminiscent of candied peel, apricot and mango and the sourness mellow in to hints of vanilla, toffee and almond. Van Steenberge also brews a 9% Sint Stefanus Grand Cru, not yet available in Britain.
Malt: high. Fruit: high. Hops: medium.
Available in selected Fuller�s outlets and the Hotel du Vin chain. 7.0% ABV, 33cl, �5.45, independents.  | |
go to beer of the moment archives
|
|
