De Koninck clone

[mr hoppy]

Anyone out there like draft De Koninck? Any thoughts on why it tastes so good on draft, and just like crappy old Smithwicks from a bottle.

Even better anyone any thoughts on how to clone it? I've a few ideas, but hoping for some fellow travellers...

[LordEoin]

De Koninck clone

5 Gallons; OG = 1.048; FG = 1.010; IBU = 27

Ingredients:

    2.5 lbs. lager malt
    1 lb. Vienna malt
    1/8 lb. chocolate malt
    3 lbs. unhopped amber dry malt extract
    6 AAU Saaz hops (1.5 oz. at 4% alpha acid), 60 minutes
    Belgian ale yeast slurry (White Labs WLP530 or Wyeast 1214)

Something along those lines?

[mr hoppy]

Yep, thanks LordEoin.

I worked from this recipe before http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=19038&sid=1b85c7248829536979d8d54cb869bf47&start=15
and thought it worked out quite good, even without the aromatic malt and with T-58 instead of DeKoninck yeast.

SG: 1.048
FG: 1.011
Color: 23 EBC (Morey)
Bitterness: 23 IBU (Tinseth)

77,5% Dingemans Pale Ale malt
10% Dingemans Munich malt
10% Dingemans Aromatic (50 EBC)
2,5% Dingemans Special B (for you who don't know: Special B stands for Speciale Belge, the Belgian name for the beer style Belgian Pale Ale)

Mashing with 4,8 liters per kg malt.
30 minutes @ 62 deg. C
40 minutes @ 72 deg. C

90 minute boil

19 grams Galena (12,8%AA) @ 60 minutes before end of boil
25 grams Saaz (2,2%AA) @ 20 minutes before end of boil
25 grams Saaz (2,2%AA) @ 7 minutes before end of boil

Yeast: Wyeast 3655-PC Belgian Schelde Ale
Fermentation started at 18 deg C. and I let it rise to 20 deg C.

The thing that mystifies me is how much better the commercial beer tastes on draft than in the bottle.

[mr hoppy]

I see, according to Michael Jackson, the real DeKoninck has pilsner and vienna malt.

[mr hoppy]

Moved me brew out to the shed tonight. Not sure if it tastes quite like the real De Konninck, but WLP 515 seems like a pretty nice yeast.