Recipe – Kuyt

Dutch Pale Ale malt is a real Dutch product, made 100% from local barley. This time we bring you an original and traditional Dutch beer recipe. Although the beer consumption in the Netherlands was mainly influenced by Belgian brewers, there is a traditional beer style, which has almost been forgotten.

Historians say that by the end of the 19th century Kuyt was the most commonly consumed beer in the Netherlands. Kuyt – also known as Koyt and Kuitbier – is brewed with three kind of grains: malted oat, barley and wheat. The earliest versions were unhopped, and flavoured instead with gruit, which is a mixture of various herbs. Over centuries the style underwent several transformations. The final version, brewed in the latter half of the 1800’s, was very different from early versions. Nevertheless a few years ago the Brewers Association set guideline for this style. See those attributes in the below recipe.

Kuyt
Original gravity1050 – 1080
Final gravity1006 – 1015
Colour EBC10 – 24
Colour Lovibond4 – 9
IBU25 – 35
ABV %4.7 – 7.9

Grain bill

VarietyQuantityQuantityColour EBCColour ºLRatio
Swaen Oat3 kg6.6 lb41.550%
Dutch Pale Ale2 kg4.4 lb72.633%
Swaen Wheat1 kg2.2 lb41.517%

Original regulations set the proportions at 3-2-1: 50% oat, 33% barley and 17% wheat, while recent rules say it must contain a minimum of the follows: 45% oats, oat flakes or oat malt / 35% Pilsner or Ale malt / 20% wheat or malted wheat. The appearance of the final product is straw to amber, with a wit-like haziness. Darker versions are not resulted by the grains, but the long boiling time, that can last up to 3 hours, over an open fire according to the traditional brewing method.

Some brewers recommend a beta glucan rest for this style to have the best results. Besides use more mash water than usual, min. 4 l/kg.

45°C – 20 min / 62°C – 30 min / 72°C – 30 min / 78°C – 5 min


Hops

VarietyQuantityQuantityDurationAlpha acidIBU
Spalt28 g1 oz60 min.7%20
Spalt28 g1 oz15 min.7%10

Only noble hop varieties are suggested to be used, like Hallertau Mittelfrüh, Saaz, Tettnanger, Spalt. Hop flavour and aroma should be at the lower end. Addition of herbs, spices, fruit or other ingredients are not allowed.


Yeast

Neutral ale yeast strains are recommended. Ferment between 15-20°C for 2 weeks.

Dry examples: Gozdawa British Ale Withbread or Gozdawa Hybrid Ale Notty.

Liquid examples: WhiteLabs WLP029 German Ale or Wyeast 2565 Kolsch Yeast.


Results

Batch size23 L / 6 gallon
Efficiency70%
Original gravity1056
Final gravity1010
Colour EBC26
Colour Lovibond10
IBU30
ABV %6

Appearance

Hazy straw to amber.


Taste profile

Grainy and bready.

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