Style Of The Week 16/01/2008 - Tripel/golden Strong

[Muggus]

damn muggus save me a bottle and ill do you a swap for one of my funky beers

Haha sure thing mate.
The port bumped it up to around 11%, so it's got a nice boozy kick.
I should have some leftover by the time of the next case swap.

 

[mje1980]

Note to self, next time i brew a big belgian, do it somewhere that can be hosed down daily.

This yeast ( wl 530 ) throws foam likes its going out of style, bloody hell!

Been at 1.030 for 24 hours now, but the temp keeos dropping to 16 overnight. Once i warm it up and swirl it often it kicks back in. Hope i dont have to clean it up again tomorrow morning!. Might push it up to 24c to keep it going in the final stages.

Anyone recommend adding more slurry from the previous belgian ale ( 4.6% blonde ) ?????????????????

 

[Stuster]

That yeast certainly likes to make a mess doesn't it. Just not happy to stay in that fermenter, it wants to crawl on out. It definitely needs to keep warm or it can slow down to crawling speed at the end. I think that warming it up is a great idea, otherwise it can just tick along for weeks. As long as it's warm there should be no need to add more yeast.

 

[mje1980]

Thanks mate!.

 

[Swinging Beef]

I dont think adding more yeast will help anything, but raising the temps during the ferment is meant to be the go.
Ive not had temp control before, and Im loving it.
Pitched my Tripple on Saturday morning, and wound it up to 18 degrees for a day.
Now I have it at 21, and it is like a bubble bath.
Will hoik in the sugar tomorrow night probably and let that go for a few days at 22.

 

[mje1980]

Raised it up to 24c for the last day and a half, and its around 1.016.

How low should it go?? Im expecting 1.010 ( calc'd ) ,but i have never done a tripel.

 

[mje1980]

1.010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. More importantly, it tastes pretty good so far. I mean you can tell its a big beer, but it doesnt have the "solvent" flavour. Its got spice, and almost black pepper notes.

Will bottle soon.

 

[Stuster]

I'd certainly leave it another few days. No need to rush it and better to avoid overcarbed beer. It could still go lower. Saying that though, the two tripels I've done both finished at 1010 - one did start at 1086 though.

 

[mje1980]

Stuster, i have noticed with the pale ale i brewed with it, it seems to smooth out over a week or two. At first, it was a little harsh/peppery, but now, a week and a half later it seems much smoother, and bloody nice. Have you noticed the same??

Im used to bitters, so dont let the beers condition haha.

 

[Stuster]

Yep, I think it takes a little time with that yeast. The beers do improve with a bit of time. I'm also not one for waiting too long - just straight in to it with bitters and APAs. Some Belgians are fine fresh, but the high alcohol ones definitely need age to be at their best.

 

[mje1980]

Thanks stuster. Im cleaning up some grolsch bottles now. Its down to 1.008, and looks pretty much stopped. Can't wait to give this a go. I'll try one in a month, but i'll aim to leave it 3 months. Try...

 

[bcp]

I have a duvel clone in the fermenter now for the last 5 days with WY1314. The temp hasn't risen above 19 - maybe the room's too cold - so i'm artificially lifting it now to above 20, and plan to raise it every few hours until i get to about 24-25. I've read some suggestions that the 26c at moortgat works better in larger batches, and maybe not go so high.

It's down from 1.059 to 1.020, and i haven't added any sugar yet. Planning to add about 20g/day sugar starting later today... or should I wait until it comes down a little more?

Appreciate any comments on my thinking.

 

[Stuster]

bcp, I think raising it that high should be fine in the later stages of fermentation. Most of the flavours will come in the initial growth phase. I guess you could add the sugar like that but it sounds like a lot of work. If you are adding 1kg of sugar, that's 20 days of sugar additions. :lol:

Personally, I'd bung the sugar in now. If you are not sure, at least add half now and half in a few days time. Should be close enough to finished now.

 

[bcp]

bcp, I think raising it that high should be fine in the later stages of fermentation. Most of the flavours will come in the initial growth phase. I guess you could add the sugar like that but it sounds like a lot of work. If you are adding 1kg of sugar, that's 20 days of sugar additions. :lol:

Personally, I'd bung the sugar in now. If you are not sure, at least add half now and half in a few days time. Should be close enough to finished now.

20g... 200g... ok, slight difference there. :blink:

Thanks.

 

[mje1980]

bcp, mine is my first so just my.o2c. When i added my 800g, it raised temp up 4c from 18 to 22. Worked great! i boiled 800ml water, added sugar, and when dissolved whacked it in after 2 mins "cooling" time haha.

 

[MitchDudarko]

Whats the general consensus as far as serving temps for a tripel?

 

[bcp]

Whats the general consensus as far as serving temps for a tripel?

Michael Jackson - though not 'consensus' is an opinion always worth considering:
"Beer writer Michael Jackson proposed a five-level scale for serving temperatures: well chilled (7 C/45 F) for "light" beers (pale lagers); chilled (8 C/46 F) for Berliner Weisse and other wheat beers; lightly chilled (9 C/48 F) for all dark lagers, altbier and German wheat beers; cellar temperature (13 C/55 F) for regular British ale, stout and most Belgian specialities; and room temperature (15.5 C/59.9 F) for strong dark ales (especially trappist beer) and barley wine.^{"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer#Serving_temperature}

 

[MitchDudarko]

Cheers for that!

 

[bcp]

Man, from 1.020, added 500g of sucrose last night in my duvel clone (back up to 1.026) and it ate it all in 24 hours (down to 1.016). Never used sucrose before - yeast have a sweet tooth. I let the temp get up to 23.4 and there's a slight nailpolish taste - hoping that mellows a little with aging(?) Another 500g sugar tonight and that'll do i think. I notice moortgat 'lager' theirs. I'll cold condition,but i can't imagine this yeast will do much at that temperature...?

So far these belgians seem like having a wild brumby in the yard - much less predictable - but interesting because of it.

 

[manticle]

Devloping a recipe for an attempt at duvel.

Using mainly suggestions from BLAM, plus a few ideas from here and other places I'm going with:

85% pilsner (I have a bag of Joe white but am thinking of blending dingemans and weyermans as well)
15% dextrose (5 % to kettle and remaining 10 in two lots post primary)
Saaz and styrian Goldings to 20ish IBU bittering addition, another 10 IBU between 20 and 10 mintes.

90 minute boil
Three step mash - start 63, ramp 68, push 72 then mash out. I may decoct one of these steps just for a laugh.

1388 yeast, ferment lowish (17-18) for the first few days, allow to rise to 25 after at least 3 days. Cold condition 1-2 weeks.

I haven't had what I consider great success with belgian beers so hopefully I can knock that on the head with this one.