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I really like to keep my recipes simple, but I think I may have over done it this time around. I'm curious what you guys think:
for a 5.5 Gallon batch:
15# belgian pils
1# Belgian Aromatic
1oz saaz@90
1oz Herbrucker@60
1oz Herbrucker@30WLP530 (with a nice big starter)
1# invert sugar after fermentation slowed down(around day 7)
OG 1.082
FG 1.010
Brewed 12-21-14
Its currently aging in a glass carboy.
I've never used this yeast, and this is the first Belgian I've brewed since having temp control. My last few I used the WLP500 and they were Banana Bombs which actually aged out pretty well after a year.
The Belgian character is kind of there, but overall the beer is kind of blah. Plum notes, and thats about it.
So did I go to simple? Or does this yeast just need a really long time to develop some more character? Should I continue to age in the carboy, or just bottle them up and forget about them for a while?
Posted 34 days ago.
Simple is where it's at for a Belgian. What was your fermentation temp schedule? Belgian yeasts are VERY temperature dependent as to the character you get from them - cooler will be more phenolic, warmer will be more estery. This doc is a great reference for this.
As for aging, I'm a fan of doing do in the carboy.
Posted 34 days ago.
Belgian Tripels, with a few exceptions (Karmeliet), are simple. Simplest is 85% Pils malt 15% sugar. If you're looking in the direction of a Westmalle, make it bitter for a Belgian beer (34 IBU).
Most important is the fermentation, pitch at room temperature, let it rise and ferment relative hot. The yeast is the star in these beers.
Adding the sugar earlier may give you more esters in the end.
Posted 34 days ago.
I tracked the fermentation with my brewpi, I started at 65 and ramped over 4 days to 72, then I allowed it to free rise all the way to 78(which took about 10 days), where it stayed for close to two weeks.
After the 7 days gravity was down to about 1.030 thats when I added the invert sugar. I checked gravity again around week three and it had eaten up the sugar and was down to 1.018, and it slowly chewed through the remaining sugar down to a stable 1.010 after another week and a half.
I based my temp profile off of the chart you linked HomeBrewDad. I was hoping I would get the perppery/spicy notes, instead I got a really light plum type flavor.
Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by skitzo2000
Yeah, if you were wanting to emphasize the peppery, spicy notes, you needed to keep fermentation cool. The linked doc suggests you keep the beer in the 58F-66F range for peppery. You're mostly in "balanced" territory with your temps, which are going to give you plum more than anything else (in my experience). You might pick up a little more spice under carbonation.
As for aging, I will say that my mind is changing on this subject. I used to think tripel=automatic long age, but I'm coming around to the idea that if your temps are controlled and your pitch rates good, this may not be necessary. I'd hold some back to see how age treats it, but I wouldn't say for sure that you need to do a long term age.
Posted 34 days ago.
That seems a rather slow fermentation to me although I never used the WLP. With a fresh starter from Westmalle bottle dregs it's normally through within 7 days.
Posted 34 days ago.
Gravity is pretty high, sugar % a little low. I like wlp500 better, but many like 530.
FWIW, I think tripel is beat relatively fresh.
Posted 34 days ago.
@ingoogni, I've found that a lot of Belgian yeasts will knock out 90% of the fermentation quickly, but they'll slowly chew away on those last few points for as long (or longer) than it took to get the lion's share done.
Posted 34 days ago.
I avoided staying too low for too long after some reading that the yeast stalls out easily.
I don't know how long it would have taken had I kept it under 66 I'm guessing a lot longer. oh well live and learn.
On the bonus side, even at 9.5% this beer is relatively smooth, so its got that going for it. Probably a result of good temp control and proper pitch rate. I guess I'll bottle it up and enjoy a few. Then let the rest hang around for a while to see what happens. Hopefully it'll pick up some more character with a little time. I'll try to remember to come back and post how it goes.
Posted 34 days ago.
I'll add that @homebrewdad is right on about the way this yeast acted. It really chomped through a ton of the sugar very quickly, but it took a really long time for the gravity to stabilize. It just kept going lower every time I checked on it. I had planned to set it aside for aging out of my chamber before I went on vacation(I was hoping to get a brew in before I left) well that didn't happen, thats when the gravity was at 1.018. By the time I got back it seemed to have stabilized which I just confirmed yesterday with another test.
Posted 34 days ago.
Cool, do let us know.
Yeah, Belgian yeasts are their own little animals. Note that they will work cool (if a bit slow), and that's okay. However, if you cool them down, that can cause them to stall.
They're finicky. But they make such cool flavors!
Posted 34 days ago.
byo.com/stories/item/636-fermenting-b...
Y'all probably have read it many times, it has excellent guides but no definitive way to do it and rightly so. Don't force a temperature regime, shallow fermenter and slight under pitching of very fit yeast. After some 25 years I still have a struggle with my personal Belgian strain every now and then.
Posted 34 days ago.
That's a good article. I'm reading Brew Like a Monk right now. Good stuff.
Posted 34 days ago.
Thanks for all the responses. I've read the BYO article, and I need to get Brew Like a Monk.
I just need to spend more time with this style, but I definitely like the WLP500 strain for my next attempt.
Posted 34 days ago.
Recipe looks great but I must concur with the others that your ferm temps are to blame. That's disappointing about the yeast, though. I was about to do a dark strong with 530, guess I'll look at 545 or something.
Posted 34 days ago.
