Belgian Tripel Recipe help!

Jayfro21 · 02-28-2008, 12:46 AM

So after talking to some fellow HBTers, I am trying to modify some recipes to make a good tripel and/or Abbey/Trappist ale. Here is what I have:

5.5 gallon w/ OG = 1.083 @ 70% efficiency
Mash @ 152

13 lbs Belgian Pilsner
0.75 lbs aromatic malt
0.75 lbs Special B
(Do I also need some Carapils to add body and head retention?)
2.5 lbs homemade candy sugar (@ 20 minutes left)

1 oz cluster @ 60 min
1 oz saaz @ 20 min

Yeast: WLP500 or Wyeast Trappist or S-33 dry yeast
(struggling with this one because never made a starter, but still want the authentic belgian flavor)

Any thoughts? Thanks!

Jason

Kai · 02-28-2008, 01:00 AM

If you want it to be a Tripel, you need to cut those specialty grains significantly. Maybe 6-8 oz. of Aromatic, no Special B at all. Perhaps some light crystal malt (10-20˚L) or Carapils to the order of half a pound for complexity.

I'd move the Saaz to about 10 minutes. 15 is fine, but a little bit of hop flavour is nice in a Tripel.

Use a liquid yeast. I can vouch for Wyeast 3787, it's my favourite yeast. Watch out for the krausen on that. There's a recent thread where someone shared an email from Wyeast about this strain. Avoid dry yeast, it just won't give you what you need. And do your research, be careful, and make a starter. Oxygenate well. Rouse the yeast in carboy if necessary, you don't want fermentation to stick. I've also heard good things about 3522 and 1762.

Good luck!

edit: oh, and mash fairly low.

zoebisch01 · 02-28-2008, 01:05 AM

I completely agree with Kai. A Tripel is like a Pils, many times a single malt with a very very minimal amount of anything else that has no color. And you can go up to 20% of your weight in sugar. I advise using invert, others don't but I fell it adds a little somethin somethin. I'd personally drop any flavor and/or aroma additions but that's just me.

Keep at it!

The 33 is good for doing certain Belgianesque brews, but stick to the liquid for the real deal. The yeast is where you really have some playing room, for a Tripel that is.

I just thought of something, and I hope it doesn't come across as EAC, but this is true insight (imho)....Styles have emerged because they have certain unmistakable characteristics that you just can't get rid of. In the case of a Tripel, (imo like a Pils) it is really truly about process, because you have a 'naked' brew consisting of usually one, maybe two malts. Sometimes there is no improving on something. Have fun though!

Jayfro21 · 02-28-2008, 01:18 AM

Thanks for the comments! The only thing I am unsure of is that I read on brewingtechniques.com that Special B is incredibly important in these, although maybe I misunderstood and it was talking about Special B being very important in Dubbels? I guess I am not going for a tripel then, but more of an abbey/trappist ale like chimay blue. I want it to have some darker flavors because some of the ones that I have tried so far have been like that. My favorite so far is Maredsous by Moortgat, which is a 10% ABV Trappist, I believe. I do agree with the change from 20 to 10 addition, and may drop the last addition altogether.

So would this be better as a Belgian strong dark ale?

Edit: after putting this into beer smith, it falls into the belgian dark strong ale style guidelines. Can I still use the trappist ale yeast?

stormtracker · 02-28-2008, 01:30 AM

Special B I believe would impart darker colors. I use it in some Dubbels I have brewed. I have brewed Trippels as well.

(Edit Note* This is a Trippel recipe)
One recipe I found to be very good is the "She Devil". It came out awesome and everyone loved it. The recipe below.

12.44 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 74.71 %
1.00 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (60 min) Hops 20.6 IBU
1.00 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (15 min) Hops 7.2 IBU
1.00 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (5 min) Hops 2.9 IBU
1.70 lb Cane (Beet) Sugar (0.0 SRM) Sugar 12.65 %
Wyeast Trappist.

Final note:

I would add some carapils to it though. I have been experimenting lately with NB Golden Malt Extract. Reason being it is Pale, with Carapils already in it. I realize that Many Trippels are made with Pilsner but some I have really enjoyed have the pale.

Hope maybe this helped. Again we really enjoyed this beer. And liked it better than other commercial Trippels we drink regularly.

zoebisch01 · 02-28-2008, 02:33 AM

Yes the Special B is very dark. Even if you added an 1/8 pound it would impact the color if you were using only Pils. Most likely it was for a Dubbel. Tbh, I like the Dubbel better. The Tripel (imho) is like the crown jewel of brewing a Belgian. I liken it to brewing a great Pils. There is nothing to hide any imperfection.

RoaringBrewer · 02-28-2008, 01:43 PM

FWIW, here is the Tripel I plan to brew 2 batches from now. Started with a belgian pale (currently fermenting with crazy blow-off!), going to an experimental 'belgian IPA' next (pitched on cake), and finally ending with the tripel below. Please note this is not a 'dark' belgian, like a delirium nocturnum, etc. It has an orangish hue due to the munich 20L, otherwise it would be pretty light. Also, I'm using clear candi sugar, as the amber would also darken the brew quite a bit...:

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: RBBC Tripel
Brewer: Roaring Bull Brewing
Style: Belgian Tripel
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.097 SG
Estimated Color: 8.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 37.6 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
10.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) Bel (3.0 SRM) Grain 58.8 %
4.00 lb Wheat Malt, Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 23.5 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 5.9 %
0.50 oz Warrior [15.00%] (60 min) Hops 19.6 IBU
0.50 oz Pearle [8.00%] (60 min) Hops 10.4 IBU
1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80%] (15 min) Hops 4.5 IBU
1.00 oz Saaz [4.00%] (10 min) Hops 2.1 IBU
2.00 lb Candi Sugar, Clear (0.5 SRM) Sugar 11.8 %
1 Pkgs Abbey Ale (White Labs #WLP530) [Starter or Cake-pitch]

Evan! · 02-28-2008, 02:01 PM

Here's my recipe.

It's within the SRM range---though next time I might omit the munich. I added a bit of carapils and flaked wheat for mouthfeel. I fermented with Wyeast 1762, which is the strain from Abbaye Rochefort. This yeast, well, it's my all-time favorite strain, and this beer is its moment to shine. I'm submitting it to the NHC this year, because it's probably the best beer I've made to date. I mean, it's really perfect stuff...which makes me scared to even omit anything next time. 10L munich doesn't really add much in the way of SRM or anything, it just gives it a little more flavor. But in the end, this is really about the yeast. And nothing rivals 1762.

Bromley · 02-28-2008, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoaringBrewer

FWIW, here is the Tripel I plan to brew 2 batches from now. Started with a belgian pale (currently fermenting with crazy blow-off!), going to an experimental 'belgian IPA' next (pitched on cake), and finally ending with the tripel below.

Your plan of pitching on previous yeast cakes is something I've done occasionally, but I have heard you never want to re-pitch on anything with a ton of hops in it (like an IPA). Something about all the oils having a major affect on cell viability. Just a thought.

Evan! · 02-28-2008, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bromley

Your plan of pitching on previous yeast cakes is something I've done occasionally, but I have heard you never want to re-pitch on anything with a ton of hops in it (like an IPA). Something about all the oils having a major affect on cell viability. Just a thought.

A reason for not pitching onto a super hoppy cake is because of the hop flavors---you just want to make sure that you're not pitching something with low hop character onto an IPA cake. Cell viability isn't too much of an issue with so many cells, AFAIAC. I pitched the 888 RIS onto the cake from an IIPA that had 12.5 oz of hops in it, and the stout fermented just fine.