Tripel IPA Partial Mash

I'd still consider myself a beginner and I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm looking for anyone's thoughts or seal of approval on a Tripel IPA recipe I put together myself. I had Piraat a few times and loved it, so that's what inspired me to brew a Tripel IPA. This beer isn't a clone though.

Ideally, I would've went with WLP550, but I figured it would be easier to dump 2 packets of T-58 in there rather than use WLP550 and make a starter. One side effect though is that the estimated ABV dropped 1% when I switched to T-58 because it doesn't attenuate as well. So I added another pound of DME.

HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Tripel IPA

Brew Method: Partial Mash
Style Name: Belgian Tripel
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 3 gallons
Est. Efficiency: 65% (brew house)

ESTIMATED STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.084
Final Gravity: 1.024
ABV (standard): 7.97%
IBU (rager): 65.84
SRM (morey): 6.45

FERMENTABLES:
6 lb - Dry Malt Extract - Extra Light - (late addition) @ 15
1.25 lb - Corn Sugar - Dextrose - (late addition) @ 2

MASH:
3 lb - Belgian - Pilsner
8 oz - American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt)
8 oz - Belgian - CaraVienne
8 oz - American - White Wheat
4 oz - Belgian - Aromatic

HOPS:
0.5 oz - Magnum (pellet) for 60 min
0.5 oz - Magnum (pellet) for 40 min
0.5 oz - Chinook (pellet) for 15 min
0.5 oz - Styrian Goldings (pellet) for 15 min
0.5 oz - Chinook (pellet) for 5 min
0.5 oz - Styrian Goldings (pellet) for 5 min
1 oz - Chinook (leaf) for last 5 days of secondary

MASH STEPS:
1) Temperature, Temp: 153 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 6 qt
2) Sparge, Temp: 170 F, Amount: 6 qt

YEAST:
2 packets of Fermentis / Safale - Safbrew - Specialty Ale Yeast T-58

OTHER:
1 - Whirlfloc Tablet @ 10

Here is the updated recipe. I'm thinking about bringing down the IBUs from what I put in the original recipe. Also, from what I'm reading online, it seems like a lot of people have either a love or hate relationship with Chinook hops. This made me a little nervous about using so much of them in something like a tripel. Should I swap out the Chinook for Mosaic hops? I already have the chinook hops though so should I go through the trouble of placing another order? Or should I just leave it as is but drop the chinook late additions? Help please, I'm in a dilemma.

Brew Method: Partial Mash
Style Name: Belgian Tripel
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 3 gallons
Est. Efficiency: 65%

ESTIMATED STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.084
Final Gravity: 1.024
ABV (standard): 7.95%
IBU (rager): 47.52
SRM (morey): 6.3

FERMENTABLES:
5 lb - Dry Malt Extract - Extra Light - (late addition)
3 lb - Belgian - Pilsner
2 lb - Corn Sugar - Dextrose - (late addition)
12 oz - American - White Wheat
8 oz - American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt)
8 oz - Belgian - CaraVienne
4 oz - Belgian - Aromatic

HOPS:
0.5 oz - Magnum for 60 min
0.5 oz - Mosaic for 20 min
0.5 oz - Styrian Goldings for 20 min
0.5 oz - Mosaic for 5 min
0.5 oz - Styrian Goldings for 5 min
1 oz - Mosaic Dry Hop for last 5 days in secondary

MASH STEPS:
1) Temperature, Temp: 152 F, Time: 90 min, Amount: 7 qt
2) Sparge, Temp: 152 F, Amount: 7 qt

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1 tablet - Whirlfloc Tablet, Time: 15 min, Type: Fining, Use: Boil

YEAST:
2 Packets of Fermentis / Safale - Safbrew - Specialty Ale Yeast T-58

I recently created my own recipe for a Belgian ipa and brewed it a little over 2 weeks ago. It has a slightly different hop schedule than yours, but a very similar grain bill. Plus i added some candi sugar to increase ABV and dry it out a little. I can't comment on a final product, as mine is still dry hopping for another 4-5 days. However I did taste mine during a gravity reading and it was quite delicious. I was surprised how much the Belgian yeast flavor covered up the bitterness. So I wouldn't really worry much about reducing your IBUs. Anyway, here is my recipe for reference.

OG: 1.070
FG: 1.018
IBU: 75

Grain Bill:
6.6 lbs Light LME
1 lb CaraVienne 20L
1 lb Pilsen (2 Row)
8 oz Aromatic malt
6 oz White Wheat Malt

Hops:
1 oz Chinook @ 60 min
.5 oz Centennial @ 30 min
.5 oz Chinook @ 30 min
.5 oz Centennial @ 10 min
.5 oz Chinook @ 10 min
2 oz Amarillo @ 5 min
1 oz Centennial - Dryhop
2 oz Amarillo - Dryhop

Yeast:
Wyeast 3522 (Belgian Ardennes)

Other Additions:
1 lb Candi sugar (clear)
1 whirlfloc tablet (10 min)

Thanks for the feedback. I think I am going to swap out the late addittion chinook hops, replace them with mosaic, and then do a dry hop with an ounce of each pellet chinook and mosaic. I'll save the chinook leaf hops for a pale ale dry hop this spring.

One other concern of mine was the yeast that I'm using. I wasn't sure if I should use liquid or dry yeast because I don't make starters and it's easier to use 2 packets of dry yeast rather than making a starter. Also, with it being so cold outside, I think I will only be able to maintain temps of about 65 - 68 degrees. Safale seemed to have a wider temperature range, but with the calculator I used, when I put in the safale yeast rather than the liquid yeast, the anticipated ABV dropped a whole percentage point down to about 7.8% because the attenutation isn't as high. Also the FG is higher. Is this OK, or should I use WLP550 or 500, make a starter, and ferment at 65 - 68 degrees?

I'm debating ordering belgian ardness along with the mosaic hops and then using part of the extra pound of DME for the starter.

Ideally, this would be my final recipe:

Brew Method: Partial Mash
Style Name: Belgian Tripel
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 3 gallons
Est. Efficiency: 65% (brew house)

ESTIMATED STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.078
Final Gravity: 1.018
ABV (standard): 7.94%
IBU (rager): 61.37
SRM (morey): 6.05

FERMENTABLES:
5 lb - Dry Malt Extract - Extra Light - (late addition)
2 lb - Belgian - Pilsner
2 lb - Corn Sugar - Dextrose - (late addition)
8 oz - American - White Wheat
8 oz - American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt)
8 oz - Belgian - CaraVienne
4 oz - Belgian - Aromatic

HOPS:
0.75 oz - Magnum for 60 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Mosaic for 20 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Styrian Goldings for 20 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Mosaic for 5 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Styrian Goldings for 5 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
1 oz - Chinook for 5 days, Type: Leaf/Whole, Use: Dry Hop
1 oz - Mosaic for 5 days, Type: Pellet, Use: Dry Hop

MASH STEPS:
1) Temperature, Temp: 152 F, Time: 90 min, Amount: 7 qt
2) Sparge, Temp: 152 F, Amount: 7 qt

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1 Tablet- Whirlfloc Tablet, Time: 15 min, Type: Fining, Use: Boil

YEAST:
White Labs - Trappist Ale Yeast WLP500

If you wanted to use the T-58, you could pitch a more attenuative yeast (like US-05 or Nottingham) along with it or after a few days to help the beer dry out. However, I don't really care for T-58. I would use the 550; it's a very nice yeast, and starters aren't too difficult. Once the yeast gets going, it will generate enough heat for the beer to be a few degrees warmer than its surroundings, but if you have a heating pad you can wrap around the fermenter, that will help too.

For mine I made a 1L starter and pitched the whole thing in. I had pretty vigorous fermentation within 8 hours. When I first pitched the yeast the temp was at 68, then during the most vigorous stage of the fermentation I noticed the temp had jumped up to 74. I actually had to open a window for an hour or so to cool it down. My apartment is kept pretty cool and after fermentation I noticed it dropped down to 65 so I wrapped my carboy in an old hoodie and a blanket. It's been right around 70 since then.

Anyway I would recommend going with a liquid yeast and making a starter. Also, don't forget a blowoff tube!! I can't really speak much on dry yeast as I've never used it, so it's totally up to you. When I tasted my beer a few days ago I really enjoyed the flavors that the Ardennes created. A little spicy and a nice fruitiness, but that might have been the Amarillo flavor as well. I'm bottling on Thursday or Friday so ill let you know how it tastes after the dry hop.

Well I just ordered wlp500 (it had a lower temp range of 65-72 vs 68-78 for wlp550), and I also ordered 2oz of mosaic hops from rebelbrewer (they had the cheapest shipping for a small order like this). Hopefully it gets here by Saturday so that I can brew this weekend.

I had received the grains a couple weeks ago, but I had been waiting until the weather got a bit warmer and also, I have an altbier in my primary that I need to rack into the secondary. I typically do 10 days in the primary, 2 weeks in the secondary, and 2 weeks in the bottle. Do you think 10 days in the primary, 3 weeks in the secondary, and 3 weeks in the bottle will be enough before opening the first bottle of this tripel?

Alright, here's the final recipe, I think I'm done making changes. I added 1/8 ounce of coriander to the recipe. I think it will help balance out and give some complexity to the bitterness of the hops. I also scrapped the carapils and I'm adding a full 2lbs of corn sugar.

Brew Method: Partial Mash
Style Name: Imperial IPA
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 3 gallons
Est. Efficiency: 65% (brew house)

ESTIMATED STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.081
Final Gravity: 1.018
ABV (standard): 8.21%
IBU (rager): 61.37
SRM (morey): 6.13

FERMENTABLES:
5 lb - Dry Malt Extract - Extra Light - (late addition)
3 lb - Belgian - Pilsner
2 lb - Corn Sugar - Dextrose - (late addition)
8 oz - American - White Wheat
8 oz - Belgian - CaraVienne
4 oz - Belgian - Aromatic

HOPS:
0.75 oz - Magnum for 60 min, Type: Pellet
0.5 oz - Mosaic for 20 min, Type: Pellet
0.5 oz - Styrian Goldings for 20 min, Type: Pellet
0.5 oz - Mosaic for 5 min, Type: Pellet
0.5 oz - Styrian Goldings for 5 min, Type: Pellet
1 oz - Chinook for 5 days, Type: Pellet
1 oz - Mosaic for 5 days, Type: Pellet

MASH STEPS:
1) Temperature, Temp: 152 F, Time: 90 min, Amount: 7 qt
2) Sparge, Temp: 170 F, Amount: 7 qt

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1 each - Whirlfloc Tablet, Time: 15 min, Type: Fining, Use: Boil
0.125 oz - Coriander, Time: 15 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil

YEAST:
White Labs - Trappist Ale Yeast WLP500

I'll let you know how it turns out. CHEERS!

if the brewersfriend calculator is telling me that I will get a FG of about 1.018, do you guys think I could/will acheive a lower abv due to using the corn sugar? I don't believe that brewersfriend accounts for the fermentability of the grains/ingredients.

So after 5 days in the primary, I'm still getting a bit of airlock activity. Most beers I brew stop most airlock activity after only 3 days and clear up for the most part by day 4. I will definitely stick with my plan to keep this in the primary for a full 2 weeks, and then 3 weeks in the secondary. I usually do 10 days and then 2 weeks.

The hops/sediment hasn't settled out at all and it is basically completely opaque. Hopefull after the bubbling stops it starts to clear up a bit. I'd like it a bit hazy, but nowhere near opaque.