A Couple of Noobs 2nd Brew - Our Belgian Triple Nipple

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ASassyBeerChick83

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Salutations! :mug:

Last night, the hubby & I brewed our - yes! - 2nd brew!! :ban: We are pretty excited!! :D The hubby really wanted to go for a Belgian & something perhaps a bit more challenging than our Munton's Bock Brew Kit! Although entertaining, we both knew we could handle something a little more intense the second go around! However, I think we might be doing a couple of extracts & partial mashes before moving into the AG. ;)

Okay. So, some of you peeps have seen the recipe we used, but for those folks who haven't, let me review the recipe with you!

Style: Belgian Triple

Sugars:
Amount Type
8 lbs. Light Malt Extract
1 lb. Light Belgian Candi Sugar
3/4 cup Corn Sugar (priming)

Grains:
Amount Type
2 lb. Pilsner Malt
1/2 lb. Carmel-Pils Malt

Hops:
Amount Type
1 oz. German Tradition
1 oz. Fuggles (flavoring)
1/2 oz. Czech Saaz (finishing)

Yeast: Safbrew T-58 Dry Brewing Yeast

Starting Gravity: 1.074
Ending Gravity: 1.016

Directions: Make any water adjustments first. It is best boil as much (up to 5 gallons) as your brew-pot will hold. Be careful not to overfill or cover your brew-pot when boiling, this will cause a boil over.

The use of a grain baf is highly recommended,. Place grains in grain bag, and put into 160 degree water. Cover, turn fire off, let steep for 30 minutes. Remove grain bag and bring water to a boil. Turn off the heat (to prevent scorching), and mix in the malt extracts and any other adjuncts. When fully dissolved, turn the heat back on and return the wort to a rolling boil. Add the bittering hops, continue to boil for 50 minutes. Add the flavoring hops, continue to boil for 5 minutes. Add the finishing hops and continue to boil for 5 more minutes. The use of hop socks makes the addition and removal of hops much easier.

After you have boiled your wort for a full 60 minutes, remove all hops and add water to reach 5 gallons. Cool to 75 degrees and add yeast. Shale your fermenter vigorously for 5 minutes to aerate the wort. Remember, your yeast needs oxygen to live and grow. Attach the blow-off hose to the fermenter and place the end into a container of water to form an air-lock. Rack into secondary fermenter after kreusen has begun to subside.

Starting with the Ingredients first!

Our Grains.
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Our Hops.
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Our Extract.
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The Sugar.
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The Yeast.
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Ready to get this Brew Going!!
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Well, yesterday was brew day!
I have an update coming soon!!
Stay on the lookout!!
I promise! You won't be disappointed!!
We weren't!! ;)



Peace. Love. & Beer.
:mug: CHEERS! :mug:
 
Hey!! Hey!! Hey!!
Back for a New Edition!!
Brewed ourselves the Belgian Triple last night!

You guys have seen all of the Ingredients! Now, let's get this party started!!

We started our brew day with a nice beverage and a :mug: Cheers! :mug: to start it off!! We actually had a couple of friends over last night to enjoy this first BIG brew for us noob couple! ;)

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Okay... So, you guys have read the recipe & seen what ingredients we used for this brew! Let's Jump In!! :rockin:

Sanitation!
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The Grains.
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After steeping, we added in the extract & sugar & stirred until the sugar dissolved.

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After the mixture had dissolved, we returned it to the heat & a full rolling boil before adding in the hops...

i.e. - we used cheese cloth to hold our hops for the brew - & it totally worked out well...

Bittering Hops
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Flavoring
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Finishing
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And we boiled the brew with the hops for 60 minutes.
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The hops after the boil...
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After the boil was complete, we made a cold ice water bath to chill our wort... We moved our wort from our beer brewing pot to the plastic fermenter... Then added 2 gallons of sanitized water to the 3 gallon wort. We filled out primary to the 5-gallon mark & let it chill.

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.... Please keep reading!!
Will be Continued on NEXT POST!!
 
We cooled our Wort down to 75 Degrees before pitching the yeast...

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First...
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Second:
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Mixed well...
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The airlock is ready to go!
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And we are in the FERMENTING CHAMBER
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Used my thrifty used (GOOD DEAL) Used-Hydrometer for a first gravity reading!
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...... I am getting right on to finding the first initial reading!! ;)

Hope you guys have found this enjoyable! I think we are moving right along & we are really enjoying the process!!


Peace. Love. & Beer!
:mug: CHEERS!! :mug:
 
Looks like you're off to a good start. I do wonder why you poured the hot wort into your plastic bucket and chilled in the bucket instead of in the pot?

Um, I think because we added the extra 2 gallons of water to make the 5-gallon brew... Our brew pot, is only 5 gallons and we were afraid that the liquid would be to the rim & didn't want to chance bacteria getting in or any liquid spilling out... Thought it made more sense to have more room... However, it just caused the Wort to chill take a lot longer... it's okay. We learn from each brew, right?! ;)
 
Um, I think because we added the extra 2 gallons of water to make the 5-gallon brew... Our brew pot, is only 5 gallons and we were afraid that the liquid would be to the rim & didn't want to chance bacteria getting in or any liquid spilling out... Thought it made more sense to have more room... However, it just caused the Wort to chill take a lot longer... it's okay. We learn from each brew, right?! ;)

I only chilled once in my sink - it took so long that I built an immersion wort chiller for the second brew. I think on that first brew I did a partial boil - about 3 or 3 1/2 gallons - chilled that in the sink (in the pot) down to 80 or 90 ºF, then dumped that into the bucket and added a couple of gallons of cold sanitized water from the fridge.
 
I only chilled once in my sink - it took so long that I built an immersion wort chiller for the second brew. I think on that first brew I did a partial boil - about 3 or 3 1/2 gallons - chilled that in the sink (in the pot) down to 80 or 90 ºF, then dumped that into the bucket and added a couple of gallons of cold sanitized water from the fridge.

Dang... totally just learned something from here. I think the next time, I will just cool the 3-gallons - or however much the wort is & then add the other 2-gallons of sanitized water after its been cooled. Ha. :eek: Whoops. ;) I guess from every brew... there is something to be learned... Glad to have people there to help me long the way... :D

Oh, I must see this immersion chiller. Are there pictures on a thread? Might be something to do for future brews... Especially if I am gonna wanna start brewing larger batches! ;)
 
Um, I think because we added the extra 2 gallons of water to make the 5-gallon brew... Our brew pot, is only 5 gallons and we were afraid that the liquid would be to the rim & didn't want to chance bacteria getting in or any liquid spilling out... Thought it made more sense to have more room... However, it just caused the Wort to chill take a lot longer... it's okay. We learn from each brew, right?! ;)

i would chill in the kettle in the future. i don't think hot wort + plastic is a great idea.
 
Oh, I must see this immersion chiller. Are there pictures on a thread? Might be something to do for future brews... Especially if I am gonna wanna start brewing larger batches! ;)

Most everyone who brews all-grain and probably many who do extract use some type of chiller - immersion, counterflow, or plate. Just like glass vs. plastic or secondary vs. no secondary, people have strong opinions about which type of chiller is best. I have been quite happy with my immersion chiller. It is a 50 foot length of 3/8 inch O.D. copper tubing coiled up with hose fittings soldered to the ends. I put in into my brew pot about 10 minutes before the end of the boil (no water inside the coil), then at flameout I turn on the tap and start chilling. After the wort gets down to about 90 - 100 ºF (about 10 minutes after flameout) the cooling gets very slow, so at that point I hook the chiller up to a submersible pump in a 20 gallon tub filled with about 10 gallons of ice water and recirculate through the chiller to finish cooling to pitching temp. There are many threads on building your own immersion or counterflow chiller - just do a search. You can build your own or purchase them from any on-line HB store and most LHB stores.
 
Wow! It's totally been busy!
I know I have just unloaded on you guys today! ;)
I guess New Brewer's Enthusiasm! :D

Okay... So, I did this video update... Live... I wanted to show you guys what's going on with the airlock. I don't know if anyone else does video updates, but it's cool to see what the airlock does while the beer is fermenting! ;) And this is only my second brew! Ha.

Okay... let's see here...

A%20Couple%20of%20Noobs%202nd%20Brew%20-%20Belgian%20Triple%20Nipple
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i think she looks pretty happy! & I think she smells Amazing!! I guess time will tell & until then, I am gonna sit back, relax, & have a brew! :mug:
& learn quite a few other things before the next brew! :mug:


Peace. Love. & Beer!
:mug: CHEERS! :mug:
 
Everything's looking great so far! Only thing that I would recommend is to increase the size of your hop bags. I've found it's better to not have the hops so compacted. The more surface area the better. Hop bags are cheap, reusable, and allow your hop additions to "breathe" a little more during the boil. Not to mention they're GREAT for dry hopping! With them looking as clumped up as they are after the boil, the inside of the bags might not be getting the best hop utilization. Not a huge deal by any means. You're gonna end up with some great beer by the looks of it...I'm just happier knowing that all the hops are going to be used! Keep it up! :mug:
 
Nice step by step.

Yeah, if you're doing 3 gal boils chill that in the sink. Have 2 gallon jugs of distilled, sanitized, RO or sanitized tap water in the fridge. You can probably chill your 3 gallons to 110 with nothing but a couple exchanges of tap water in a half hour. Add two gallons of the chilled water and you'll be in the 80 degree range.
 
Oh, and as with the hop bags, I just use one larger bag with my many additions. Just keep it loosely tied to a handle or clamped to the side with a clothes pin. Whenever you your recipe calls for an addition, just untie or unclamp and drop them right in.
 
Thanks for the tips, guys....
Hope I don't get just lost in the mix....
Hope you guys are paying attention so that I can learn...
As i already have... ;) Good times. & Good Beer!



peace. love. & beer.
:mug: CHEERS!!
 
Nice step by step.

Yeah, if you're doing 3 gal boils chill that in the sink. Have 2 gallon jugs of distilled, sanitized, RO or sanitized tap water in the fridge. You can probably chill your 3 gallons to 110 with nothing but a couple exchanges of tap water in a half hour. Add two gallons of the chilled water and you'll be in the 80 degree range.

Yes.... Yes.... This is what I told the hubby today. ;) He agreed. We learn when we do things... I am just glad that all of these learning curves, can be learned from when doing brew to brew to brew! I already felt like I know so much but know nothing at all... ;)

Thanks for all of the tips! Hopefully our Belgian comes out nice!! :)






peace. love. & beer!!
:tank: CHEERS!! :tank:
 
This is what I love about this site. Just reading through everyone else's experience has me with a page of notes for the next brew.
 
Hey! Hey! Hey!!

Wow! So, I just opened my fridge this morning to check out what's going on with that bucket in there.... & the anticipation just kills me!! :D The smell is quite different from the first Bock Munton's kit that we brewed a couple of weeks ago. I remember talking to some people on here about the different kinds of smells that beer smells like when fermenting... Guys, this Belgian here, I think smells like old rotton boiled eggs... & yummy beer & yeast.... ;) Ha.ha.ha.Ha. it's quite a different smell.. We have put the fridge temp. on at about 64/65 degrees.. & the airlock is still chuggin' like a champ! Question about the smell... How will I know, with smells as strong as this, if my beer is ever contaminated while fermenting? Also, at any point, can I take the lid off of my primary - the 7-gallon bucket to look inside without contaminating it with any bacteria?

.... the hubby & I are already thinking about what kind of brew we want to go with next.... it's looking like a Hefeweizen.... ;) :D
Any tips? Thoughts? Answers?


Peace. Love. & Beer.
:mug: CHEERS!! :mug:
 
+ 1 on the roomier hop bags. Not a big deal with this style, but if you ever do an IPA you'll be shortchanging yourself by having such tight little hop balls (sounds funny!) in the boil. They expand. I generally like to make a bag that has 4-5x the space of the original pellets.

Also, a suggestion: duct tape the temperature probe in your ferm chamber to the side of the bucket. The air temp in that chamber is at least 5 degrees cooler then what's going on inside the bucket, and maybe even 10 degrees. That can make a huge difference in yeast charachter and ester production.

Go ahead and look. There's so much co2 and gasses coming OUT right now, that it's unlikely anything can get in...but be aware, everytime you expose your beer to open air the infection chances are not zero. In time when the newness wears off, you'll be able to let an entire fermentation go without checking on it. OR...get a plastic better bottle and you can see it all happen...that's what I did. That's the only downfall of a bucket IMHO.
 
Oh, and co2 can literally BURN your sinus passages, so a small chamber like that is going to smell strong no matter what. If you get an infection (I don't think you should worry too much about this, just practice good sanitation) it'll more then likely present itself AFTER the primary and active fermentation has stopped. Right now the yeasties are juggernauts, and they are hogging the food from all their competitors.
 
Well, I am really excited!! I think it smells fine & we sanitized as best as we could. Everything we used was sanitized & everything went smoothly...
I do think that the bigger bags for the BIAB might be a better solution than gathering all of the grains into one ball... I see what everyone means about the bigger bag & mixing the grains around in the bag.. Next brew - & the next time I am at my LHBS, I will look at picking one of these up... there are lots of things to learn & improve every time we brew...

Another question.... for a Belgian, my temp. in my chamber is about 65 degrees. Is this a good round-about temp. to ferment the beer?


Thanks!



peace.. love.. & beer..
:mug: CHEERS! :mug:
 
Hey! Hey! Hey!
Happy Hump Day!!

Well, i am in the 3rd day after brewing our Belgian Triple on Sunday! :ban: Getting excited!!
I do have a couple of questions....

First Belgian... started temps. in ferment to about 64 to 65... Now where should I put the temperature?
I raised it to upper 60's because I have read a couple of places on here what to keep the temps at... & that Belgians work better with higher temps...

Second, for my Belgian, how long should a Belgian ferment for? I am reading about longer days to ferment than other beers... True? Should I ferment for 4 to 6 weeks?



Peace. Love. & Beer.
:mug: Cheers! :mug:
 
I would keep it where its at while the beer is still going strong. As the activity dies down, I would let the temp free rise to ambient temps. This will help the beer finish dry and you might end up with a little of the yeasty character Belgians are known for. I would leave it in the fermenter for a week once it's done... if its a stronger Belgian, it would probably benefit from an additional month in a secondary.
 
Not to be nit-picky (is that a word?) or anything, but I think your O.G. is a little low for a tripel. I think you only have a dubbel nipple going on there. But hey, it's your beer so you can call it whatever you like.

I have to say I am a little jealous that you're only on your second brew and you already have a dedicated beer fridge.
 
Not to be nit-picky (is that a word?) or anything, but I think your O.G. is a little low for a tripel. I think you only have a dubbel nipple going on there. But hey, it's your beer so you can call it whatever you like.

I have to say I am a little jealous that you're only on your second brew and you already have a dedicated beer fridge.


Oiy.... idk exactly know how to measure for O.G. yet... :( I know, second brew - sad. Any who... I would like to learn from anyone who is willing to teach me how to measure & read my O.G. so that I know how to calculate it later...??? :confused: I kept the temps there for a couple of days... It's been almost a week since we brewed... almost!! :D

LOL!! I actually browsed here for a while before the first brew - & I told the hubby that I needed a fridge to keep the beer in to ferment... It's awesome! A whole fridge!! ;) :D :rockin: :ban:
 
I would keep it where its at while the beer is still going strong. As the activity dies down, I would let the temp free rise to ambient temps. This will help the beer finish dry and you might end up with a little of the yeasty character Belgians are known for. I would leave it in the fermenter for a week once it's done... if its a stronger Belgian, it would probably benefit from an additional month in a secondary.


Go it!! Thanks for the tip, totally!! I just like to keep up with what everyone gives me all of these tips!! ;)
 
Happy Sunday Funday!!
:mug: :mug: :mug:

So... it's been a week since we brewed our Belgian Triple!! :ban: We have left the brew in the primary bucket for this period... The airlock is still bubbling.. The hubby checked it this morning & 23 seconds in... *bubble* I am guessing, if I wanted to move the beer from the primary to the secondary, I would wait until after the airlock stops bubbling... :confused: I am reading that Belgians take a little longer in the primary & moved into the secondary for another couple of weeks before even bottling.

I plan on keeping it in the primary for a little bit longer. Reading about 4 weeks in the primary...?? Sounds good. We are down 1 week!

... Guess it's time to start thinking of that 3rd Brew!! ;)


Happy Sunday Funday!!
 
2 to 3 weeks in primary is pretty good for most "average" beers. For a Tripel, 3 to 4 weeks should be just about perfect. In general, more patience equals better beer.
 
How big is your secondary? It's probably not necessary for a beer in the 1.065 range, but... if you do wish to transfer and you have a 6 gal secondary but only 5 gal of beer, I would transfer now so the little bit of active fermentation left will fill the headspace of the carboy with CO2. If you have 5 gal of beer and a 5 gal carboy, just wait till the bubbles stop or you have a consistent gravity reading before transferring since there won't be much headspace to potentially oxidize your beer.

In my opinion, the real advantage of transferring a beer is freeing up your primary for another brew:)
 
I think I said this in another thread about this beer, but I would just leave it in primary for a month and bottle. I mean, make sure you've hit your terminal gravity of course. Most likely it will be done with active fermentation after 5 days to a week but if you leave it, the yeast will clean up after itself and only make your beer better.

You do not need to transfer this to secondary unless you are adding something to it like fruit or more hops or you have one primary fermenter and are itching to brew another batch. THEN, I would let it go for at least 2 weeks in primary as that should give the yeast time to ferment out & do some cleaning up before you move it. Again, your hydrometer will tell you if it's done and you should rely on that more than an arbitrary period of time.
 
How big is your secondary? It's probably not necessary for a beer in the 1.065 range, but... if you do wish to transfer and you have a 6 gal secondary but only 5 gal of beer, I would transfer now so the little bit of active fermentation left will fill the headspace of the carboy with CO2. If you have 5 gal of beer and a 5 gal carboy, just wait till the bubbles stop or you have a consistent gravity reading before transferring since there won't be much headspace to potentially oxidize your beer.

In my opinion, the real advantage of transferring a beer is freeing up your primary for another brew:)


See? This is what I am talking about!! :rockin: Right on! i was thinking, the 4th week, transferring it into the carboy so that I can start my 3rd brew in the fermenting bucket... Probably with that... it's also used as my bottling bucket... So, my LHBS sells the 7-gallon buckets with or without the spigot.. I am thinking about going to pick one of those up & while the Belgian is in the carboy, I can go ahead with the next brew... Which we're already thinking about!! ;)


I haven't checked in the bucket.. Don't really want too.. Scared that some bacteria might get in there... I think I am just gonna let her sit for a couple of more weeks... It's been 1 week so far.. So, another 3 or 4 weeks & then on to bottling this big girl up! :rockin:


Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. :confused: ;)
 
You should get a 2nd bucket, its a lot better having separate ferment/bottling buckets. My kit came with 6.5 gal fermenter, 6.5 gal bottling bucket and a 5 gal carboy.
SWMBO didn't like the smell in her kitchen when I did my first batch so I have to wait for cooler weather for my 3rd batch :( At least the first 2 turned out good :)
 
Agreed with the second bucket... they're little more than a pack of yeast, stackable, and you don't have to worry about a leaky or unsanitized spigot while fermenting or bottling. I try to keep three beers going at all times. Two primaries and a secondary, which is reserved for a few big beers/lagers a year. When something comes out of the secondary to bottles or a keg, I'll have another imperial or lager ready to transfer.
 
Research FTW! One of the best things about getting into brewing was all the sampling, finding the best store in town for buying mix 'n match 6ers, reading up on the various styles, etc etc etc. Good times!

Cheers!

I know! I "save" so much money by buying my grain by the sack and my hops by the pound that I suddenly have so much more money to spend on commercial brews! And, should there be any more left over... well, I could use a new fermentor couldn't I?
 
I was going to suggest getting another bucket. I don't see any reason for the spigot. Use your racking cane, with the little black tip to leave most, of the yeast, hops, or trub, in the bucket.
 
Agreed with the second bucket... they're little more than a pack of yeast, stackable, and you don't have to worry about a leaky or unsanitized spigot while fermenting or bottling. I try to keep three beers going at all times. Two primaries and a secondary, which is reserved for a few big beers/lagers a year. When something comes out of the secondary to bottles or a keg, I'll have another imperial or lager ready to transfer.

See? This is what I was thinking about the spigot... & I wanted to start fermenting 2 beers instead of just 1 sittin' in there, ya know? the more, the merrier!! So, what do you think about this idea...? A Hefeweizen & a Saison!? i am thinking that temps. for both for fermenting are about the same... & if not, my house sits at about 77 to 80 degrees & it's getting to the 100-make degree temps. around these neck of the woods... Maybe put the Saison outside? Too hot?

Research FTW! One of the best things about getting into brewing was all the sampling, finding the best store in town for buying mix 'n match 6ers, reading up on the various styles, etc etc etc. Good times!

Cheers!

Totally sampling beers all of the time!! don't usually buy a variety 6-pk. but we like to buy like 3 different 6-packs at once to try out a different beer. Cannot tell you how many beers we have tried! :tank: We try the beers & then talk about maybe we should brew a beer like this - - something that we like... ;) Then I start researching about it... :ban:

I was going to suggest getting another bucket. I don't see any reason for the spigot. Use your racking cane, with the little black tip to leave most, of the yeast, hops, or trub, in the bucket.

True... but with the fermenting bucket, won't I still have to siphon the beer out and then still bottle it or could I just bottle while siphoning from the fermenting bucket?

I know! I "save" so much money by buying my grain by the sack and my hops by the pound that I suddenly have so much more money to spend on commercial brews! And, should there be any more left over... well, I could use a new fermentor couldn't I?

LOL! Right on!! :rockin: Buying by the pound? Do you use all of the ingredients at once, brewing more than one beer? When I went to buy my ingredients for the Belgian Brew, we kind of just picked out a recipe, and the guy directed to where we could find all of our ingredients & even showed us how to mill the grains there!! :rockin: Should I buy in the pound? Can you freeze grains? Say do one brew one day & another brew one week later?



Thanks for the Input, Guys!! :mug:
We are doing Great Things - Just Trying to Make Things Better!



Peace. Love. & Beer!
:mug: CHEERS! :mug:
 

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