When and how should I dry-hop my tripel?

5 weeks ago I have brewed my Tripel. OG was 1.105 and it is now down to 1.016.

Recipe call for another month of bulk fermentation and then bottles for 4 more months.
I want to add some nice deep hop Aroma.

Which hops, for how long, and how much should I use? I have Styrian Gold, Chinook, Centennial, Cascade, and Magnum.

I assume there is enough alcohol in the beer, I can just immerse the hops without doing anything to them?

Chinook will give you that west coast style big hop aroma like sierra nevada but I'm a sucker for magnum. I put it in almost everything. Give it a couple weeks in the secondary before you bottle it either way. But remember, the longer you age in the bottle the more of the hop flavor/aroma will be broken down. It will mellow out that's just how it goes.

You're talking about a Belgian tripel, right?


They typically aren't dry-hopped. Most of the aroma comes from the yeast/fermentation.

If I had to pick one of those, however, it would be Styrian Goldings.

I wouldn't dry hop a tripel, especially if you leave it in the bottle for four months. Triples, out of all the Belgian styles, is the one with a late hop addition, but it's not usually a dry hop. If you do dry hop it, styrian goldings, or some other noble hop would be the most "Belgian" choice.

I love Centennial, I would go with that or the Magnum.

To get that deep aroma, I think your talking about just good aging time. I would go with 2oz/5gal magnum or centennial. depending on your current hop profile. If it has lots of hop taste that you dont want to cover I would go with one ounce. Not alot of flavor that can be covered then you can up the dry hop addition.
And I dont think Tripels are normally dry hopped at all.

Big reason I am tempted to add some hops to the Belgian Tripel is that the alcohol is bit overwhelming. Granted I wanted to make a high-octane beer. But I would like it to be more than just booze.

agurkas said:

Big reason I am tempted to add some hops to the Belgian Tripel is that the alcohol is bit overwhelming. Granted I wanted to make a high-octane beer. But I would like it to be more than just booze.

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You're probably better off aging it cold for a few months after they carbonate rather than try to cover it up.

One thing I've learned from brewing higher alcohol beers is to keep the OG on the lower side of the style and get it to ferment dry. This has given me better results, quicker drinkable time too, than a high OG with a higher FG. My saison is drinking nice now, kegged a month after brewday, and it's got an OG of 1.048 but still higher than 6% ABV.

The alcohol flavor will mellow out over time, as you let it sit in secondary for a couple months. just like the directions say to.


For real though, dont try to cover that up with dry hopping. It will ruin what makes it a tripel. Make a belgian IPA for your next batch and dry hop that


Mike

Not only should you not dry hop a tripel but you really should not dry hop it with US hops.

Sounds like dry-hoping is not advised. This is my first Belgian Tripel, so I am still learning.

One more month in the secondary and I am praying it will be ready for bottles.
This was one expensive grain bill.

agurkas said:

Sounds like dry-hoping is not advised. This is my first Belgian Tripel, so I am still learning.

One more month in the secondary and I am praying it will be ready for bottles.
This was one expensive grain bill.

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Yeah so no need to make it more expensive with dry-hopping!

Tripels really shouldn't have any hop flavor profile. The alcohol hotness will most definitely mellow over time. My 11% tripel began hot but after 3 months or so in the keg it was amazingly sneaky. Scary even, that it only seemed like a 5-6%