OOps - Belgian Tripel Monstrosity

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TomS

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Okay, so here's your laugh for the night.

I brewed Midwest's Belgian Tripel kit last night and when I took my hydrometer reading I was blown away with an OG well over 1.12. The kit was shooting for 1.074. I quickly figured out that I stupidly added the wrong LME from the fridge. I used 9.3 lbs of Midwest's Munich LME (meant for their Oktoberfest kit which was supposed to be my next brew) instead of what should have been 3.3 lbs of Midwest's Pilsen LME. Total bonehead move, especially considering the containers weren't even the same size. I didn't really have any brilliant ideas about anything I could do to rectify my mistake so I pitched my yeast and closed it up. Vigorous fermentation has already started.

So, I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on what sort of monstrosity this is going to create. I have already mentally chalked this one up to my first total loss - and a good lesson in attentiveness- but since it's already fermenting I'd like to know if it's worth seeing what I have created.

Thanks.
 
I think the important questions are, what yeast? what temp are you fermenting at? did you make a starter? if so, how big?
 
Wyeast Belgian Abbey 1214. I did a 2l and then 1l starter to build up to an estimated 250 billion cell count- the proper pitching rate for a 1.074 OG.
 
Recipe:
4 lbs extra light dme
3.3 lbs Pilsen lme (for which I put 9.3 lbs Munich lme)
1.5 lbs candi sugar
1.5 oz Styrian hops for 60 min
0.5 Oz Styrian hops for 15 min
1 oz williamette hops 5 min
1oz sweet orange peel for 5 min
 
That yeast has an attenuation of 74-79% and an alcohol tolerance of 12%. I suspect the yeast will give out before it finishes. And you don't have enough hops to balance out the extra LME. Time to get out the calculator?

Can you figure out how much water and hops you need to add to get back into balance? You could also plug your mistake into an online calculator and then add water and hops by trial and error until you got close.
 
time cures all sins.
Whatever has become of this with the large amount of fermentables it's going to need a while to mellow out.
Once you decide if there is anything, or exactly what you want to do regarding hops and water I'd rack it to another carboy and forget it for a few months.
taste it in like 3 months or so, just to check on it.
 
I would say let ride on the current yeast until it bumps up against that alcohol tolerance, which I suspect it will do. Then, get a big starter ready of WLP099, super high gravity yeast. Pitch the big starter at high krausen and you should be able to dry it out some.
 
I like the idea of pitching WLP099 to dry it out. I'd taste a sample at that point and check your gravity readings.
It may be what some people call "sweet" but you may like it just fine.
Either way I have a feeling this beer will be amazing after a year.
 
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