Conditioning a High Gravity Ale

So, I've read around a few threads on secondary conditioning and when to bottle and such, but a lot of it applies to normal gravity beers. Since this is my first High Gravity, I'd like to run my plans I parsed from the threads by the experts to see if it sounds like the wise thing to do.

I brewed a Belgian Tripel that had an OG of 1.110. After two weeks of sitting in the primary, it got down to 1.020, which was much better than I was expecting. I checked it again today (a week later, so a total of three weeks in the primary) and the gravity hasn't changed.

Anyway, I was planning on leaving it there for another week to be sure and then racking it to a secondary, where I'd let it condition for a good two months before bottling it. I was thinking of letting it sit in the bottles for three months before trying it. It's like the 1-2-3 suggestion, but with months instead of weeks.

Does this sound reasonable. Too long? Too short? Doesn't really matter?

Age is what hi gravity needs. My barleywine is in primary for 5 weeks then in a purged secondary for 5-6 weeks before conditioning. You might think about letting it sit in the bottle for 6 months, the more time aged the less alcohol heat you will notice.

I would wonder if you had enough viable yeast left after that much time?
JJ

I force carb due to bottling hatred. Only one viable cell per bottle would be needed to begin carbonation as long as it was kept in a yeast hospitable temp. Or so my beers have told me.

Yeah, that was my biggest concern. Would the yeast hold up after that long of time? I'd hate to wait so long for the beer only to find that it's not carbonated.

Between primary and secondary, that's three months of time before it's bottled. From what I've read, the yeast will still be alive and kicking right?

I just want to double check.

My experience has been "alive and kicking". I tried to back sweeten a mead after 4 months in the secondary and fermentation kicked off again. If it worries you too much add 1/2 packet of yeast with the cooled priming solution to the bottling bucket. Some breweries do this.

I brew a lot of HG Belgians. I'd move the beer into secondary now. There's no need to keep it sitting on all that yeast; you might pick up off flavors if left on it for too long. Bump it over to secondary, and let it sit for at least a month. The best Tripel I made sat in secondary for 3 months. Belgians love age. Then, when you bottle it, let it age some more. It's hard to do, but let it sit in the bottles for at least 6 months. Test one once a month for your own enjoyment, and to experience the flavor changes.

-5gB-