belgian trippel taste vs age

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smithabusa

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I brewed an extract Belgian trippel about 5 weeks ago. Finished at about 10% abv. At 2 weeks into it when i measured final gravity i didn't enjoy the taste. Tried it again at about 3.5 weeks and still didnt like it (still in secondary by the way). Tasted it yesterday at 5 weeks and tasting better. Anyhow ive read of people aging them many many months or even a year, what's been your experience? I plan to keg the five gallons.

I was rather bummed at first thinking i would be wasting my time and never enjoy the Flavor, but it seems to be coming around with time.
 
You should be able to let this one sit for a long time, and it will only get better! My last Belgian strong dark was undrinkable until about 3 months, and by 9 months it is good. At a year it should be great!!
 
A tripel is one of those beers that aging improves a LOT!

I kegged mine at about day 15 or so, but let it sit a long time after that! When the keg finally was ready to drink, I bottled some with the beergun and put them in the cellar. After about 6 more months, the ones in the cellar really came around. That was a total of about a year + months after brewday! I would have liked to age them longer to see how they were after another year, but they seem to have disappeared. :drunk:
 
Stop thinking about weeks and start thinking months! Park it somewhere and forget about for a while and you will be rewarded with some amazing beer!
 
Big beers are shelf weights for months and in some cases years before they truly becom great beers.

Patience is probably the single hardest thing to teach and harder yet to learn.
 
Another vote for waiting... I wouldn't even think of cracking one of these before six months in bottle, and a year is probably closer to when it will hit its peak.
 
Belgian yeasts are much different than most other yeasts. They do continue to change flavor with age, more like wine. Aging them really does improve the flavor a lot. In Brew Like a Monk one of the scientist from Wyeast says that Belgian yeasts have a lot in common with wine yeasts.

I brew a lot of Belgians and now always leave them for. couple of monhs, either in the primary or sometimes a secondary. Bottle them and don't even taste the first one until at least 2 months. I find aout 4 months they start to get really good and can go a lot longer and still continue to change. I opened one the other day that has been in the bottle for 2 years and it was amazing.

Tripels seem to take less time to age, where BDSA's really benefit from long term aging.

When brewing Belgians, think in terms of months not weeks.
 
I would have liked to age them longer to see how they were after another year
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Good thread, I have my first tripel in a primary right now, young in age only 1 week old. Looks like it's gettin pushed to the back of the fermenting room for 2 months.
 
I made my recent Belgian Dubbel while I had 300 bottles of other beers conditioning because I knew it would need lots of aging. I plan to just bottle it and forget it until next fall.
 
I love Belgian beers and brew them often. But the wait kills me. Patience is my weakness.
 
Thanks guys, i have no plans to bottle, but will wait a while before kegging.

You can either let it age in the fermenter, the keg or the bottle. Belgian's are ones where I remain a purist and always bottle. Ferment for 3-6 weeks, bottle, and then forget about them for 4-6-12 months. Fermenting and conditioning temp is everything to a Belgian...
 
I just have it in my basement at 65-66 ish, that okay?

It would be better if you could control the fermentation exactly, but it will do. If you continue in the hobby, consider investing in a temperature controlled fermentation chamber. I built mine out of a chest freezer I found at a Sears scratch and dent outlet and hooked it up to an external temperature controller that can dial in the temperature of the freezer to within a quarter degree.

I wouldn't worry about your basement temps unless it starts to get too cold down there (below 60 f). I'd worry more about the beer fermenting on the warm side, as the wort temperature rises as the yeasts do their thing.

Now, as far as aging is concerned.....

I've found that with a decent tripel, that yes they do change with age but I don't find them drinkable much over a year in the bottle. About two months out from bottling, I find mine is just about perfect and it remains great for another four months. After that, it starts to fade.

I still have half a case of my 2010 Sweet Melissa tripel in my clothes closet. I haven't cracked one open in about six months but at last taste it was tasting more like a Belgian mead than a tripel.
 
Fermenation is complete, i brewed about 5 weeks ago. I kept it upstairs during fermenation where its a smidge warmer.

It would be better if you could control the fermentation exactly, but it will do. If you continue in the hobby, consider investing in a temperature controlled fermentation chamber. I built mine out of a chest freezer I found at a Sears scratch and dent outlet and hooked it up to an external temperature controller that can dial in the temperature of the freezer to within a quarter degree.

I wouldn't worry about your basement temps unless it starts to get too cold down there (below 60 f). I'd worry more about the beer fermenting on the warm side, as the wort temperature rises as the yeasts do their thing.

Now, as far as aging is concerned.....

I've found that with a decent tripel, that yes they do change with age but I don't find them drinkable much over a year in the bottle. About two months out from bottling, I find mine is just about perfect and it remains great for another four months. After that, it starts to fade.

I still have half a case of my 2010 Sweet Melissa tripel in my clothes closet. I haven't cracked one open in about six months but at last taste it was tasting more like a Belgian mead than a tripel.
 
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