My first "kit" after 5 years of brewing and...

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

iBrew

Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2009
Messages
21
Reaction score
0
Location
NC
I'm not sure what to do with it. My girlfriend's family this passed Christmas did a secret santa, pick a name out of a hat and spend $50.00 thing and I got a brewer's best Belgian Triple kit. Even my first batch years ago was designed by me, 100% extract mind you, but designed by me nonetheless. So this really is my first "kit". This kit, as many probably know, comes with a packet of Nottingham dry. I am having a hard time even considering this yeast for the beer. In my mind I feel like it would cheat the outcome by not using a belgian or at least a pseudo-belgian strain. Now understandably this isn't a spot on recipe for its style but if I'm going to come anywhere near close I won't be using Nottingham's. SO... I am thinking of switching the yeast to the fermentis safbrew S-33. I would like to stick with dry yeast for this recipe but I will take liquid suggestions just to keep an open mind. Any advice or input is greatly appreciated!!! :mug:
 
+1 on the T-58.

However… Since this is a KIT and you are not doing it stock anyway, I would go with a liquid yeast, like maybe Wyeast 1388 Belgian Strong Ale, to get as much flavor out of the kit as you can.

Don’t change anything else and blow them away with how much you were able to improve it.
 
I might go Wyeast 1388 Belgian Strong Ale.

T-58 is pretty peppery and woody on finish and didn't let enough of the malt flavor through on my Imperial Porter. I liked it, but had some objections to that flavor, and some picked up so much woodiness they asked if it had been oaked! (but it did hit over 8% final ABV. )
 
Are you set up to bottle this bad boy?! Style calls for 3-4 volumes, which can blow normal bottles...

Also, don't forget to ramp up the heat throughout fermentation. Using a liquid Belgian strain, JZ suggests starting at 64F and ramping up to 70+ over a three day period to get it dry enough in character.

The T-58 is a Belgian strain, some say Chimay. The S-33 is English, and I've used it successfully for my Scottish 70 Shilling Ale before, though I feel the White Labs Edinburgh liquid strain is superior.
 
Back
Top