Belgian Triple

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GordonT

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2010
Messages
156
Reaction score
17
Location
Victoria
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
Wyeast Ardennes
Yeast Starter
Wyeast Smack pack
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter
none
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1075
Final Gravity
1015
Boiling Time (Minutes)
90
IBU
5.5
Color
Golden
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
one week
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
4 days
Tasting Notes
malty, spicy, hoppy, orange licorice and coriander in the nose and flavour.
This beer began as my standard La Chouffe clone but circumstances changed the recipe and it came out more as a Karmeliete clone instead.

16 lbs of lager malt
1 lbs of CaraPils
1 500ml bottle of white syrup

1 ounce of Hallertau for 90 minutes
.25 ounce of Hallertau at 5 minutes

I've been experimenting with spiced beers and the timing of spice additions. I think I'm finally getting somewhere as this beer turned out to have an almost perfect balance of spice from the yeast and from the spice additions.

My mashing schedule comes from a conversation I had with Mark Stutrud (Summit Brewing) a long time ago. He was talking about the most efficient method of pulling sugars out of a given malt bill and explained this method.

Mash at a low temp (148 to 152) for a half hour and then raise to 160 for 15 minutes. I usually follow this schedule unless I am purposely looking to create a more attenuated beer, in which case i mash at 148 for 45 minutes. This beer followed my usual schedule.

I fermented in the warmest room of my house with a brew belt warmer attached. I averaged 72F for the primary. Many Belgian yeasts have to be fermented at a high temp (up to 85F) to get their unique spiciness to come out.

I added licorice root from my local health food store at 10.

I cut the zest from two tangerines and put that in along with .5 ounce of crushed coriander seed as I turned the heat off. I usually let the beer sit for a few minutes before transferring it to the cooling vessel.

This has been in the keg for just over a week. It is the kind of beer that can be drunk young. As it ages it will dry out and loose some of the bright fresh flavours. Still a very nice beer when it ages but quite different from the young version.

On having a good first taste of this last night I have to say it is very very good. My wife called it Ambrosia.:mug:
 
Bump...curious about the sugar. When did you add it? To the boil or during fermentation or...?
 
Bump...curious about the sugar. When did you add it? To the boil or during fermentation or...?

I always add during the boil. Just seems the sanitary thing to do. This beer turned out awesome BTW. It was the favorite of several family members and caused me to do a re-brew just last weekend.

With regards to some pointers I was given about making this beer a bit drier and to have a lower FG, I realized I like it with a higher FG and maltier profile. This is one of the main differences between my version of this and the original and I believe one of the reasons some people prefer this one.

Cheers,
 
i havnt been brewing long, but ive never seen a brew be ready to bottle in 11 days. would there be benefit to leaving in primary and secondary longer? Or is this beer suppose to be that young? either way i like what your doing out there.
 
i havnt been brewing long, but ive never seen a brew be ready to bottle in 11 days. would there be benefit to leaving in primary and secondary longer? Or is this beer suppose to be that young? either way i like what your doing out there.

As home brewers the only law we have to respect is Beer Tao, bottle or keg it when you want, drink it when you want. Its great young, and its great with some age on it, but different. Try both and see which one you prefer

:mug:
 
i haven't seem licorice root used in a recipe before, how much did you use and when did you add it?
 
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