Should I cold-crash my dubbel?

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homebrewbeliever

homebrewbeliever

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Hey HBT community! So I am brewing my first dubbel (which looks and smells great), and I am wondering if I should cold-crash it after I secondary it. I'm doing a 2-week primary and a 3-week secondary. If I should cold crash it, how long should I cold crash it for before I bottle it?
 
You may want to primary a bit longer, especially if you're not taking gravity readings. If this means skipping the secondary, that's fine. Then cold crash 2-3 days, and bottle. Age that badboy! Mine is getting so so so much better, now entering its fifth month of aging. J
 
What is the starting gravity? For a hgh gravity dubbel I would primary at leat a month to six weeks,then secondary(as long as gravity is where it should be) if I felt it was needed.
 
For my Belgian brews I usually go 5-8 week in the primary, and don't bother with a secondary. You can crash if you want but I usually do not. Bottle them up and give them some time to age. Belgian yeasts do change with time so put some aside to age. I usually put 1/2 in 12 oz bottles and start slowly drinking those after about a month to six weeks. The other half goes into 22oz bottle and these get aged.
 
BrewerBear said:
What is the starting gravity? For a hgh gravity dubbel I would primary at leat a month to six weeks,then secondary(as long as gravity is where it should be) if I felt it was needed.
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The OG is 1.062, which is not SUPER high or anything... Do you really think it'll take six weeks?
 
beergolf said:
For my Belgian brews I usually go 5-8 week in the primary, and don't bother with a secondary. You can crash if you want but I usually do not. Bottle them up and give them some time to age. Belgian yeasts do change with time so put some aside to age. I usually put 1/2 in 12 oz bottles and start slowly drinking those after about a month to six weeks. The other half goes into 22oz bottle and these get aged.
Click to expand...

How long do you typically age them for before you find them to be yummy? I have a Belgian Golden Strong that I bottled recently (its still bottle conditioning and wont be carbed for another week), and I tasted it during bottling and it was so over the top with esters and crazy flavors... I know that bad boy needs to sit for quite some time, but about how long would you think?
 
It may not take that long,but I let almost all of my beer sit 3 to 4 weeks also I really like dubbels and would want to give it the time to make sure it comes out right. Once bottled i would wait 3 weeks before testing one,like most beers I'm sure it would get better with age. What recipe did you use?
 
BrewerBear said:
It may not take that long,but I let almost all of my beer sit 3 to 4 weeks also I really like dubbels and would want to give it the time to make sure it comes out right. Once bottled i would wait 3 weeks before testing one,like most beers I'm sure it would get better with age. What recipe did you use?
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I slightly modified the all grain belgian golden strong recipe from northern brewer. Also, I added cherry extract on bottling.
 
homebrewbeliever said:
How long do you typically age them for before you find them to be yummy? I have a Belgian Golden Strong that I bottled recently (its still bottle conditioning and wont be carbed for another week), and I tasted it during bottling and it was so over the top with esters and crazy flavors... I know that bad boy needs to sit for quite some time, but about how long would you think?
Click to expand...

It really depends on the brew. A dubbel I will start tasting at about a month. A BDSA I may give it two months for the first taste. Most of the time they will be good at a couple of months but the high gravity brews really do change for the better with time. I like about 5 months for BDSA's but I have one that is about a year and a half old that is awesome. So try them as you go, but definitely set some aside to age.
 
beergolf said:
It really depends on the brew. A dubbel I will start tasting at about a month. A BDSA I may give it two months for the first taste. Most of the time they will be good at a couple of months but the high gravity brews really do change for the better with time. I like about 5 months for BDSA's but I have one that is about a year and a half old that is awesome. So try them as you go, but definitely set some aside to age.
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Word. I'll taste as I go, but its nice to have a general ballpark from someone who's brewed them before. I'll wait on it for a few months before trying one. :mug:
 

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