More banana, less bubblegum

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Skacorica

Skacorica

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So, my next beer Id really like to do is a tripel. My belgian strong ale that is about 2 pints from being gone turned out very well, though I have one major complaint about it: The bubblegum aroma. Its not overwhelming by any means and it doesnt get into the taste really at all and I seem to be the only one bothered by it, but nonetheless, I am. When I drink some of my favorite belgian doub/trips such as NBs abbey and trippel, I get more banana than bubblegum. I realize they are very similar and Abbey has a bit of the bubblegum but trippel its definitely just banana as far as the big (yeast contributed) tastes/smells I get.

As a reference, I fermented that strong ale at about 68-70 degrees (room temp, not fermentation temp). I am thinking I would ferment at 65 in the basement for the tripel. Is that going to get me where I want to be as far as aroma? I know theres a fine line with the banana/bubblegum thing, I just really !@#$ing hate when its crossed
 
I think you fermented a little too high, and that may be why you're getting the bubblegum aroma more than banana.

Try using Wyeast Belgian Ardennes yeast at 64F.
 
Yeah, bubblegum taste/aroma is put off by stressed yeast. What yeast did you use? Most Belgian strains can handle those temps, but depending on pitching rate and oxygen might be stressed. I would start it low (pitch at 65) and after a day or two move it up to room temp and let it rise freely into the 70s to get full attenuation and those fruit flavors that are desired. But, make sure are pitching the proper amount of yeast and oxygenating well.
 
If by NB you mean New Belgium, I noticed their banana esters are out of control on their tripel. It varied from bottle to bottle with some being quite good (for the money) and others being a bunch of bananas. That's not something I'd stride for. Belgian yeasts, under the right conditions, produce better balanced, tastier esters, than just bananas.
 
joety said:
If by NB you mean New Belgium, I noticed their banana esters are out of control on their tripel. It varied from bottle to bottle with some being quite good (for the money) and others being a bunch of bananas. That's not something I'd stride for. Belgian yeasts, under the right conditions, produce better balanced, tastier esters, than just bananas.
Click to expand...

Indeed, I did mean New Belgium. I rather like the banana flavor that their Trippel has... though I havent had any that I thought were overly banana-ish.

What yeast do you prefer?
 
Beerrific said:
Yeah, bubblegum taste/aroma is put off by stressed yeast. What yeast did you use? Most Belgian strains can handle those temps, but depending on pitching rate and oxygen might be stressed. I would start it low (pitch at 65) and after a day or two move it up to room temp and let it rise freely into the 70s to get full attenuation and those fruit flavors that are desired. But, make sure are pitching the proper amount of yeast and oxygenating well.
Click to expand...

Hmm you may have struck something there; I actually did not make a starter for that strong ale. Maybe the lack of starter + slightly higher temp came together to cause it. I used the belgian golden ale yeast. This time I was thinking wyeast 1214, or maybe the Abbey II
 
Suthrncomfrt1884 said:
Try using Wyeast Belgian Ardennes yeast at 64F.
Click to expand...
Suthern, have you used this one before? I was told (by the guys at Wyeast) that this one puts off less fruit much more spice/clove than the other strains. Curious as this is going into a new batch pretty soon.

OP - Trappist High Gravity (3787) will put out a good amount of fruit w/o the bubblegum flavor at around 70*. I wouldn't go any higher than that. In fact, go with what Beeriffic said. That should get you some pretty good results.
 
dalime said:
Suthern, have you used this one before? I was told (by the guys at Wyeast) that this one puts off less fruit much more spice/clove than the other strains. Curious as this is going into a new batch pretty soon.
Click to expand...

Ardennes is actually my go-to strain for Belgians. I'm not a huge fan of the banana bomb beers, so I prefer a little less fruit. This is a very smooth, clean, belgian strain. It puts off enough esters to be noticeable, but not enough to make me feel like a chimp.
 
Skacorica said:
Indeed, I did mean New Belgium. I rather like the banana flavor that their Trippel has... though I havent had any that I thought were overly banana-ish.

What yeast do you prefer?
Click to expand...

So far I prefer 1338, the Duvel's yeast, but I'm trying the Chimay yeast on my current "house belgian" recipe for comparison. I've not used it previously.

I will likely rack it to the keg this weekend and have a taste. It's been in the secondary for two months.

I've also got the Super High Gravity Yeast (3787) going on the Gulden Draak clone listed below. It's been churning for two weeks as I've gradually upped the temperature, currently around 74 degrees but I cranked it up a notch when I left this morning. I've not used that one before either.
 
Skacorica said:
So, my next beer Id really like to do is a tripel. My belgian strong ale that is about 2 pints from being gone turned out very well, though I have one major complaint about it: The bubblegum aroma. Its not overwhelming by any means and it doesnt get into the taste really at all and I seem to be the only one bothered by it, but nonetheless, I am. When I drink some of my favorite belgian doub/trips such as NBs abbey and trippel, I get more banana than bubblegum. I realize they are very similar and Abbey has a bit of the bubblegum but trippel its definitely just banana as far as the big (yeast contributed) tastes/smells I get.

As a reference, I fermented that strong ale at about 68-70 degrees (room temp, not fermentation temp). I am thinking I would ferment at 65 in the basement for the tripel. Is that going to get me where I want to be as far as aroma? I know theres a fine line with the banana/bubblegum thing, I just really !@#$ing hate when its crossed
Click to expand...

How long did you primary, secondary, and bottle age it for? What were your OG and FG readings? I'm curious because I'm starting to get into Belgian brewing. Also, did you use any candi sugar and how much?
 
KayaBrew said:
How long did you primary, secondary, and bottle age it for? What were your OG and FG readings? I'm curious because I'm starting to get into Belgian brewing. Also, did you use any candi sugar and how much?
Click to expand...

Here is my recipe:

Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Type: All grain
Size: 5 gallons
Color:
76 HCU (~29 SRM)
Bitterness: 32 IBU

OG: 1.079 FG: 1.015
Alcohol: 8.3% v/v (6.5% w/w)

Grain:
4 lb. Golden Promise
4 lb. Belgian Pilsner
2.5 lb. Belgian Munich
1.5 lb. Belgian Special B
0.2 lb. American black patent.1
Mash: 70% efficiency
Boil: minutes SG 1.066 6 gallons
1 lb. Brown sugar
1 lb. Cane sugar
1 tbs Coriander (5 minutes)

Hops: 1 oz. Sterling (9% AA, 60 min.)
1 oz. Saaz (3.75% AA, 15 min.)

If I were going to do it again, I would increase the grain bill slightly, add a bit of carapils, remove the black patent, mash at 154, use a different yeast, make a starter, and ferment the first few days at a lower temperature (like 65ish).
 
KayaBrew said:
How long did you primary, secondary, and bottle age it for? What were your OG and FG readings? I'm curious because I'm starting to get into Belgian brewing. Also, did you use any candi sugar and how much?
Click to expand...

I guess I didnt answer the questions you asked (oops).

OG and FG are indicated above, I was very close to what was estimated, though my FG I believe was closer to 1.017 than 1.015. I primaried for 3 weeks, secondary for 3 weeks, then kegged. I did not use candi sugar, I used cane sugar instead. IMO clear candi sugar is a waste, you are essentially making candi sugar when you throw cane sugar into a hot acidic environment (boiling wort). Thats not strictly correct - but I seriously double anyone could taste a difference when its added to the boil.
 

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