Belgium tripel yeast question

So I'm about to brew a Belgium tripel, I am going to use a trappist ale yeast to ferment and I am wondering if this is a good yeast for this type of beer?? Also if I am using a bucket with lid instead of a carboy will I need a blow off tube? I've heard these can be active brews.

Any thoughts??

iceman1407

So I'm about to brew a Belgium tripel, I am going to use a trappist ale yeast to ferment and I am wondering if this is a good yeast for this type of beer?? Also if I am using a bucket with lid instead of a carboy will I need a blow off tube or will the airlock suffice? I've heard these can be active brews.

Any thoughts??

iceman1407

iceman1407

Look for "Spicy" as an,adjective in its description

iceman1407 said:

Any thoughts??

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My first thought is that the style is a "Belgian" tripel. You wouldn't brew a "Germany lager" would you?

There are a number of different Trappist yeasts that people use, which one specifically were you thinking about? I like Wyeast 1762 and 3787.

They do tend to make a lot of kraeusen if you let the temperatures rise too high. If you have a fair amount of headspace, like 25% by volume, then you wouldn't need a blowoff tube.

A few could work....

WY. 1214,1388,3787, 3522.

I also did one a while ago where I mixed 1214 & 3787, that came out great.

My all-time fav is a seasonal by White Labs - WLP-545. It's available now!

I used Pilsner malt and German hops, and 545 yeast.

Yea the yeast I'm using is white labs wlp 500. Any ideas on decent primary, secondary, and conditioning times and temps? Temp wise I was just planning to keep it between 65-72 throughout...

iceman1407

I brew a fair amount of Belgian beers (probably around 75% of my brews) that being said. They are great beers. They do tend to start a pretty vigirous fermentation then slow down after about a week. That's about the time I switch from a blow off tube to an airlock. A lot of this will also be related to the temps that you are fermenting at. Usually the higher the temps the more banana and other fruit flavors the yeast will impart. If you don't want that then ferment at the lower end of the temp range 65-68*F. When you start getting into the 70s and above thats when the fruit flavors tend to come out. Some styles do call for that so it's not a bad thing. If you have a decent size fermenting bucket 6.5 gal and a blowoff tube, you will be fine.

WLP 500 is the Chimay yeast and works really well and is usually a beast. Those temps are good. If you can keep it in primary for around 3-4 weeks then you will have a great beer.

beerloaf

I also forgot to add that you should probably make a yeast starter due to the higher gravity.

beerloaf

So no secondary beerloaf? Just 3-4 weeks primary then bottle and condition? How long do you typically age yours after bottling before popping one open?

iceman1407

IMO, I am a fan of pitching at 65F or so, then letting the beer rise in temp. With the 545, I started at 64F and let it rise to 76F over the fermentation time.

The temperature rise helps the beer finish properly, finishing much drier.

Definitely use a blow off tube, those Belgian yeasts are prolific!

r2eng said:

IMO, I am a fan of pitching at 65F or so, then letting the beer rise in temp. With the 545, I started at 64F and let it rise to 76F over the fermentation time.

The temperature rise helps the beer finish properly, finishing much drier.

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Bingo...

I do the same thing. Pitch at 64ish and then just let the yeast do what it wants.

I love Belgians so I do them every other brew when it is warm out.

Building up my supply for the colder months.

If you read BLAM (Brew Like A Monk) that's pretty much what the Trappist monks still do. Start at low temps and let it rise naturally. They also add sugar to help it dry out. As far as bottle conditioning. The bigger the beer gravity vise, the longer that takes. Most tripels are about right at the 2-3 month mark. I usually do not even bother sampling a tripel until at least 2 months in the bottle. And no you do not need a secondary, there are a gazillion threads on here discussing that. It's really personal preference however you do not need it.

beerloaf

How bad would it be to pitch the yeast in this tripel in the mid eighties?? Trying to get it to 70-75 bit it is getting late. Any ideas??

iceman1407

I would go lower if possible, you will get better results. 70-75 is ideal and then you could still try to cool passively down to the mid 60s. Belgian yeasts are also known for their ability to not respond well to extreme temp drops. It's called shocking the yeast. So you want to avoid that. In most cases thats an issue later in the fermentation.

beerloaf

Definitely use a blowoff. I just transferred a tripel to secondary the other day. Used wyeast 3787 and fermentation was vigorous enough to run into the blowoff tube for 3-4 days. My tube ended in a 2 cup Pyrex and there was a least a half inch of yeast in the cup by the time the blowoff receded. I pitched a half gallon starter into a 5 gallon batch, fermenting in a 6 gallon carboy.

So I tried something I saw a brewer do on YouTube where he took his wort right off the boil poured into the fermenter bucket from several feet up and then poured cold gallons of purified water and chilled the wort. Kind of a poor mans wort chiller.

Well I guess my water jugs weren't cold enough because now my wort is just sitting at about 85 and not really dropping. So time just marches on as I wait and pray it gets to the low 70s so I can go to bed. So I guess word to the wise if you try this make sure the water is ice ice cold.

Hopefully I haven't ruined this batch

iceman1407

Before I built a wort chiller, I used ice baths and simply ran cold water into the plugged up sink and set the boil kettle into it. That worked just took about an hour to get down to pitching temps.

beerloaf

Well the problem turned into the fact that I was now chilling 5 gallons as opposed to just 2. So was taking forever. But got to be up at 4am so had to make an executive decision. I had to pitch it at 81 degrees. Didn't want to but bit the bullet and am now going to toss and turn all night with my fingers crossed for successful brewing.

Hooked up the blow off and now I guess time will tell. I'll post updates tomorrow afternoon after work, hopefully something will be going on in there...

iceman1407

I've pitched a little high on numerous styles due to exhaustion/drunkeness and still ended up with pretty good beers. You're probably fine.

You can always chill it as much as you can, pour it in the fermenter and let it cool overnight. It will be pretty close to room temp by the morning. Then pitch in the morning.

Pitching at 85 will not ruin your beer, but it will definitely change it. I've done it before and I didn't like the result. The esters were much too strong for my liking. The reason you want to pitch low with a Belgian beer is that the esters and phenols are thrown off during the reproductive phase. The lower the temp is during the first 24-48 hours, the less of those flavors you will get.

Update #1:

So to recap, got to late last night and pitched this tripel at 81degrees, that was about 1130. I checked it at about 5am and it is sitting at 74 degrees now. Will post another update later.

Is there hope yet for saving this brew and preserving the desired outcome? I know it was posted that this could throw off the esters but it fell back into safe range pretty early in the fermentation it seems...

iceman1407

Update #1:

So to recap, got to late last night and pitched this tripel at 81degrees, that was about 1130. I checked it at about 5am and it is sitting at 74 degrees now. Will post another update later.

Is there hope yet for saving this brew and preserving the desired outcome? I know it was posted that this could throw off the esters but it fell back into safe range pretty early in the fermentation it seems...

iceman1407

iceman1407

Update 2:

So somewhere in the night fermentation kicked up. About 0300 I heard it going strong and is still very steady and active. Had nothing for the first 24 but starting into the second 24 really kicked up.

I had thought about pitching another vial or two of wlp 500 trappist yeast. Originally I only used one vial and not as a starter. So I thought another vial or two might help the yeast out so it is able to finish strong too.

Any thoughts on this?? And if I should add it, at what point? Now in the midst of fermentation or what for it to slow???

iceman1407

beerloaf said:

WLP 500 is the Chimay yeast and works really well and is usually a beast. Those temps are good. If you can keep it in primary for around 3-4 weeks then you will have a great beer.

beerloaf

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I recently made a belgian style ale with a starting gravity of 1.075. I used a starter derived from harvested yeast from a bottle of Chimay blue. After 2.5 weeks it is slowing down and final gravity is in the 1.006 range.

Use a ton of yeast, give it nutrient and oxygen and the yeast is a beast for sure.