Dubbel Trouble, Trippin' on the Tripel, and Quadrupel Threat

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jgourd

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So I got on a Belgian kick and decided to brew a dubbel, tripel, and a quadrupel over three days (yup, in a row). All use Pilsner malt as the base and candi syrup. They are currently still fermenting (been doing so for a bit over two weeks). I've been checking these brews almost every day and am very excited to see how they will be in a few months. Here are the recipes:

Code:
Dubbel Trouble
--------------
Batch Size: 5.5 gal
OG: 1.068
FG: 1.014 (expected to go down to 1.012)
IBUs: 19.1
SRM: 16
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70%
Boil Time: 90 min

Grains:
Pilsner (2-Row) Germany: 12.50#
Munich Malt 10L, 1.00#
Belgian aromatic malt, 0.25#
Belgian Special “B”, 0.25#
Belgian candi syrup d-90, 1.00#
Belgian biscuit, 0.25#

Hops:
Tettnanger (GR), 1.25 oz @60 min (3.9%)
Tettnanger (GR), 1.00 oz @30 min (3.9%)

Yeast:
White Labs WLP530 (Abbey Ale)
1750 ml starter, decanted

Mash schedule:
146F for 60 min, raise to 156F for 30 min, mashout at 168F for 10 min

Fermentation schedule:
14 days (or until done) @65F (let self rise to 75-78F)
28 days @65F
3 days @35F (cold crash)

Code:
Trippin' on the Tripel
--------------------
Batch Size: 5.5 gal
OG: 1.081
FG: 1.012 (expected to go down to 1.010)
IBUs: 29.3
SRM: 6.6
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70%
Boil Time: 90 min

Grains:
Pilsner (2-Row) Germany: 14.00#
Munich Malt 10L, 1.125#
Belgian aromatic malt, 0.25#
Belgian candi syrup d-1, 2.00#

Hops:
Tettnanger (GR), 2.00 oz @60 min (3.9%)
Tettnanger (GR), 1.50 oz @30 min (3.9%)

Yeast:
White Labs WLP500 (Trappist Ale)
2500 ml starter, decanted

Mash schedule:
146F for 60 min, raise to 156F for 30 min, mashout at 168F for 10 min

Fermentation schedule:
14 days (or until done) @65F (let self rise to 75-78F)
28 days @65F
3 days @35F (cold crash)

Code:
Quadrupel Threat
----------------
Batch Size: 5.5 gal
OG: 1.092
FG: 1.019 (expected to go down to 1.015)
IBUs: 27
SRM: 31.1
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70%
Boil Time: 90 min

Grains:
Pilsner (2-Row) Germany: 15.00#
Munich Malt 10L, 1.00#
Belgian aromatic malt, 0.25#
Belgian Special “B”, 0.25#
Belgian candi syrup d-90, 2.00#
Belgian candi syrup d-180, 1.00#

Hops:
Tettnanger (GR), 1.75 oz @60 min (3.9%)
Tettnanger (GR), 1.50 oz @30 min (3.9%)

Yeast:
White Labs WLP575 (Belgian Style Ale Yeast Blend)
3250 ml starter, decanted

Mash schedule:
146F for 60 min, raise to 156F for 30 min, mashout at 168F for 10 min

Fermentation schedule:
14 days (or until done) @65F (let self rise to 75-78F)
28 days @65F
3 days @35F (cold crash)
 
May I ask what prompted the choice and assignment of strains?

Rhetorically speaking, I sure like a lot more IBUs in a Tripel.
 
Looks good.

I love my Belgians and always have one or two fermenting. Keep us posted on how they turn out, but of course save some to age.

My supply of aging Belgins is getting pretty big but I am always amazed when I open one up after aging it for a while. mmmmmmmmmm.
 
May I ask what prompted the choice and assignment of strains?

Rhetorically speaking, I sure like a lot more IBUs in a Tripel.

After taking a look at other recipes, I heard great things about each yeast. Actually, I brewed a tripel last year with the WLP500 and liked it. It just didn't go down as far as I wanted (only got to 1.022 from 1.078 OG), so it was slightly sweet. But in the end, I wanted to try each out to see what they end up fermenting. I suppose I will try an alternate configuration next time I brew these.

And in your tripels, how many IBUs? Above 40?
 
Looks good.

I love my Belgians and always have one or two fermenting. Keep us posted on how they turn out, but of course save some to age.

My supply of aging Belgins is getting pretty big but I am always amazed when I open one up after aging it for a while. mmmmmmmmmm.

I plan to let them age as much as I can. I will save some bottles and hide them in a back closet or something. I want to see what these are like in several years (especially the darker Belgians). I also thought about brewing a sour beer in the future and blending it with the dubbel or quad just enough. We'll see...
 
And in your tripels, how many IBUs?

Instead of just looking at the number of IBU's , a better indicator is the BU:GU ratio. For tripels it is about .37 as recommended in Brew Like a Monk or use this site http://madalchemist.com/chart_bitterness_ratio.html to get the recommended BU:GU ratio. You are pretty close to the recommended ratio for a tripel.
 
Nice.

My brother in law and I brewed our first Tripel recipe this weekend...I think he got a little carried away because it came out at 1.092 OG in 5.3 gal. Thing is approaching a barley wine.
 
And in your tripels, how many IBUs? Above 40?

My last batch was 63 by Rager and that was about right for my taste. I may be unusual in my preference for a fresher, hoppier Tripel though. My commercial prototype is De Ryck Arend Tripel. Whole Foods carries it.
77890.jpg
 
My last batch was 63 by Rager

Rager always seem to come in higher than Tinseth. I went and changed the setting in my software to Rager for a recipe and the IBU's jumped from 30 to 41. Big difference.

I still recommend getting close to the recommended BU:GU ratio ( I use Tinseth) and then deciding if you like it that way or need to change the ratio to fit YOUR taste. That way you have a baseline to work off. That way you can make informed decisions of how you like your beers to taste.

Just like in cooking, everyone has different tastes. Someone may like XXX spice and use a lot of it and someone else will find that way too much for their taste.

That is the beauty of Home brew, you can make beer you like.
 
OP, you did what I'm planning on doing next week. I already have a Tripel in secondary right now, but I figure having too many Belgians aging is a good problem to have. My recipes are coming straight out of Brew Like a Monk, and I'm also throwing in a Golden Strong Ale, Saison, and Witbier onto the agenda as well.

Try hiding some extremely well. My friend and I just opened up a 4 year old bottle of Boulevard's Long Strange Tripel last weekend and it was phenomenal.
 
Props on drying them out, and being cautious with the IBUs. The biggest problems I have with American versions of Belgians is too much hops and not dry enough.
 
Props on drying them out, and being cautious with the IBUs. The biggest problems I have with American versions of Belgians is too much hops and not dry enough.

Me too. This time I wanted to make sure that I dried them out really well (I had a tripel that didn't dry out so well the last time, but it was still delicious). So I altered the mash schedule and also monitored fermentation temps each day. They are still going strong (at least the dubbel and quad), and I expect them to go even lower. There is a possibility that the quad could get down to 1.012 which would mean a 10.5% ABV quad with serious candi syrup and yeast flavors. The aroma now, although very CO2-loaded and "warm," is already incredible.
 
Me too. This time I wanted to make sure that I dried them out really well (I had a tripel that didn't dry out so well the last time, but it was still delicious). So I altered the mash schedule and also monitored fermentation temps each day. They are still going strong (at least the dubbel and quad), and I expect them to go even lower. There is a possibility that the quad could get down to 1.012 which would mean a 10.5% ABV quad with serious candi syrup and yeast flavors. The aroma now, although very CO2-loaded and "warm," is already incredible.

Nice! If you're like me, don't let anyone talk you into going higher IBU than you want.

I'm about to do a run of Belgians. I think I am gonna use wyeast 3787 trappist high gravity.. I don't know the White labs counterpart, but I hope I get them attenuate as well as you have.
 
Nice! If you're like me, don't let anyone talk you into going higher IBU than you want.

I'm about to do a run of Belgians. I think I am gonna use wyeast 3787 trappist high gravity.. I don't know the White labs counterpart, but I hope I get them attenuate as well as you have.


Ding ,,, ding,, ding.... we have a winner.

A good Belgian finishes pretty low. The lower they go the less IBU's you need for balance.

3787 is probably my favorite yeast for Belgians, But I also like. 1214 and 3522. The other trick to get them to finish low is to add the sugar after a few days of fermentation. Let the brew. ferment until fermentation slows and then add the sugar. The theory is that the yeast eats the more complex sugars first, then eats desert and goes crazy again.

I usually get a few extra points of attenuation doing this.
 
Oh and I neglected to mention that, for all three of these brews, I had to use large blowoff tubes. And even then, the lid seriously bulged under so much CO2 pressure! I couldn't believe how a 1.25" ID tube coming out of the center of the lid could still not handle all the CO2 being produced by the yeast to prevent bulging. I only have a single large blowoff lid and tube, so I had to use the large blowoff on the first batch for 24 hours, then swap with a smaller blowoff, then swap with an airlock. In the end, I had no issues. But I wish I had collected all that wonderful yeast in the blowoff container. Oh my, I had tons in there after it was all done.
 
So since I wrote the OP, we're now at 1.012 SG for the dubbel (83% attenuation), 1.011 SG for the tripel (86% attenuation), and 1.018 SG for the quad (80% attenuation). I roused the quad's yeast to see if I could go down a few more points. There was NO yeast cake, so I presume it's still fermenting with plenty of healthy yeast.
 
If your dubbel is anything like mine you'll need to be patient. I waited nearly 18 months before mine matured. In fact, my dubbel had a metallic taste for over a year, I almost pitched it out, but then it blossomed. I think the yeast had to work a long time on that complex dark syrup.
 
I'm on a Belgian kick recently as well. Brewing a Trappist this weekend.

Subscribed so I can follow your progress.
 
OP, you did what I'm planning on doing next week. I already have a Tripel in secondary right now, but I figure having too many Belgians aging is a good problem to have. My recipes are coming straight out of Brew Like a Monk, and I'm also throwing in a Golden Strong Ale, Saison, and Witbier onto the agenda as well.

Try hiding some extremely well. My friend and I just opened up a 4 year old bottle of Boulevard's Long Strange Tripel last weekend and it was phenomenal.

I have a hard time keeping beer 4 months. I don't drink to much. I just don't brew enough.


I just bottled a Trappist that finished on the dry side. 1.000 at bottling it tasted so good I drank a glass.
 
These have now been kegged. I added enough dextrose to each to carbonate to 2.6 vols CO2. I figure I can supplement extra CO2 by forcing later if necessary. I plan to let them keg condition for a while and sample in several months. But the final figures are in:

Dubbel Trouble: 1.068 OG, 1.008 FG, 7.8% ABV, 88% attenuation
Trippin' on the Tripel: 1.081 OG, 1.012 FG, 9.0% ABV, 85% attenuation
Quadrupel Threat: 1.092 OG, 1.015 FG, 10.1% ABV, 84% attenuation

And I taste ZERO alcohol in all of them. It's not noticeable and they're already easily drinkable. Can't wait to try them carbonated!
 
These have now been kegged. I added enough dextrose to each to carbonate to 2.6 vols CO2. I figure I can supplement extra CO2 by forcing later if necessary. I plan to let them keg condition for a while and sample in several months. But the final figures are in:

Dubbel Trouble: 1.068 OG, 1.008 FG, 7.8% ABV, 88% attenuation
Trippin' on the Tripel: 1.081 OG, 1.012 FG, 9.0% ABV, 85% attenuation
Quadrupel Threat: 1.092 OG, 1.015 FG, 10.1% ABV, 84% attenuation

And I taste ZERO alcohol in all of them. It's not noticeable and they're already easily drinkable. Can't wait to try them carbonated!


Thanks for the update. Sounds like they turned out very good.

I have an empty fermenter that is just calling for another Belgian. Maybe a Dubbel this time.
 
Resurrection alert. I am drinking a Long Strange tripel and this thread came up when searching on it. I am interested to hear how these aged, particularly the tripel threat. And how do your beers do with sugar carbing in the keg vs force carbing?
 
Resurrection alert. I am drinking a Long Strange tripel and this thread came up when searching on it. I am interested to hear how these aged, particularly the tripel threat. And how do your beers do with sugar carbing in the keg vs force carbing?

The Tripel aged well. Actually, they all aged quite well. I recently bottled them from the keg since I needed the kegs for other brews. Carbonating with sugar in the keg worked quite well. It was my first time doing this. I let them carbonate at room temp for a few weeks and then put them in my beer fridge and hooked the CO2. I purposely added a bit less corn sugar than I normally would, figuring that I would supplement the CO2 by forcing more from the tank. The beers were sampled at a local Oktoberfest event. The Quadrupel was the the most popular, but the Tripel was also well liked. My favorite is the Dubbel. To me, the Tripel rivals what I can get out there. And, to be honest, the Quadrupel is better than my recent tasting of the Westvleteren 12. I know, that's sacrilege, but I have several friends who also echo my feelings.
 
jgourd said:
The Tripel aged well. Actually, they all aged quite well. I recently bottled them from the keg since I needed the kegs for other brews. Carbonating with sugar in the keg worked quite well. It was my first time doing this. I let them carbonate at room temp for a few weeks and then put them in my beer fridge and hooked the CO2. I purposely added a bit less corn sugar than I normally would, figuring that I would supplement the CO2 by forcing more from the tank. The beers were sampled at a local Oktoberfest event. The Quadrupel was the the most popular, but the Tripel was also well liked. My favorite is the Dubbel. To me, the Tripel rivals what I can get out there. And, to be honest, the Quadrupel is better than my recent tasting of the Westvleteren 12. I know, that's sacrilege, but I have several friends who also echo my feelings.

That's saying a lot on the quad. I had a chance to try 12 at a bar in Brussels last summer. It was a great brew. As a substitute, I regularly get the Trois Pistoles here in the US. But there were subtle differences in the 12 that made it phenomenal. The kind of differences that are lost when a beer goes through the rigors of shipping and customs. I am betting it was freshness and handling that set your quad apart.

As for the tripel, would you happen to have any tasting notes? One of my favorite day to day drinking triples is the Velvet Rooster by Tallgrass. It's a solid beer and I will continue to buy it. But when I had it side by side with the Long Strange Tripel, there wasn't even a dispute. The Boulevard beer had a depth that the Tallgrass tripel couldn't hold a candle to. The LST was much more focused on pilsner graniness and ester formation where the VR was more hop forward. The LST dried out just fine, but had a body and mouthfeel that the VR lacked. Bubble gum esters come through, but restrained enough that you really have to think about I before you identify the ester profile. And the head was unreal. It collected on the top and sat as solid as a layer of whipped cream to the bottom of the glass.

I know I have wondered off a bit, but that's the tripel I am trying to make. I could easily see myself brewing triples repeatedly trying to clone something like this. Some of the body and head I picked up last night have to be mash schedule related. I pulled the trigger on a morebeer single tier system with digital temp control last weekend. It should make Multi step mashes a lot simpler for me to pull off. Once I get my feet wet with the new system, I think I may spend spring and summer in search of my ultimate tripel recipe.

I'm thinking about using your recipe as my launching point. So any tips you have would be appreciated.
 
That's saying a lot on the quad. I had a chance to try 12 at a bar in Brussels last summer. It was a great brew. As a substitute, I regularly get the Trois Pistoles here in the US. But there were subtle differences in the 12 that made it phenomenal. The kind of differences that are lost when a beer goes through the rigors of shipping and customs. I am betting it was freshness and handling that set your quad apart.

As for the tripel, would you happen to have any tasting notes? One of my favorite day to day drinking triples is the Velvet Rooster by Tallgrass. It's a solid beer and I will continue to buy it. But when I had it side by side with the Long Strange Tripel, there wasn't even a dispute. The Boulevard beer had a depth that the Tallgrass tripel couldn't hold a candle to. The LST was much more focused on pilsner graniness and ester formation where the VR was more hop forward. The LST dried out just fine, but had a body and mouthfeel that the VR lacked. Bubble gum esters come through, but restrained enough that you really have to think about I before you identify the ester profile. And the head was unreal. It collected on the top and sat as solid as a layer of whipped cream to the bottom of the glass.

I know I have wondered off a bit, but that's the tripel I am trying to make. I could easily see myself brewing triples repeatedly trying to clone something like this. Some of the body and head I picked up last night have to be mash schedule related. I pulled the trigger on a morebeer single tier system with digital temp control last weekend. It should make Multi step mashes a lot simpler for me to pull off. Once I get my feet wet with the new system, I think I may spend spring and summer in search of my ultimate tripel recipe.

I'm thinking about using your recipe as my launching point. So any tips you have would be appreciated.

I will put a bottle of my Tripel in the beer fridge for a few days and sample it again this week. I'll post the tasting notes here. I do have some earlier tasting notes (some of which occurred during sampling in the fermenter). It may also help to mention fermentation details. So here goes...

I brewed this on 5 Mar 2012. I mashed at 146F for 75 min, then at 156F for 30 min, than mashed out at 168F for 10 min. I boiled for 105 min (target was 90 min, but this was because I wanted to hit my target OG and the evaporation rate that day was lower than predicted). I pitched the yeast at 65F (wort temp) and let it at ambient (65F). It rose on its own to 73F. And I needed some serious blowoff, and even with it, the fermenter lid bowed like crazy under the pressure. Oh, and my blowoff tube was 1" diameter...

The lower than expected fermentation temps did mean I sacrificed some nice esters. I detected little to no banana or clove in this batch. Anyways, the brew got down to 1.012 SG (I was hoping for about 1.009). On 9 Apr 2012, I kegged it there and added enough dextrose for about 2.6 vols (the rest was forced). After a few weeks in the keg, it was crystal clear. It was also a bit sweeter than I would have liked, so I let it sit in the keg at room temp for a month or so (I shook the keg to rouse the yeast). It went down a bit lower to about 1.010 SG and was much less sweet (almost undetectable) to my palate.

So, now I'll sample a bottle this week and post my tasting notes.
 
Sampled. First off, it's quite different than it was the last time I tasted it out of the keg. To me, it was much better before, but still not a bad brew.

Aroma: Ligt malt notes with sweet pear and very slight alcohol notes (not fusels or hot alcohol). Some pepper/spice notes. The slight banana and cloves it had when it was a few months old is now gone. I think this is due to the colder than desired fermentation temperatures. These esters were produced but in small amounts. No hop aroma (it had just a hint when last tasted in the keg).

Appearance: Piss yellow. :p Quite clear. A half inch head that disappeared quickly leaving a super thin layer that remained until finished (the bottle was split among three of us during the sampling). Carbonation appeared lower than typical (probably because it was bottled form the keg).

Flavor: More malt than expected and certainly more than when previously tasted in the keg. Pear with a tiny hint of fresh citrus (almost like pears in syrup but not sweet like that) hits you after the malt. A tad sweet that goes away quickly as a moderate bitterness kicks in. Good body but still quite dry. Nice creaminess that coats the tongue. Pepper notes with the bitterness that fade in the aftertaste. Yeastiness that can only be described as Belgian. Lower than desired carbonation (again, due to bottling from the keg). No diacetyl.

Overall: A good Tripel, but to me it's missing the bananas and cloves that I tend to prefer. Different esters and phenolics than this exact same recipe in the last batch, but I put it to the fermentation temps. This one started low (~65F) and only got to ~72F. I would have preferred to start it at ~70F and let it go to the low 80s (yup, 80s). This is quite different than when it was in the keg. I can only describe the major change as more malt forward, less hop and ester forward than before. I will brew this again, but I will ferment warmer.
 
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