Question About Aging

I'm planing to make a Belgian Dubbel for Christmas that calls for 30 days in the secondary, if I want to make it farther ahead than that is it better to leave it in the secondary or bottle it after the 30 days?

The other thing I considered was leaving it in the primary longer, it only calls for 10 days and it's been a while since I've done anything less than 14.

Ask 10 brewers a question and you will get 12 different answers.

I think that 10 days in the primary is too short for a Belgian beer. Depending on the yeast it really can take longer to finish out. Something like 3787 is famous for starting off fast only to slow way down. It can fool you into thinking it is done, but then take a while to tick off the last few points.

Here is a good quote from Brew Like a Monk.....

"Let the fermentation finish, perhaps at a higher temperature. It often takes as long to get the last few points of attenuation as it does for the first 80%."

Since you are planning on aging then there is no need to rush the primary. Bulk aging in the secondary or aging in the bottle is up to you. There really is no reason for a secondary. In fact it was mentioned in the Yeast book that it actually takes longr to clear if the brew is racked to a secondary. Think about it. The yeast slowly starts working its way to the bottom. When a brew is racked it all gets stirred up and has to start all over again.Thus taking longer to clear.

I often give them plenty of time in the primary, then bottle and set them aside for several months. A dubel is not a real high gravity brew, So if it was my brew I would brew it now, give it about a month in the primary and bottle it up and let it sit until Christmas. They really start to get much better after about 4 months in the bottle.

I agree with not rushing the primary. I would let the beer ferment out, give some extra time to settle and clean up, then let it condition in the bottle until your ready to enjoy them. Any time I have the option of aging in a fermentor or in package(bottle/keg) I prefer the latter.

My experience with three separate batches was 3 weeks primary, 4 secondary and then bottle.

I've rushed it from Primary to Secondary and it hadn't cleared up as much as I liked. But all used the Abbey II (1767) and bottled in 22oz'ers so maybe it was particular to that strain which is EXTREMELY slow starting.

I found the best for all 3 batches was between the 3-5 month mark for bottle conditioning.

My current procedure for Belgian styles is to ferment with the desired strain for 3-4 days, and the finish off with 3711 French saison. By that time most all of the flavors from the host yeast have been imparted. 3711 is a beast and will no doubt finish off fermenting even high gravity worts in a week. Any flavors from the 3711 will be minimum, but match the style and adds complexity. Some may say that it attenuates too dry for a dubbel, but Markowski also notes the Belgian's desire to produce a "digestible" beer, and that the local strains in Belgium attenuates further than the American lab counterparts.

So, I would bottle a week after fermentation ends, condition as hot as I can (Markowski mentions up to 90F) for a week or so before cellaring.

Based on what everyone has said so far I'm thinking about starting the beer Sept 10th, adding 10 days to each the primary and secondary, that would be 20 primary and 40 secondary, and then bottling it. That would give it just over 6 weeks in the bottles.

I think it'll be good. Throw any leftover bottles (haha, laughable I know) in a cool dark place and let them sit until Easter. They'll be fantastic then.

Can't wait to try this, if it's a hit with my family I might make it a yearly tradition and start it over the summer for next Christmas.

Recipe link!

This is the recipe I'm using because it tells you how much hops to use by weight.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=516317

And this is the original recipe.
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/phils-belgian-dubbel/

I have another aging question. Would you recommend the same for mead and cyser, doing the bulk of the aging in bottles, or is it better to bulk age it in gallon jugs? I'll be starting some right after Christmas and aging it for next Christmas.

EagleScout said:

This is the recipe I'm using because it tells you how much hops to use by weight.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=516317

And this is the original recipe.
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/phils-belgian-dubbel/

Click to expand...

Thanks

Just finished the last bottle. It was good at Christmas but by Memorial Day it was one of the best beers I've made. I'll probably start another batch soon for this Christmas.