Belgian Tripel and attenuation

[jgourd]

So I brewed my first Belgian Tripel on 8/19 (recipe follows). OG was 1.078 SG (was trying to hit 1.080 but I was getting used to my new HERMS system). Using WLP500 and expecting about 75% attenuation. I hit an FG of 1.022 SG after 17 days and kegged. It's been slowly force carbonating, and I took a taste today. It seems a bit sweeter than I would have liked, but perhaps not cloyingly so. I wonder if I should take it out of the beer fridge and let it come to room temp to see if the yeast can be motivated to get going again. Note that I use gelatin in the keg for clarity. If it's possible or advised, should I purge the keg (and how often).

Trippin' on the Tripel
----------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal (9.91 gal preboil)
Estimated OG: 1.080 SG (actual: 1.078 SG)
Estimated FG: 1.018 SG (actual: 1.022 SG)
Estimated IBUs: 33 (Tinseth; actual: 25)
Estimated Color: 7 SRM (actual: 7 SRM)
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70% (actual: 69%)
Boil Time: 128 minutes

Grains:
13.75# Pilsner (2-Row) Germany (2.0L) (80.88%)
1.00# Munich Malt 10L (10.0L) (5.88%)
0.25# Belgian aromatic malt (26.0L) (1.47%)
2.00# Belgian candi sugar (clear) (5.0L) (11.76%)

Hops:
1.75 oz Golding (US) (4.0%) @fwh
1.00 oz Tettnanger (US) (3.9%) @83 min
0.75 oz Tettnanger (US) (3.9%) @10 min

Yeast:
White Labs WLP500 (Trappist Ale)
3500mL starter, crash cooled, decanted, and pitched

Mash/Sparge Schedule:
146F for 60 min and 156F for 30 min.

Fermentation Schedule:
Primary Fermentation: 14 days @66F
Secondary Fermentation: 3 days @32F (crash cool)

Notes:
Added candi sugar at 10 mins left in boil.
Increased boil time (and first two hop addition times) to hit target volume and gravity.
Target ABV was 8.1% but hit 7.4%.

 

[bdupree]

I don't think the beer finished. A lot of those belgian yeasts take 3 weeks or longer to finish. It may be hard to get that yeast going again if it's been in the fridge for a while and full of co2. Just wondering though, are you positive your thermometer is calibrated correctly?

 

[AmandaK]

Like bdupree said, the beer did not finish. Appropriate final gravities for a tripel are around 1.008 – 1.014. I like mine in the 1.010 range, so no wonder it's sweet!

Next time you brew a tripel, make a HUGE starter (see Mr. Malty for size), start it at around 65* and let it ramp up on its own and give it time. My tripel takes about a month in the primary with Wyeast 3522 and then I lager in the secondary to cool down the 9% ABV for two months. Then serve. Best beer I make. I actually can't make enough of it to satisfy my family and friends.

 

[SickTransitMundus]

Definitely not done fermenting. +1 for letting the ferment self-regulate its temperature. Artifically cooling Belgians - especially during high krausen - can drastically reduce yeast activity. You'll probably reach an appropriate final gravity eventually. I recommend raising the keg to room temp and rousing the yeast by shaking every few days.

I pitch Belgians @ 65 degrees and then shut off cooling altogether. The temp raises to mid-70s before settling out back to room temp after 5-6 days. I usually hit max attenuation after a week, though the beer will of course need much longer to condition. Proper oxygenation and healthy starters are crucial for these styles.

Also, some yeasts like WY3787 and WLP530 are notorious for taking a long time to hit final gravity. I have no experience with WY500 so I can't compare. WY3522 is faster, but I find it lacks some of the esters I enjoy so WY3787 is my "house" Belgian strain.

 

[AmandaK]

I recommend raising the keg to room temp and rousing the yeast by shaking every few days.

He said he used finings in the keg to knock out the yeast, most likely all of the viable yeast is gone. :/

I pitch Belgians @ 65 degrees and then shut off cooling altogether. The temp raises to mid-70s before settling out back to room temp after 5-6 days. I usually hit max attenuation after a week, though the beer will of course need much longer to condition. Proper oxygenation and healthy starters are crucial for these styles.

Also, some yeasts like WY3787 and WLP530 are notorious for taking a long time to hit final gravity. I have no experience with WY500 so I can't compare. WY3522 is faster, but I find it lacks some of the esters I enjoy so WY3787 is my "house" Belgian strain.

We have the same technique! 3522 is my "house" Belgian strain for tripels and blondes. Try letting the temp get up to 75-78* by the end of fermentation, you won't be disappointed. Spicy phenols and esters abound!

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

At this point I think your yeast is done for. Between finings, cold crashing, and probably pushing a fair number of them out of the keg on your first pour, I don't think that yeast will do anything more for you if you warm it up.

If you want to dry it out, I'd consider pitching some US-05. It's attenuative, will work well at most temps, and is neutral, so your existing ester profile will remain.

In the future, let Belgians get nice and warm.

 

[solbes]

I made an extract tripel from 3787. OG was 1.071, FG was 1.012. It sat in primary for 3 weeks and carboy for 5 weeks. Still tasted a tad sweet after secondary. It dried out significantly in the bottle. Its now 5 months since bottling and it's perfect. Mine didnt get cold crashed, but did get a package of Isinglass which made it crystal clear.

Given a dose of sugar in my bottle ferment, I suspect it went lower yet.

I kept mine at 64 for 2 days and raised it 1 degree every other day until I hit mid 70's. Worked pretty well I think. Good esters but not annoyingly so.

 

[jgourd]

I think my plan will be to take the keg out of the fridge to let it warm to room temp. I'll purge numerous times until it's at room temp. Then I'll pitch US-05 (in the keg) as suggested and let it go until I hit a more reasonable FG. From then, I can crash cool again, and rack to another keg with gelatin.

 

[PicKeM]

Definitely not done fermenting. +1 for letting the ferment self-regulate its temperature. Artifically cooling Belgians - especially during high krausen - can drastically reduce yeast activity. You'll probably reach an appropriate final gravity eventually. I recommend raising the keg to room temp and rousing the yeast by shaking every few days.

I pitch Belgians @ 65 degrees and then shut off cooling altogether. The temp raises to mid-70s before settling out back to room temp after 5-6 days. I usually hit max attenuation after a week, though the beer will of course need much longer to condition. Proper oxygenation and healthy starters are crucial for these styles.

Also, some yeasts like WY3787 and WLP530 are notorious for taking a long time to hit final gravity. I have no experience with WY500 so I can't compare. WY3522 is faster, but I find it lacks some of the esters I enjoy so WY3787 is my "house" Belgian strain.

I have a Belgian tripel in my primary at the moment. I pitched Wyeast 1214 at 20*C. Airlock activity began at ~16 hours when the wort was at 22*C. At 36 hours the airlock was bubbling ferociously and the temperature was at 28*C (room temperature was maybe 22-23*C)! I thought about not intervening, but I did end up putting the fermenter in a tub of cold water and brought the temperature down to 23*C. Towards the end of fermentation should I remove the fermenter from the tub and shake it a bit to get the yeast back into action? How detrimental is cooling the wort/beer from 28*C to 23*C at ~36 hours post-pitching?

 

[solbes]

Necro-mancer thead back from the dead. My post here was on my 3rd batch, and I just completed batch 62

28 C was pretty high temps to be hitting only 36 hours in (82F). I think you were right to control the temps, but I hope that bringing it down that far doesn't put your yeastie friends to sleep. Assuming you still have a good amount of airlock activity (you can confirm with a gravity measurement), I'd start slowly bring it back up to the 26/27C range (over the course of a week). If possible, hold it there for a week or more to make sure it finishes.

With all of the available sugars in a high gravity Belgians, they can take off pretty quickly as you found. Watching them closely in the first 3-4 days will pay off in future batches. I think this batch will turn out fine though if you make sure it finishes properly (doesn't get stuck). Good Luck!

 

[PicKeM]

I have a Belgian tripel in my primary at the moment. I pitched Wyeast 1214 at 20*C. Airlock activity began at ~16 hours when the wort was at 22*C. At 36 hours the airlock was bubbling ferociously and the temperature was at 28*C (room temperature was maybe 22-23*C)! I thought about not intervening, but I did end up putting the fermenter in a tub of cold water and brought the temperature down to 23*C. Towards the end of fermentation should I remove the fermenter from the tub and shake it a bit to get the yeast back into action? How detrimental is cooling the wort/beer from 28*C to 23*C at ~36 hours post-pitching?

So I bottled this bad boy after 2.5 weeks in primary. OG was 1.078 and FG was 1.000, which from my calculations will give me 10.2% ABV-- an alcoholic monster. When I was bottling I noticed a sulphuric odor and a slight sulphuric taste. I am hoping that stuff conditions out in the bottle (even though if it's hyrdogen sulfide it has nowhere to escape in a bottle).

I'll report back when I give the first one a taste after 3 weeks in the bottle.

 

[PicKeM]

So I bottled this bad boy after 2.5 weeks in primary. OG was 1.078 and FG was 1.000, which from my calculations will give me 10.2% ABV-- an alcoholic monster. When I was bottling I noticed a sulphuric odor and a slight sulphuric taste. I am hoping that stuff conditions out in the bottle (even though if it's hyrdogen sulfide it has nowhere to escape in a bottle).

I'll report back when I give the first one a taste after 3 weeks in the bottle.

I gave the first one a taste after three weeks in the bottle. It turned out quite well. It has a pronounced phenolic smell. It tastes fairly banana-like on the front and has a sweet and spicy finish. I don't taste any fusels which is a pleasant surprise as I let the fermentation temperatures rise to 28*C (82*F). All in all, a very drinkable beer. I'll be excited to see how it tastes as it ages in the bottle.