Belgian Tripel Recipe & OG

[pmaratta]

Good day gents,

This is my first post - I have a question regarding a Belgian Tripel recipe that I brewed up last night.

Background: I got this extract recipe from my LHBS and it's only my second brew. I followed the directions to the letter but somehow came up with an OG of 1.070. This is a problem because the minimum OG the recipe estimates is 1.080. Recipe is as follows:

1) 1/2 lb Crystal Malt, 1/4 lb Vienna Malt and 1/4 lb Biscuit malt steeped in Muslin bag inside BK with 2 gallons of water until boil.
2) Remove grains upon first boil, take BK off flame. Add 6 lbs extra light DME and 3.3 lbs extra light LME and dissolve. Add 1 lb clear candy sugar. Dissolve all and return to boil.
3) At start of second boil, add 2oz bittering hops.
4) At 40 min mark, add tsp of Irish Moss
5) At 45 min mark, add 1 oz aroma hops and wort chiller for sterilization.
6) Flame out at 60 min, transfer to water bath and run chiller until close to pitching temps achieved.
7) Transfer to primary and top off to 5 gallons with water.
8) Aerate. Measure OG. Pitch yeast.

My problem is that even when adjusting for temp, my OG seems a bit low. With proper attenuation, I can still achieve ~7% abv but a true Tripel would normally hover around the 8-10% abv mark.

Does anyone see any potential downfalls in the recipe that could account for the miss on OG?

I appreciate any insight!

P

 

[flars]

Your top off water may not have fully mixed into the wort during aeration. Your sample may have had a greater proportion of top off water than wort resulting in a lower SG than the recipe OG. The OG will be the same as the recipe when all the ingredients have been added, and total volume is correct.

You may have a tannin extraction problem by bringing you grains to a boil. The water temperature should be held under 170° to prevent extracting tannins from the grain husks. Water pH is also a factor in tannin extraction. Water temperature should be lower than 170° when pH exceeds approximately 6.8.

 

[NTexBrewer]

Based on this calculator you should be somewhere around 1.078 with the DME and LME you added. The sugar will add 6.4 points so your OG should be somewhere around 1.084

As noted above mixing is sometimes hard. I frequently had this problem when I did Extract.

Other things to double check are your water volumes. There is a chance you added too much top off water. Also, it is a good idea to calibrate your hydrometer in RO or DI water at the proper temperature.

I would just assume the OG to be 1.08 and not worry about it. I'm sure you will still end up with a nice beer.

 

[pmaratta]

Thanks for the replies - good insight here. I'll assume a 1.080 OG and go forward.

As for tannin extraction - another good point. I had definitely read that somewhere along the lines but failed to employ the knowledge last night. I'll keep an eye out for any astringency or bitterness in the coming weeks/months.

Thanks again for the information.