Belgian Tripel???

[bighoss]

So I've been kicking around which kit I want to do for the first batch. Now that income tax has rolled in I've got the extra cash to get all of the equipment I need to get started. I just happened across the kit for a Belgian Tripel, and was wondering if I should shy away from this for the first batch. It's a higher ABV beer, and not sure if that would make it any harder to brew, and turn out good. Any input is very welcome. I take all advice from here into consideration before I make any decisions. Thanks in advance.

 

[smears]

The first kit I brewed was an imperial ipa. Lots of hops and stirring and all that stuff. It's pretty easy really. You'll be so excited about brewing beer that you'll stand over it the whole time. Let us know how it comes out. I just brewed a clone of delirium tremens, which is a Belgian beer. It's smelling pretty delicious right now. Best of luck dude!

 

[logan3825]

Steer away from a high gravity beer for your first batch. You will need a starter for a higher gravity beer and that adds one more step to screw up on your first beer. Plus it will need to age longer and possibly bottle condition longer than a normalish gravity beer. Stick with something in the 1.040-1.050 range.

 

[cjsturch]

Plus it will need to age longer and possibly bottle condition linger than a normalish gravith beer.

That first batch is tough to be patient with, so I would start with one that doesn't need to age as long. Of course, it's not my beer so brew what you want to brew, just realize you may need to be more patient with it than you would with a lower gravity beer.

 

[Pixalated]

I almost bought a tripel for my first kit, but the person in the store advised me against it. It will take much longer to ferment, and it will be hard for you to wait. Also, you have to pitch more yeast, which means either using more packets or making a starter. Start with something that you can drink in 5-6 weeks.

Then again, I made a witbier for my first kit and I am not happy with the taste. I am hoping it will improve with time. For my second, I made a tripel, which I plan to drink around the end of May. I'll probably brew something again as soon as my primary carboy is freed up.

 

[DoubleO]

I'm in no position to give advice because I just bottled my first batch last night, but it was a Belgian Tripel. Like you, I looked at which beers would be easier to make. At the end of the day I decided to go with the type of beer that I like. If it adds an extra step, who cares, I don't know what I'm doing anyway. If it doesn't come out exactly how I think it will, who cares, it's the first batch, I don't expect it to be perfect and I don't think it will be bad.

I say aim for what you like and learn how to get it there. Follow the steps and advice to the best of your ability and have fun.

 

[Runyanka]

Steer away from a high gravity beer for your first batch. You will need a starter for a higher gravity beer and that adds one more step to screw up on your first beer. Plus it will need to age longer and possibly bottle condition longer than a normalish gravity beer. Stick with something in the 1.040-1.050 range.

+1 You will see many threads on here of people who didn't wait on their first batch to complete conditioning. Then they will start a thread of "is my beer infected" or "my beer tastes bad". When all they really need to do is give it more time.

 

[TRainH2o]

A good yeast starter is a must. Big Belgians also have a ton of fermentables, often times candy sugar and additional DME. More sugars mean more chance of a massive boil over or scorching if you don't stir enough.

Then there's that whole being patient thing.

 

[bighoss]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. With what you've all mentioned I may end up making my first brew day, an all day brew day. I'm thinking about brewing two different batches. I may go ahead and brew the Belgian, but also something lighter as well. Now I just need to decide what I want to go with.

 

[Homebrewtastic]

I would steer away from the tripel as a lot of people posted on here because it's big. I'm not talking about it being tough to brew. But it is tough to ferment. You need to have pretty solid temperature control with larger beers, otherwise you can get some pretty harsh fusel alcohols. Also temperature control during fermentation is important for controlling flavor profile, and Belgian beers are all about yeast derived flavors.

 

[ksbrain]

Yes! Brew two. The Tripel and something simple like a Pale Ale. The Pale Ale will be ready quickly and you can let the Tripel rest for a few extra weeks.

Though the logistics of a dual brew day may be a lot to handle on your first try...

Either plan well or be ready to roll with the punches.

On second thought, maybe just do the simple one first, then do the Tripel next time.

 

[beergolf]

I agree with a lot of the posters here.

Do a simple brew for the first time to go through the steps and get a feel for it. Also, waiting is much harder than you think, so something a little lighter that will finish up faster will help a lot.

My first brew I checked on so many times I wore out a trail to the basement. Then in the bottle it was super difficult to wait, but I am glad I did because it turned good.

Once you have several brews done it is much easier. I have a a couple fermenting now that I am finding it much easier just to wait because I have brew to drink.

I have done 4 batches and am going to do another one Saturday. I do want to try a higher gravity beer but am going to wait until batch 6 or 7 so I have plenty of beer ready, which will make it easier to let the higher gravity one age.

Enjoy your new hobby........... I mean addiction.

 

[logan3825]

I am not saying don't do the high gravity beers soon, just not as your first one. I did a dubbel as my 3rd brew and a 1.068 dunkelweisse as my second. Just make sure you are doing some smaller beers mixed in so you can let the other ones sit.


If you really want to do the triple really early I would do it on a different day then your first beer. Maybe a Saturday and Sunday brew. Our first brew day was 6 hours. Just a simple amber ale extract kit. The next one was about 3 hours.

 

[McGarnigle]

Or do a Belgian pale ale first and re-use its yeast for the Tripel. No worries about under-pitching.

 

[twheelz]

I'll jump in with my first post ever. I've brewed 6 batches now and must agree with the majority above that it is difficult for us newbies to wait for the complete cycle to run its course. Until you brew enough to have a cache of brew on hand, you'll drink your stash before your next batch is ready. If you have to wait a long time for it to condition, and you're anything like me, you'll be drinking green beer before you know it.

I ended up doing a Pale Ale, Belgian Ale, and Canadian Ale (all True Brew kits) for my first 3 in order to get the process down. These were excellent even after 2-3 weeks total (yes, a little green, but still good enough for me to not buy any beer this year yet)! Then I went to a partial with a strawberry blonde, now I'm onto all grains. The waiting is tough - give yourself a chance and go with a quicker conditioning brew to begin with...

Oh, and 2 on the first day is an excellent idea...