A Couple of Noobs 2nd Brew - Our Belgian Triple Nipple

[DrummerBoySeth]

2 to 3 weeks in primary is pretty good for most "average" beers. For a Tripel, 3 to 4 weeks should be just about perfect. In general, more patience equals better beer.

 

[Bamsdealer]

How big is your secondary? It's probably not necessary for a beer in the 1.065 range, but... if you do wish to transfer and you have a 6 gal secondary but only 5 gal of beer, I would transfer now so the little bit of active fermentation left will fill the headspace of the carboy with CO2. If you have 5 gal of beer and a 5 gal carboy, just wait till the bubbles stop or you have a consistent gravity reading before transferring since there won't be much headspace to potentially oxidize your beer.

In my opinion, the real advantage of transferring a beer is freeing up your primary for another brew

 

[hogwash]

I think I said this in another thread about this beer, but I would just leave it in primary for a month and bottle. I mean, make sure you've hit your terminal gravity of course. Most likely it will be done with active fermentation after 5 days to a week but if you leave it, the yeast will clean up after itself and only make your beer better.

You do not need to transfer this to secondary unless you are adding something to it like fruit or more hops or you have one primary fermenter and are itching to brew another batch. THEN, I would let it go for at least 2 weeks in primary as that should give the yeast time to ferment out & do some cleaning up before you move it. Again, your hydrometer will tell you if it's done and you should rely on that more than an arbitrary period of time.

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

How big is your secondary? It's probably not necessary for a beer in the 1.065 range, but... if you do wish to transfer and you have a 6 gal secondary but only 5 gal of beer, I would transfer now so the little bit of active fermentation left will fill the headspace of the carboy with CO2. If you have 5 gal of beer and a 5 gal carboy, just wait till the bubbles stop or you have a consistent gravity reading before transferring since there won't be much headspace to potentially oxidize your beer.

In my opinion, the real advantage of transferring a beer is freeing up your primary for another brew

See? This is what I am talking about!! :rockin: Right on! i was thinking, the 4th week, transferring it into the carboy so that I can start my 3rd brew in the fermenting bucket... Probably with that... it's also used as my bottling bucket... So, my LHBS sells the 7-gallon buckets with or without the spigot.. I am thinking about going to pick one of those up & while the Belgian is in the carboy, I can go ahead with the next brew... Which we're already thinking about!!


I haven't checked in the bucket.. Don't really want too.. Scared that some bacteria might get in there... I think I am just gonna let her sit for a couple of more weeks... It's been 1 week so far.. So, another 3 or 4 weeks & then on to bottling this big girl up! :rockin:


Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.

 

[grem135]

You should get a 2nd bucket, its a lot better having separate ferment/bottling buckets. My kit came with 6.5 gal fermenter, 6.5 gal bottling bucket and a 5 gal carboy.
SWMBO didn't like the smell in her kitchen when I did my first batch so I have to wait for cooler weather for my 3rd batch At least the first 2 turned out good

 

[Bamsdealer]

Agreed with the second bucket... they're little more than a pack of yeast, stackable, and you don't have to worry about a leaky or unsanitized spigot while fermenting or bottling. I try to keep three beers going at all times. Two primaries and a secondary, which is reserved for a few big beers/lagers a year. When something comes out of the secondary to bottles or a keg, I'll have another imperial or lager ready to transfer.

 

[frazier]

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.

Research FTW! One of the best things about getting into brewing was all the sampling, finding the best store in town for buying mix 'n match 6ers, reading up on the various styles, etc etc etc. Good times!

Cheers!

 

[Horseballs]

Research FTW! One of the best things about getting into brewing was all the sampling, finding the best store in town for buying mix 'n match 6ers, reading up on the various styles, etc etc etc. Good times!

Cheers!

I know! I "save" so much money by buying my grain by the sack and my hops by the pound that I suddenly have so much more money to spend on commercial brews! And, should there be any more left over... well, I could use a new fermentor couldn't I?

 

[tgreene7]

I was going to suggest getting another bucket. I don't see any reason for the spigot. Use your racking cane, with the little black tip to leave most, of the yeast, hops, or trub, in the bucket.

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Agreed with the second bucket... they're little more than a pack of yeast, stackable, and you don't have to worry about a leaky or unsanitized spigot while fermenting or bottling. I try to keep three beers going at all times. Two primaries and a secondary, which is reserved for a few big beers/lagers a year. When something comes out of the secondary to bottles or a keg, I'll have another imperial or lager ready to transfer.

See? This is what I was thinking about the spigot... & I wanted to start fermenting 2 beers instead of just 1 sittin' in there, ya know? the more, the merrier!! So, what do you think about this idea...? A Hefeweizen & a Saison!? i am thinking that temps. for both for fermenting are about the same... & if not, my house sits at about 77 to 80 degrees & it's getting to the 100-make degree temps. around these neck of the woods... Maybe put the Saison outside? Too hot?

Research FTW! One of the best things about getting into brewing was all the sampling, finding the best store in town for buying mix 'n match 6ers, reading up on the various styles, etc etc etc. Good times!

Cheers!

Totally sampling beers all of the time!! don't usually buy a variety 6-pk. but we like to buy like 3 different 6-packs at once to try out a different beer. Cannot tell you how many beers we have tried! We try the beers & then talk about maybe we should brew a beer like this - - something that we like... Then I start researching about it...

I was going to suggest getting another bucket. I don't see any reason for the spigot. Use your racking cane, with the little black tip to leave most, of the yeast, hops, or trub, in the bucket.

True... but with the fermenting bucket, won't I still have to siphon the beer out and then still bottle it or could I just bottle while siphoning from the fermenting bucket?

I know! I "save" so much money by buying my grain by the sack and my hops by the pound that I suddenly have so much more money to spend on commercial brews! And, should there be any more left over... well, I could use a new fermentor couldn't I?

LOL! Right on!! :rockin: Buying by the pound? Do you use all of the ingredients at once, brewing more than one beer? When I went to buy my ingredients for the Belgian Brew, we kind of just picked out a recipe, and the guy directed to where we could find all of our ingredients & even showed us how to mill the grains there!! :rockin: Should I buy in the pound? Can you freeze grains? Say do one brew one day & another brew one week later?



Thanks for the Input, Guys!!
We are doing Great Things - Just Trying to Make Things Better!



Peace. Love. & Beer!
CHEERS!

 

[Bamsdealer]

See? This is what I was thinking about the spigot... & I wanted to start fermenting 2 beers instead of just 1 sittin' in there, ya know? the more, the merrier!! So, what do you think about this idea...? A Hefeweizen & a Saison!? i am thinking that temps. for both for fermenting are about the same... & if not, my house sits at about 77 to 80 degrees & it's getting to the 100-make degree temps. around these neck of the woods... Maybe put the Saison outside? Too hot?


True... but with the fermenting bucket, won't I still have to siphon the beer out and then still bottle it or could I just bottle while siphoning from the fermenting bucket?

If you're fermenting at warmer temps you definately want to stick to Belgians. 100 is too warm for anything, but a hef and saison would work in the mid 70s. Remember that fermenting beer is usually a few degrees warmer than ambient temps.

You can siphon from the fermenting bucket, but you'll have to prime each bottle before. Either that or bottle a couple points before your beer is done fermenting or add the sugar solution after fermentation is over. The problem with the latter is getting the sugar solution evenly distributed without disturbing the trub. The easiest is to rack to a bottling bucket with a sugar solution and use the spigot with your bottle filler.

 

[jaynik]

Did you top off with sanitized water? Meaning water with stars an or something? If so, please don't! You can boil it if you are worried but otherwise use tap water or some sort of bottled water.

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

If you're fermenting at warmer temps you definately want to stick to Belgians. 100 is too warm for anything, but a hef and saison would work in the mid 70s. Remember that fermenting beer is usually a few degrees warmer than ambient temps.

You can siphon from the fermenting bucket, but you'll have to prime each bottle before. Either that or bottle a couple points before your beer is done fermenting or add the sugar solution after fermentation is over. The problem with the latter is getting the sugar solution evenly distributed without disturbing the trub. The easiest is to rack to a bottling bucket with a sugar solution and use the spigot with your bottle filler.

Okay. I think I like this idea.... Last time, we just cut the end off of our siphon hose & hooked it up to the spigot & then bottled... Ha! No wonder!! I need to tell the hubby that we need to go to the LHBS to get some supplies!! :rockin:

 

[DeafSmith]

See? This is what I was thinking about the spigot... & I wanted to start fermenting 2 beers instead of just 1 sittin' in there, ya know? the more, the merrier!! So, what do you think about this idea...? A Hefeweizen & a Saison!? i am thinking that temps. for both for fermenting are about the same... & if not, my house sits at about 77 to 80 degrees & it's getting to the 100-make degree temps. around these neck of the woods... Maybe put the Saison outside? Too hot?

Uh, pretty sure outside is too hot for anything in Dallas this time of year.

True... but with the fermenting bucket, won't I still have to siphon the beer out and then still bottle it or could I just bottle while siphoning from the fermenting bucket?

You need to siphon the beer out of your fermenter anyway. You want to leave the trub behind, and you'll have to mix in your priming solution in the bottling bucket - if you do that mixing in the fermenter you'll stir up the trub.

Buying by the pound? Do you use all of the ingredients at once, brewing more than one beer? When I went to buy my ingredients for the Belgian Brew, we kind of just picked out a recipe, and the guy directed to where we could find all of our ingredients & even showed us how to mill the grains there!! :rockin: Should I buy in the pound? Can you freeze grains? Say do one brew one day & another brew one week later?

Here's what I do with my grains. When I buy a sack, I put it in an airtight pet food container like this:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2811537

then fill it with CO2 from my tank and quickly close the lid (hoping to kill any grain weevils that might hatch out).

For small amounts of specialty grains, I vacuum pack them in a Food Saver bag and put them in the freezer for a few days to kill any weevils and weevil eggs, then take them out - vacuum packing them first prevents moisture condensation on the grain when I remove them from the freezer.

Hops are vacuum bagged and kept in the freezer.

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Happy Sunday Funday!!


it's been 2 weeks tonight since we brewed the Belgian Triple... I checked the bucket yesterday in the ferment fridge.. There are no bubbles in the air-lock. I haven't brewed a beer other than a can of extracts & hops included with grains... We brewed an extract/partial mash & looks like everything went well during the brew. it smells great in the fridge. We are just waiting... I hear that waiting is the best thing to do when it comes to good beer... It's just like anything else - it only gets better with time. So... the update - it's week 2 & we are still waiting! I am guessing another 2 weeks in the fermetor bucket before bottling. So - bottling the Belgian Triple the first weekend in August.

Question: How long should they be bottled before opening for tasting!?


Hope Everyone has a Funday Sunday!!
We are going to our friend's tonight, who are the one's who got us interested in wanting to brew our own beer. We are tasting a couple of their brews & we are taking the "BudderBock" from our first brew kit to taste. It should be a good time! I will let you guys know how it goes!! :rockin:


Peace. Love. & Beer.

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Contemplation....

Okay.. So, we brewed this Belgian Triple about 3 weeks ago - tomorrow It's been sitting in the 7 gallon bucket at about 75 degrees for the 3 week period... I guess what I am wondering is when should we go ahead and bottle the beer? 3 weeks in the fermenter..? Long enough? Oiy. I figure the longer we wait... The better the beer.. Right!!?

Looking for advice on the Belgian Triple ... To bottle or wait another week... Then bottle.

Have a FANTABULOUS SATURDAY!!

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Well... Off to a new forum.

Later, Peeps!

 

[FATC1TY]

Check the gravity, thats when you'll know it's done. Time doesn't really mean a thing, the yeast have their own agenda.

Also, I skimmed through the posts, since there's so much drivel, but you should avoid using a bucket with the spigot on it. Will harbor bacteria, and crap in it. Will fill with trub and junk that you don't want, and you don't want to pull from the bottom when you transfer it to secondary, or to bottle.

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Check the gravity, thats when you'll know it's done. Time doesn't really mean a thing, the yeast have their own agenda.

Also, I skimmed through the posts, since there's so much drivel, but you should avoid using a bucket with the spigot on it. Will harbor bacteria, and crap in it. Will fill with trub and junk that you don't want, and you don't want to pull from the bottom when you transfer it to secondary, or to bottle.

D@mn... I hope it isn't contaminated... I have just been letting it sit in the bucket that I bottle with... Oiy.... Should I go ahead and bottle?

 

[mikeysab]

I've never had an infection, and ONLY use buckets with spigots(Around 50 batches). If you cleaned and sanitized everything well enough, theres no need to worry about contamination. The trub that sits in the spigot is a tiny amount. If you'.re worried about it, pull a small glass before you transfer to secondary/bottling. Chill tthat glass to taste, and that little bit of trub will fall out.

Check your gravity, if its steady over a couple days, bottle it up. A tripel will take a bit of time to condition, and may take more than 3 weeks to carb, so patience will suit you well here. Something tells me patience is not one of your stronger traits though

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

SUNDAY FUNDAY ---
Actually, we are relaxing today...
Helped some friends work on their "new" very old house yesterday & seriously, woke-up at noon...

Well... it's been 4 weeks today since we brewed our Belgian Triple
I have waited patiently & just let it sit in there...
Really haven't checked on it much.
Gonna take a reading tonight & in about 3 days, take another reading.
If I think it's about right & hasn't changed much, I will bottle it.
I am excited...
But with the Bock --- I have also learned that over time, beer just tastes better!

Any who...
Haven't gotten another batch yet...
Probably won't be able to pick it up until the end of this month...
So, in the mean time, we continue to drink beer & sit on this Belgian Triple until I know it's ready to bottle.

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Can we use table sugar to prime?

 

[FATC1TY]

Can we use table sugar to prime?

Sure. You'll need to change the amounts however.

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter11-4.html

Here's a calculator to help:

http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

I found my old thread!!

Update:

Got pregnant! Found out Labor Day weekend! Had to take a break! Still have the Belgian Triple. We have taken mild sips of a couple of bottles here & there... ... & it tastes like a Cider! Blah! Not what we were going for!! I believe that we added too much priming sugar to the mixture. We have been sitting on it since August when we brewed it. I just think its time to just throw it out. We don't really like it & we wanna move on...

Now we have 8 weeks until our little lad - Crosby - is due & cannot be more excited!! We are moving to a new spot in about 3 weeks & would love to get into the new house & brew a new beer!! Maybe it will be ready by the time our ROCKSTAR gets here!!

We got a Keg from a friend & all we need is the CO2 and we will be good to go!! NO MORE BOTTLES!!

See everyone around for the next brew!!
...... Might want to check the Porter threads.... Seems that's what we are going for next...

Cheers!

 

[mikeysab]

Congrats on the baby.

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Congrats on the baby.

Thank Ya!!
We are excited!!
First one!!
& definitely a good candidate for a BrewBud!!