American Tripel

[JStans12]

I'm in love with triples lately so I'm going to make my own. This will be my sixth brew and my first all grain attempt. Here's what I've got so far:

Grains
10 Lbs American pilsner
3 Lbs American Vienna
2 Lbs American Wheat
1.5 Lbs Belgian candi sugar

Hops (pellets)
.25 oz warrior (60 min)
.25 oz warrior (45 min)
.25 oz amarillo (45 min)
.25 oz amarillo (30 min)
.25 oz cascade (30 min)
.25 oz cascade (15 min)
.25 oz liberty (15 min)
.25 oz liberty (5 min)

My recipe calculator puts this at 38 IBU, 9% ABV and 10 L.

I could use some advice in terms of ingredients and ratios or any tips on additional steps I should take for this brew. Help a noob out!

 

[greatschmaltez]

Couple quick things:

Consider extra sugar... Most Belgians (from belgium) are at least 20% of the fermentables contributed from the simple sugars in order to achieve the dry finish they have.

Hop schedule looks a little more labor intensive than it needs to be, although I think you'll end up with a good beer, could probably get the same result with just 3 additions.

Boil 90 minutes with the pilsner malt to get rid of sulfur.

Not sure if you really need wheat, would be curious in your rationale there.

Make a nice starter and get your fermentation schedule down, that's where you'll get the big payoff in flavor.

Anyways, as is, it looks good, these are just a couple suggestions you can take or leave, either way you should be happy at the end of the day.

 

[JStans12]

Thanks! I'll throw some more sugar in the mix. I added wheat after seeing it in a few other tripel recipes. I'll have to research and get some more opinions to make a decision about it.

Anyone else?

 

[smalliewader]

Get your sugar to 20% range and don't spend on clear candi sugar... It's just table sugar. A little wheat is good for head retention, three pounds probably isn't necessary. Neither is the Vienna, but that's your call. Tripels are simple. Base grain, sugar, simple hops schedules and good belgian yeast. The yeast is the star of the show in a tripel.

 

[Calder]

The yeast is the star of the show in a tripel.

Without the yeast, all you have is a lot of alcohol in a thin beer. You might want to toss in some Crystal and make a decent IPA out of it.

 

[JStans12]

Thanks, I've got my recipe reworked to have more sugar (2 lbs) and less wheat and vienna (1 lb each). I may change the hop schedule a little. I realized that my calculator had the wrong alpha% for some of my hop choices and I will have to tone them down a bit to stay true to the tripel.

I'm thinking about using Wyest 3787 Trappist High Gravity. Any thoughts?

 

[beergolf]

Thanks, I've got my recipe reworked to have more sugar (2 lbs) and less wheat and vienna (1 lb each). I may change the hop schedule a little. I realized that my calculator had the wrong alpha% for some of my hop choices and I will have to tone them down a bit to stay true to the tripel.

I'm thinking about using Wyest 3787 Trappist High Gravity. Any thoughts?

3787 is a good choice for a tripel. Mostly pilsner, maybe a little Munich and 20% sugar makes a great tripel. Hop to a BU: GU ratio of .38..

I prefer Saaz, Hallertau, or Styrian Goldings. The yeast is the star of a tripel and American hops are out of place. But that is my taste.

Keep it simple, let it age and you will have a good brew.

 

[smalliewader]

2 thumbs up on the Styrian hops.

 

[greatschmaltez]

For the yeast, just make sure you know what you want to do with the temperature. That yeast is good for starting cool and then letting it rise up and hold to complete attenuation. Make a good size starter.

Totally second the choice of hops above for a traditional Belgian, but if you are trying to put an American spin on it, I have seen many beers do it successfully with American hops shining through, that one is up to you. Cali Belgique is a good example.

 

[beergolf]

For the yeast, just make sure you know what you want to do with the temperature. That yeast is good for starting cool and then letting it rise up and hold to complete attenuation. Make a good size starter.

Good advice. Pitch at the low end of the recommended range and let it rise up. When fermentation slows you can ramp up the temp and it will finish low. Belgian yeasts can take a long time to get the last few points of attenuation. Be patient and let it finish. You can't rush a Belgian.

 

[Calder]

I'm thinking about using Wyest 3787 Trappist High Gravity. Any thoughts?

Now you have a beer! For some reason I thought you were going to use a clean American yeast.

Totally second the choice of hops above for a traditional Belgian, but if you are trying to put an American spin on it, I have seen many beers do it successfully with American hops shining through, that one is up to you. Cali Belgique is a good example.

Do some research on Cali-Belgique. It is a Stone IPA brewed with a Belgian yeast.

 

[greatschmaltez]

Yeah, I know... I think it works though. St. Arnolds in Houston did a similar beer, Bitter Belgian... It's one of those beauty in the eyes of the beholder thing. Definitely not for everyone, but I can understand how people would like it... And I think I like it

 

[greatschmaltez]

Ofcourse, I may be biased because I'm currently working on an IPA beer with Belgian yeast... So we'll see.

Anyways, to the original poster, just go with whatever beer you want to make. Both hop themes can work, just up to you on what you want.

 

[JStans12]

Thanks a lot everyone. The combination of American hops and Belgian yeast is what I really want to make work. I actually have a beer fermenting right now that is more along the lines of a Tripel/IPA (columbus and saaz hops, Belgian yeast recommended by my brew shop guy). But for this batch I really want to stay within the IBU guidelines for a pure Tripel. I will post my final recipe and process in a week or two.