Belgian Beer Beginner

[gdoggy]

Hi Guys

Im a total beginner here and looking for some advice...

I have done a couple of brews from beer kits, Muntons winter warmer (got stuck at 1020, wasn't nice once it finally finished, ended up down the sink... kegged) and a Brewferm belgian tripel which went much better although took a while to get to the specified bottling gravity. Bottled this one, left conditioning for 2 months but still had an obvious "homebrew" taste.

I have contacted brewferm and told them my favorite belgian beers and asked if they would recommend anything that would be similar.

They were very helpful and suggested the following...

"Since you like the Bernardus and Chimay Bleu, you might want to try the abbey kit. To get something that is closer to the originals you could try using a different yeast than the one in the box(e.g. the wyeast liquid yeast 1214 Belgian Ale (this strain is reported to come from the Chimay brewery) or the 1762 Abbey 2 (Rochefort))"

If I replace the yeast in the box with one suggested, do i need to do anything different? Will I need the same amount?


Also... I have bought another fermenter to move the brew over to after the initial fermentation to try and get a clearer less "homebrew" result. After how long should I do this?

Thanks in advance...

 

[pwndabear]

Well, yea. There are so many different yeast strains out there that really do make a difference in the beer you are making. If you specifically use one of those mentioned yeasts, you are going to have a different end product than if you were to use whatever comes in the box.

If you get a liquid yeast, I would recommend making a starter. Then again, I would recommend doing that regardless of what kind of yeast you are using. It gives your yeast a chance to become acclimated with what they are going to be living in for the next month or so. Think of it like taking a quick jog and loosening up before going for a full on marathon. As for your amount needed... click this lovely link to get to a wonderful pitch-rate calculator. Once you make your starter, post a pic of its inherent beauty here!

For your "homebrew taste," most of us on here have experienced that at one point or another. IMO, that cardboardy taste is just oxidation. There are controls for that but I have found that it goes away with proper cleaning and sanization and when you finally get a routine for your brewday. Your secondary carboy wont really help with the flavor of your beer too much but now we tread the waters of the dreaded "primary only or secondary" debate shark. Do your research and figure out what's best for you. Some people prefer to use a secondary, some prefer to use only primary. I personally use a secondary when i want an uber clear beer, if I have a very long fermentation, or if i am dry hopping, but other than that, I will only use a primary. If you decide to use a secondary fermenter, wait until your beer is done actively fermenting (ie. no more bubbling and you've hit your FG) and then simply rack your beer into the secondary carboy, of course keeping sanitation and all that jazz in mind.

Goodluck and godspeed and drink beer!

 

[gdoggy]

Thanks for the advice... I'll read up on making starters.

 

[pwndabear]

This is what I used as a beginner and it's a fairly reliable method.

 

[Aschecte]

I do alot of Belgian brews and they are no more difficult than any other continental beer to brew. Sometimes just different temps, ingredients and flavors. As far as your yeast selection I'm not that familiar with wyeast but on the white labs side you have wlp500 (Chimay) and wlp550 ( Acchuffe ( spelled wrong). You really can;t go wrong with either. Belgian yeast tend to like to be ramped up meaning pitch the yeast low at about 64ish and let them rise naturally to the 70's after primary has been completed you could raise them up depending on the strain into the 80's for styles such as saison, bier de garde or sours. Regarding homebrew "taste" oxidation is a off-flavor which I'm sorry pwndabear I disagree that flavor will not go away as nce a beer is oxidized it's oxidized and there ain't no turning back. but if you are carefull transfering the wort when properly cooled and after fermentation ends you have a minnimal risk. Other factors in homebrew taste are tannin extraction from steeping to hot or long, water chemistry and the biggest one fermentation temp. make sure you keep the beer fermenting at the proper range for the yeast strain, not the ambient air temo but the beer itself. Also make sure you pitch the correct amount of yeast for your gravity, go to mr.malty.com and it will tell you the starter size and pitching rate. If you under pitch you will create alot of esters which will give a homebrew taste as well. I hope these few tips help you and good luck !!!

 

[gdoggy]

Thanks for that. We have very hard water here. Im planning on buying springwater for the next brew.

 

[gdoggy]

Temp control has been an issue also... Im struggling to get a constant temp and did notice that some times the brew was getting too cold and then at other times was too warm. May need to find somewhere better than under the kitchen table...

 

[chickypad]

Search this forum for swamp cooler.

Also, those kits are the pre-hopped no boil kits, right? I never personally made any of those but I wonder if that is the cause of your "homebrew" taste. You might consider a quality kit or recipe that you boil and hop yourself. I also had much better results on my extract brews using DME over LME with late addition technique.

 

[pwndabear]

Regarding homebrew "taste" oxidation is a off-flavor which I'm sorry pwndabear I disagree that flavor will not go away as nce a beer is oxidized it's oxidized and there ain't no turning back.

When I say "goes away," I mean you can have controls on future batches. You can't go back and resanitize a batch thats in the works...

 

[gdoggy]

Yeah, they are pre boiled kits. The last one had a "tea bag" with hops in. I would like to try a proper brew from recipe when I know I have all the right kit and better technique

 

[Aschecte]

When I say "goes away," I mean you can have controls on future batches. You can't go back and resanitize a batch thats in the works...

sorry pwndabear I misunderstood your intention of "goes away" my bad. I just didn;t want the op to think time makes a oxidized beer better.