Belgian Dubbel gone mad....

[EkieEgan]

Hello all...so my Belgian Dubbel that I brewed on Tuesday 1/26 is actively fermenting away. I used WhiteLabs WLP0530 Abbey Ale...OG = 1.066
I made a 250ml starter. Fermentation took off a few short hours after aerating and my initial temperature was 64F. Within 48 hrs, the temperature inside the carboy was 74F and the room I have it in stays at a constant 66. Every other ale I have fermented in there stays at ~68. I know that the extrememly active fermentation has caused the rise in temperature. Also, the yeast blew my airlock off. Should have used a blowoff tube I guess. I am just curious about the school of thought regarding temps. Some say to start where I did in the mid 60's and then raise it after two days (or more)... some say later. Just curious how my yeast is going to make out. This is my first Belgian. Thoughts?

 

[m00ps]

either way is fine. warming it earlier on will get you a different yeast profile than if you held it and then warmed it. IME, you get the best belgian yeast character from a free rise from the low-mid 60s, for most strains at least

 

[EkieEgan]

I did a little reading too..there are different schools of thought, but the consensus is that Belgian yeasts are a whole different animal. Starting homebrew off at lower temps (low to mid 60's) works best because controlling yeast is harder for us, but once it gets rolling..get out of its way and look out lol.. I think I'm ok like you said. It seems to be stable at 74-76. I am excited about this brew. I love dubbels!
How do you personally ferment them out? Do you secondary or bottle after primary? If secondary, how long do you condition and at what temp?

 

[m00ps]

I did a little reading too..there are different schools of thought, but the consensus is that Belgian yeasts are a whole different animal. Starting homebrew off at lower temps (low to mid 60's) works best because controlling yeast is harder for us, but once it gets rolling..get out of its way and look out lol.. I think I'm ok like you said. It seems to be stable at 74-76. I am excited about this brew. I love dubbels!
How do you personally ferment them out? Do you secondary or bottle after primary? If secondary, how long do you condition and at what temp?

I would just let it go in primary. For a standard strength dubbel, id bottle between 3-4 weeks. That should be enough time for it to ferment out and clean up after itself. those temps will be fine for fermenting it and carbing the bottles

 

[MetalandBeer]

I wrote a post about my Dubbel using this yeast. The only word of caution I would throw your way is to make absolutely sure the Gravity is stable before you bottle. I know that goes without saying, but that yeast kept fermenting for a total of about 5 weeks for me, and the last three weeks was just to get through the final 8 gravity points after OBLITERATING the first 54. I bottled after 5.5 weeks and it's about 2.5 months old now. Good yeast, good beer.

 

[JohnSand]

I made a Belgian Strong with 530 that got out of hand and went to 84 degrees. It was a great beer, universally liked. I've used Wyeast 3787, the same strain, from the 60s-70s with great results. You'll love it.

 

[EkieEgan]

Funny, never brewing a Belgian before, this kind of activity is mind blowing. What a bunch of sugar pigs they are. Looks like I am in it for the long haul then. Thing is, I have about 3 weeks coming up soon that I will have to be away. I guess it's good to know that I can let this sit with no adverse effects. Looks like I will bottle after I come back. One more question and this has to do with bottling any beer really. When I was brewing years ago, I filtered and kegged, but even when I bottled before that, there were no internet help apps out there to help with priming. We simple added a set amount regardless of style (this was the early 90's when I started brewing). My question is this..at what temperature do I consider when adjusting the sugar? My first brew I used the secondary temp of 60F when calculating the priming sugar, but should I have used the primary temp of 68 instead? I hate to say this, but after 3 weeks, my carbonation level is less than adaquate for my honey porter (7.3%). If it stays too low after 6-8 weeks, is there any possible way of fixing this? A partial priming tab perhaps? I understand that bottle condition can be an excersise in patience, but I am just thinking about the what ifs. I would like to avoid this in the future as well. I already miss kegging

 

[MetalandBeer]

I usually ensure my beer is about 68F when doing sugar calculations. My Belgian was primed with just under 5oz table sugar and after 2.5 months the carbonation levels just now seems to be about right for the style. As for your porter, if it is 7.3% ABV, three weeks may be a little early to be determining the carbonation level. Rotate the bottles gently and put em somewhere warmer. Open another in another three weeks and then you'll have a better idea of where your carbonation is.

 

[EkieEgan]

Ok sounds good. I know I am probably being a little premature in assuming it is too low. It has been like 10 years since I bottled homebrew and I can't remember how long it took haha..but thanks for the advice!