Belgian Dubbel Very Sweet

[theoryno7]

I have been brewing for over two years and have over 60 batches under my belt. I wanted to state that because I feel like a noob asking this question. I bottled a Dubbel last night and the un-carbonated beer was incredibly sweet. I have never had or really worried about bottle bombs, but how sweet this beer was has me concerned.

I used WLP 530 for fermentation. I started fermentation at 68º F, raised to 73º over 3 days, and held at 73º for the next 8. I usually primary for 3 weeks, but bottled this beer after only 11 days to clear up a carboy for a brewing demonstration I am doing this Saturday. All my other carboys are full of new cider.

I primed for 3 volumes of CO2 and am reusing various 12 oz commercial bottles.

The OG was 1.08 and the FG was 1.015. My estimated FG was 1.016, so maybe I am good. Here is my grainbill:

Pale Ale Malt 4.0 lb
Bohemian Pilsner Malt 1.0 lb
Aromatic MD™/Amber MD™ 1.0 lb
CARAMUNICH® III 1.0 lb
Honey 1.0 lb
Piloncillo 8.0 oz

I mashed in at 150 and slowly raised to mashout over 60 minutes.

All that to say, should I worry about bottle bombs? The beer was just so sweet...

 

[downwardzspiral]

Did you forget to include hops? Or miss calculate the IBUs? I know you specified this was just the grain bill, but without that included thats the first thing that comes to my mind. Not enough bitterness to balance the malt leaves a rather sweet beer.

 

[wilconrad]

I have been brewing for over two years and have over 60 batches under my belt. I wanted to state that because I feel like a noob asking this question. I bottled a Dubbel last night and the un-carbonated beer was incredibly sweet. I have never had or really worried about bottle bombs, but how sweet this beer was has me concerned.

I used WLP 530 for fermentation. I started fermentation at 68º F, raised to 73º over 3 days, and held at 73º for the next 8. I usually primary for 3 weeks, but bottled this beer after only 11 days to clear up a carboy for a brewing demonstration I am doing this Saturday. All my other carboys are full of new cider.

I primed for 3 volumes of CO2 and am reusing various 12 oz commercial bottles.

The OG was 1.08 and the FG was 1.015. My estimated FG was 1.016, so maybe I am good. Here is my grainbill:

Pale Ale Malt 4.0 lb
Bohemian Pilsner Malt 1.0 lb
Aromatic MD™/Amber MD™ 1.0 lb
CARAMUNICH® III 1.0 lb
Honey 1.0 lb
Piloncillo 8.0 oz

I mashed in at 150 and slowly raised to mashout over 60 minutes.

All that to say, should I worry about bottle bombs? The beer was just so sweet...

How well did you control the rise in mash temp? If the rise was quick enough that the mash spent a decent amount of time above ~158, you would have a significant amount of unfermentable sugars in your wort that would come through as sweetness (even after fermentation is complete). If that's the case, no need to worry about bottle bombs.

EDIT: After re-reading your post, looks like your FG was right on, so this probably isn't the case.

 

[theoryno7]

Did you forget to include hops? Or miss calculate the IBUs? I know you specified this was just the grain bill, but without that included thats the first thing that comes to my mind. Not enough bitterness to balance the malt leaves a rather sweet beer.

Nope, didnt forget the hops. .5 oz Saaz at 60 and .5 oz Saaz at 30. This was a 3 gallon batch.

 

[theoryno7]

How well did you control the rise in mash temp? If the rise was quick enough that the mash spent a decent amount of time above ~158, you would have a significant amount of unfermentable sugars in your wort that would come through as sweetness (even after fermentation is complete). If that's the case, no need to worry about bottle bombs.

I'd say it spent maybe 15-20 minutes above 158, but this was after it spent a significant amount of time below, and I am assuming most of the conversion would have happened by then.

 

[Moose1231]

1 pound of caramunich for a 3 gallon batch is a lot. That is probably why is tastes so sweet. I personally love that grain, especially for a belgian beer. Don't worry about it, especially if your fg is 1.015

 

[duboman]

You got 82% attenuation which is higher than average for this yeast so it was probably done with no need to worry. I would keep an eye on the bottles though just to be sure as I really don't see anything in the recipe that would have left an overly residual sweetness. I will say Aromatic malt will really accentuate the malt forward mouthfeel of a beer and at 1lb you may be tasting the effects of that amount of malt. Also, as previously mentioned, if your IBUs were low then the beer would be unbalanced producing a sweeter finish as well.

 

[theoryno7]

Thanks all. I'll probably just age this for a good long while and hope the sweetness mellows a bit.

 

[beergolf]

I would suggest keeping an eye on the bottles. That yeast is notorious for taking off fast and then taking a long time to get the last few points of attenuation. I think 11 days is way to fast to bottle a brew using that yeast.

Brew using this yeast almost always come in well below estimated FG for me, but they do take some time to get there.

 

[theoryno7]

Brew using this yeast almost always come in well below estimated FG for me, but they do take some time to get there.

I've used the yeast before and that was my experience as well. Not sure what to do at this point. That's what I get for not planning properly. Good excuse to get another carboy, I guess.