Belgian Tripel

[Fish826]

I'm going to be brewing a Belgian triple kit I got from Midwest supplies next weekend. The directions say to leave in primary for 1 week then rack to secondary. On the site it says to leave in secondary anywhere from 6-12 months to let the flavors blend properly. I've been reading a lot about people not racking to a secondary at all and just leaving in the primary. I've also read that anything more than a month is too long to leave on the yeast cake. So which way do I go on this one?

 

[Nateo]

The directions say to leave in primary for 1 week then rack to secondary.

Wrong

On the site it says to leave in secondary anywhere from 6-12 months to let the flavors blend properly.

Right, although I'm not patient enough for that.

I've been reading a lot about people not racking to a secondary at all and just leaving in the primary.

Right most of the time, but not necessarily in this case.

I've also read that anything more than a month is too long to leave on the yeast cake.

Wrong

I would leave in the primary for 4-8 weeks, then rack to another vessel for bulk aging for 2-3mo, then bottle. But that's just my opinion, and you what they say about opinions.

 

[BeerG0ggles]

Wrong.

His quoting of the directions? Or did you leave a follow on thought out? If that's what the directions say, then them is the directions. Sure, a lot of us see them as a starting point, but the recipe author may be the one to question for reasoning

Right, although I'm not patient enough for that.

Nod. I don't know where the OP is at in this hobby, but it is worth getting a second (third? Fourth?) fermenting kit. I have one that is set aside for big, age the snot out it it brews. I use the others for churn beers. It's kinda cool to have the one set aside for something to look forward to.

 

[Duffman53]

I would suggest leaving it in your primary for four to six weeks before transferring to a secondary.

Are you planning on pitching yeast a second time? If not I don't think letting it age in a carboy/pail is any different from bottling it then and just letting it age in the bottles.

BTW, I agree with Nateo's comments. With most beer types you don't really need to be concerned with racking to a secondary.

Happy Brewing,
D

 

[Aschecte]

I got a few questions first what the ingiendent profile look like? what was your OG or what does the kit say your target is? what are your fermenting temps? Blindly answering your question.... I would say 4 weeks in primary 8 weeks secondary then another 3 months bottle condition at room temps then off to the fridge they go for another 2 weeks. so total I guess would be about 6.5 months you gotta remember a triple is a big beer and as a general rule of thumb will take longer to ferment , age , carbonate, etc. but before anyone can make a concrete opinion we need some more info first.

 

[Fish826]

I got a few questions first what the ingiendent profile look like? what was your OG or what does the kit say your target is? what are your fermenting temps? Blindly answering your question.... I would say 4 weeks in primary 8 weeks secondary then another 3 months bottle condition at room temps then off to the fridge they go for another 2 weeks. so total I guess would be about 6.5 months you gotta remember a triple is a big beer and as a general rule of thumb will take longer to ferment , age , carbonate, etc. but before anyone can make a concrete opinion we need some more info first.

Ingredients :
4 lb Extra light DME
3.3 lb Pilsen LME
1.5 lb Belgian clear candi sugar
8 oz Caravienne
4 oz Aromtic malt specialty grains
2 oz Styrian Goldings
1 oz Willamette pellet hops
1 oz. Sweet orange peel
WL Belgian ale 550 yeast

SG 1.072-1.076
FG 1.012-1.014

I will be using a 1 litre starter, fermenting between 70-72 degrees, will be adding orange zest after primary fermentation is complete, tons of patience. I bought another carboy specifically for this beer so I could keep a pipeline going while this one ages.

Thanks for all help offered.

 

[Nateo]

My "wrong" on the first comment was in regard to leaving a trippel in primary for a week. I've never had a big Belgian beer hit terminal gravity within a week. If he racks too early the beer won't finish fermenting and will be cloying, which is the opposite of what Belgian beers should be.

Now, whether or not the author of the recipe can actually make good beer is a different question.

 

[Fish826]

My "wrong" on the first comment was in regard to leaving a trippel in primary for a week. I've never had a big Belgian beer hit terminal gravity within a week. If he racks too early the beer won't finish fermenting and will be cloying, which is the opposite of what Belgian beers should be.

Now, whether or not the author of the recipe can actually make good beer is a different question.

I should have made it clear from the start that I planned on leaving it in the primary longer. It didn't seem right to me either. My question was really how long in the primary is too long. I've come across varying opinions on this, so I figured I'd ask for this specific beer.