Belgium Triple

[sixone]

Hi Everyone,

I brewed my first Belgium Triple a few months back, and I have a few questions and observations. First, the observations:

It is a has a nice caramel color. It really looks good.
It carbonated very nicely. One of my best carbonated brews to date.
I left it in the carboy for a little too long, perhaps 21-days.
I didn't take gravity readings, but I made a starter and the brew actively fermented for at least 10-days.
I made my own spice pack as I meant for this to be a holiday brew, and the taste of the spices (orange peel, lime peel, ginger, and lemon grass) is subtle.

Now here are my questions:
It seems very sweet. Is this the nature of a Triple? It was too sweet 3-weeks after bottling, and seems to have mellowed out a bit after 8-10 weeks.

How long should I let it mature? Will the sweetness mellow out more after 3 to 5 months, or is a Triple something that does not age well.

Thanks in advance for the feedback!

 

[Jmiltime]

It's a little difficult to troubleshoot without gravity readings. Belgian beers in general are more malty and use little hops so you will get a malty or sweet flavor from them. Triple's have a tendency to be higher gravity so you will naturally be left with more unfermented sugars. So I guess the short answer to your question without more info is, yes, your triple will be sweet as part of the style. If you all grain brewed you may have gotten less efficiency than you were hoping for, if extract brewing, extracts your efficiency is harder to determine.

This is a good example of why gravity readings are important. They really do/will tell you a lot about what your beer is doing and help you troubleshoot problems.

And yes, your beer will mellow out over time. Once again, depending on the gravity, you could use to condition for 3-6 months. Whether it will get rid of the 'sweetness' I couldn't tell you but it should help balance the flavors.

Good luck!!

 

[tom777]

I've brewed 1 Tripel -- still have some left that's about 1.5 years old.
I remember it being surprisingly good when I sampled the first bottles, being a higher than normal gravity beer for me. As jmiltime said, don't be scared to give it some time to age. I would expect it to only get better.

 

[sixone]

Thank you very much for the feedback. I guess I'm lazy and need to take gravity readings. I used the oxygen caps so the beer should be good for at least 6 to 12 months.

For me one of the most interesting things about home brewing is tasting the difference in the same batch of beer every few weeks. I'll be sure to keep a few bottles of this brew in the back of the fridge.

I'm also going to start an Imperial Stout this weekend, and the instructions say that it will take at least 6 months to age out. I'm really looking forward to this one.

 

[MattHollingsworth]

Thank you very much for the feedback. I guess I'm lazy and need to take gravity readings. I used the oxygen caps so the beer should be good for at least 6 to 12 months.
.

If it's a tripel and is high gravity, it should be good for way more than 6-12 months, oxy caps or not.

 

[Neonsilver]

I just have one comment to add. If it's a triple it should have a low FG and be dry, not sweet. What's the recipe you used? Most of the time people will use sugar to help get the FG lower and it won't add any off flavors in small amounts.

 

[sixone]

I used this kit from Morebeer.com:
Belgian Trippel- Extract
KIT270

(Makes 5 gallons) Liquid Gold! So smooth for a beer with an alcohol by weight of 7%! Features clear candi sugar, an immense amount of both dried and liquid Light Malt Extract, hops and the uses the Trappist yeast strain. It leaves lots of classic phenolic flavor, but produces a very soft body without a high alcohol bite. Not that bitter, this golden beer is about a strong and complex malt body. It may take a goblet or two to grow on you, but once you acquire the taste.... some would say "beervana." The malt extract for this kit is made entirely from German Pilsner Malt, giving it that classic European flavor.

Estimated Original Gravity:1.074-78
SRM (Color Range: 6.7
IBU's: 22-26 Estimated Alcohol Percentage: 7.4%

It did have about 1-pound of Belgium rock candy.

 

[McGarnigle]

The rock candy sugar makes it drier, as it ferments out. If we knew the FG, we could say whether it is simply under-attenuated. Sometimes extract will do that to you.

I personally think that fruitiness (from the yeast and spices) could provide a perception of sweetness; we tend to asscoiate fruit with sweetness.

 

[Mista_Sparkle]

I just bottled my tripel last night and it was also very sweet. I used WLP-500, had an OG of 1.083 and FG of 1.020. There was a bit of maltodextrin in there which may account for some of the gravity. Mostly I'm going to cough up the high FG to being an extract recipe.

It should age well, as most strong beers do

 

[bknifefight]

<rant>

This is irrelevant but it's always bothered me. You should say 'Belgian,' not 'Belgium.' It's like saying that you brewed an 'America Pale Ale' or a 'Germany Hefeweizen.'

</rant>

 

[Denny]

<rant>

This is irrelevant but it's always bothered me. You should say 'Belgian,' not 'Belgium.' It's like saying that you brewed an 'America Pale Ale' or a 'Germany Hefeweizen.'

</rant>

I'm on your side....

 

[maida7]

I just bottled my tripel last night and it was also very sweet. I used WLP-500, had an OG of 1.083 and FG of 1.020. There was a bit of maltodextrin in there which may account for some of the gravity. Mostly I'm going to cough up the high FG to being an extract recipe.

It should age well, as most strong beers do

Next time skip the maltodextrin and replace some of the extract with plain table sugar. The table sugar will help with attenuation and give it a light crisp finish.

I'm currently fermenting an extract batch of Belgian Tripel. The recipe had 9 lbs of Pilsner LME and 2.5 lbs of sugar. So like 20% sugar.

Also make a proper sized yeast starter. Start fermentation cool 64F and slowly increase the temp to 72F. Keep it up at 72F for the remainder of the fermentation. This beer is all about the yeast flavors. Proper fermentation temps are key.

 

[BA_from_GA]

If it's a tripel and is high gravity, it should be good for way more than 6-12 months, oxy caps or not.

+1. I all my higher grav brews i try to let sit for atleast 4 months before opening the first bottle. I did a quad last summer that i didn't open for over 6 months, with plain jane bottle caps. they have been fantastic, and have gotten much smoother with time.

 

[BrewinDuluth]

Sixone,
As I'm writing this response, I'm drinking my Belgian Trippel I made 5 months ago. The color and carbonation both sound spot on. I would think given that you made a starter and for how long the fermentation lasted that your attenuation should be good and there isn't too much sugar left in your beer. Have you made yourself fairly familiar with Belgian Trippels before brewing this? I could see how the taste could come off as being sweet. Majority of the flavor for the beer comes from the interaction of the yeast and sugar. If nothing else, you have quite a few citrus spices working together which could be causing the sweet taste. I had aged my batch for 5 months so far and have just started drinking a few bottles here and there and it's only getting better the longer I let it sit. I find most secondary flavors I add (spice, smoked, fruit, oak) tend to fade the longer I let the beer age; at least to a certain point. Good luck and happy brewing

 

[Moose777]

M y Triple sucked...pitched the last 10% of the keg and still have several lock cap bottles in the fridge. I let it age for over 6months and it just had a gamey taste to it..bleh.

Hope yours turns out better.

 

[Heineken]

curious what type of yeast you used. I am planning to make my first Belgian Triple and recipe uses Belgian Abbey II (Wyeast Labs #1762).

 

[bknifefight]

I'm currently fermenting an extract batch of Belgian Tripel. The recipe had 9 lbs of Pilsner LME and 2.5 lbs of sugar. So like 20% sugar.

I have one fermenting right now that is basically the same (9 lbs DME and 2 lbs Sugar). What Yeast are you using and what FG are you expecting out of this? I am using WYeast3787 and am afraid my FG will be a little high to be as dry as I like it

 

[maida7]

I have one fermenting right now that is basically the same (9 lbs DME and 2 lbs Sugar). What Yeast are you using and what FG are you expecting out of this? I am using WYeast3787 and am afraid my FG will be a little high to be as dry as I like it

I used the white labs WLP530 This is the Westmalle strain. It's the same as the wyeast 3787 that you are using. I made a 2L starter on a stirplate from one very fresh vial.

I'm hoping it will finish close to 1.015 It's been in the fermenter for just over a week. I'll probably take a reading in the next few days to see if it's done.

Using extract there is only so low your gonna get. The extract is not as fermentable as a wort you could make with AG. So just use more simple sugar to compensate for the long chain dextrines in the extract. This is assuming your pitching the proper amount of healthy yeast and properly controlling the fermentation temps. If you don't have the yeast going right your attenuation problems may be more related to that and not the recipe.

Another trick is add the simple sugar later during the fermentation. Boil only the extract and start the ferment. When the yeast has eaten the sugars from the extract, add the table sugar to the fermenter. You will have to boil it with a minimal amount of water to dissolve and sterilize it. Cool the sugar water and add the fermenter towards the end of primary fermentation but before the yeast start to drop out. This is a technique to making stronger beers with dry finishes.

Lastly, you could mash the extract to make it more fermentable. Steep the extract with a pound of so of base grain for an hour at 149F. The enzymes in the base grain will break down the more complex sugars in the extract making it more fermentable. I really don't have any experience with this so you may have to do some trial and error to get the times and temps right.

 

[bknifefight]

I have had mine fermenting for 16 days now and it is chugging along. I started out with a 1.5 - 1.75 L starter which blew yeast all over the counter. It was a mess haha Last I checked it was 1.038 on Saturday. I pitched and started out cooler (64) and slowly stepped it up to 72 where I left it for over a week. Right now I have it at 74 to wake up the yeast and get them more active and hopefully it will finish up here within a week or two.

 

[maida7]

16 days and it's still at 1.038! You may have a problem.

You really want to avoid blow off with your starters. The top crop of yeast is blowing out the top. The guys that hang at the top the longest are the best at attenuating. This is another reason to be careful in decanting a starter as you may end up throwing away the least flocculant and only pitching the bottom dwellers. Try fermcap to reduce the action in your starters.

Also, a stirplate is the way to go when making starters for BIG beers. You can make your own stirplate for like 10.00.

 

[bknifefight]

I know it is creeping along but it is still active. Slow and steady on this one, I guess.

I do have and use a stir plate but thanks for the tip.