Bottle Priming a Belgian Tripel

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jonwolgamuth

jonbeer
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I've done some reading (and searching) on this topic and I'm anxious about screwing up my Tripel that is brewing right now when I go to bottle. I plan to do corked/caged heavy duty bottles like the ones that Duvel come in.

Recipe says to shoot for 2.5 - 3.4 CO2. I have read (and a long time ago, I've experienced it) that this is significantly too low for many traditional bottled Belgian beers such as Duvel, Orval, etc.

I'm thinking I want to shoot for more like 7.0-8.0 volumes of CO2. Is that reasonable? For my 5 gallon batch, it mentions adding ~8 oz. of sugar, but I DO NOT want to overcarbonate.

Any and all experience/suggestions are welcomed!
 
That is off the charts and I would guess potentially dangerous. 3 to 3.4 should give you plenty of bubbles. Make sure you have good bottles.


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I'm thinking I want to shoot for more like 7.0-8.0 volumes of CO2. Is that reasonable?

The most carbonated comm'l beer I know of is Orval, at about 5 volumes. I've gone that high in heavy duty champagne bottles.
 
Found this is as well. So unless you are using champagne bottles, which are not even suitable for 8 volumes, you should stick to no more than 3.5.

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Just to offer another perspective: All I brew is Trappist inspired ales. I never carbonate to greater than 2.7 volumes. I think the lower carbonation helps to "soften" some of the yeast derived flavors in the younger beer and makes for a better drinking experience.

In my opinion, one of the worst things you can do, especially if you are not sure you had a 100% clean fermentation, is carbonate to greater than 3 volumes. High carbonation tends to exacerbate some of the undesirable yeast derived flavors. In general, I stick pretty close to what the actual breweries do, with the exception of carbonation.
 
Absolutely. It's the reason I started the thread! I keep notching it down as the thread progresses!
 
I brew a Belgian Brut Methode Champenois beer.

I bottle condition the beer in Champagne bottles aiming for 6 volumes but you lose a little carbonation during disgorging. The beer is still very carbonated and requires a slow pour to not get nothing but foam.

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For Belgian Tripel aim for 3 to 3.5 volumes and you will be good.
I use the Northern Brewer website for calculating how much sugar to add.

https://www.northernbrewer.com/pages/priming-sugar-calculator
The “current temperature” input of the calculator should be the maximum temperature of the beer during fermentation.
 
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