Going on second ever batch.. and I'm going to try a Tripel

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

superfknmario

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
Messages
78
Reaction score
8
Probably not the best idea.. anyway, it's the Midwest recipe. I plan on leaving it in the secondary fermenter for 9-12 months.

I have several questions.. should I rack it down every month or so? Meaning transfer via auto-siphon from one carboy to another every month or so.. Is that even necessary? If not, will it affect the beer if I did it? Will it affect the alcohol content? Pros/Cons?

Thanks in advance!
 
It's not wine. Racking it will expose it to oxygen and other contaminants. If you really want to secondary, glass is oxygen-impermeable. Or you could give it an extra week in primary, and then bottle and leave it for 9-12 months.
 
Perhaps secondary after 2 weeks, (but personal preference is to only secondary is you are adding in extra fruits or hops.), wait 2-3 weeks then bottle for however long it takes..
 
You should REALLY, REALLY rethink this. High alcohol beers that need aging are really bad choices to try to learn on. Knock out a couple of batches and get all the kinks worked out before you commit a YEAR to a highly questionable product.
 
I disagree with the advice above this post You can put a tripel in a secondary for 9-12 months without a problem. A keg or bottle might be better, but if the temp is okay, there's no problem large enough to make it unreasonable, IMO.
 
You should REALLY, REALLY rethink this. High alcohol beers that need aging are really bad choices to try to learn on. Knock out a couple of batches and get all the kinks worked out before you commit a YEAR to a highly questionable product.

I appreciate the concern and I figure it may turn out terrible.. so I have two more glass carboys for making less daunting recipes. :)

Thanks for the input guys.
 
Good choice. Go big or go home. I did a Belgian Dubbel for my third brew, but im antsy now that i need to wait months to taste it (i could go earlier but wanna let it age). Anyway, Im racking my dubbel for two months in secondary and then intend to age in bottles for six before i open. Doing a bigger beer early isn't a bad thing as long as u stick to the recipe and keep everything sanitary. Now keeping ur patience while waiting for it to be ready, thats another story...
 
I just tried my triple. it's only been in the bottle for about 3 months. And it wasn't so good. I'm thinking of going to let it sit for probably another 2 or 3 months before I try again.

I also agree with the philosophy of go big or go home!
 
The problem I see here is not the storage issue. You can let it sit in a secondary for months. The problem I see is that, assuming its high gravity, you probably won't pitch enough yeast.
 
:off: How many people read the thread title and thought it said, "Tripe!" Just curious.
 
I did a tripel for my second batch many moons ago. I only did a 3 week secondary then bottle conditioned for 3 months. The hardest thing for me was waiting so long, I was very impatient when I started. They did taste fantastic starting at the 4 month mark.
 
Haha waiting is definitely the hardest part!

It seems as though the general consensus here is to age the beer in the bottles. Therefore, I'm thinking of doing 3-4 weeks in the primary, 1 month in the secondary, and then the rest in bottles.

That as opposed to leaving in the secondary for at least six months..

What do you guys think? Is one method better than the other in your experience.

As for the yeast concern, I bought the kit with the liquid yeast and plan on making a starter. If I mess up and don't hit my target gravity, aside from being weaker, will that compromise the quality or flavor?
 
That's sounds good. Look at other triple recipes to get a feel for what other vet brewers do and follow their wise direction.

I went big for my 2nd beer, it's about 12% RIS with vanilla beans, bourbon, and oak chips. It's turning out great! Do it up!
 
I've decided to do a little experiment. After the one month in the secondary, I'm going to siphon 3 gallons into a 3 gallon carboy to further age and bottle the rest. I will then age at least 6 bottles for the exact same amount of time as the beer in the 3 gallon so that I can taste the difference of bottle conditioned vs secondary fermenter.

The other beers will be sampled along the way. :mug:
 
I've decided to do a little experiment. After the one month in the secondary, I'm going to siphon 3 gallons into a 3 gallon carboy to further age and bottle the rest. I will then age at least 6 bottles for the exact same amount of time as the beer in the 3 gallon so that I can taste the difference of bottle conditioned vs secondary fermenter.

The other beers will be sampled along the way. :mug:

Just keep it mind when u bottle that 1/2 batch, it'll carb over that period of time, while the beer left in the secondary may need a priming boost with yeast depending on just how long ur going to keep it there. Yeast in the beer in the bottle will eat the sugar u add, while the yeast still in the secondary may just die over that period of time and not carb up as quick when finally put in bottles.

Either way though lemme know how that works out, im curious to see if theres a noticeable difference.
 
I definitely will keep you updated. I thought about the issue with the dead yeast as well. I assume there is a fix for it, but will look into it before I get it out if the primary.
 
I definitely will keep you updated. I thought about the issue with the dead yeast as well. I assume there is a fix for it, but will look into it before I get it out if the primary.

Ive asked around regarding how much yeast to add when bottling, some people have said 1-2 grams for a five gallon batch. U'd prob have to cut that in half and see depending on alcohol content. Either way you'd still add the priming sugar but depending on ur FG, u'd prob have to pick a yeast with a higher alcohol tolerance.
 
Ive asked around regarding how much yeast to add when bottling, some people have said 1-2 grams for a five gallon batch. U'd prob have to cut that in half and see depending on alcohol content. Either way you'd still add the priming sugar but depending on ur FG, u'd prob have to pick a yeast with a higher alcohol tolerance.

Thanks for your help and sorry I missed this.

If I do add yeast, it will be the same strain that I originally used just in case.
 
Just an update. The brew is currently in the secondary. A couple of things went wrong and I ended up pitching about 3.25 vials of yeast into the batch. The FG was just above 1.010 while the OG was about 1.074.

In about a month, I'm going to bottle 2 gallons and transfer the rest to a 3 gallon Carboy to see if aging in the secondary vs in the bottles makes any difference. Hopefully, I can fight the urge to drink all the bottles before its time for a proper comparison. Lol
 
Back
Top