Help Understanding a Recipe

[jfrostp]

Hey all,

I found a recipe for a Belgian Tripel that I'd like to make, but I'm having trouble understanding a couple of instructions in the recipe, and I was hoping you all could explain them to me. It's an extract recipe, and here it is (I put the parts I'm confused about in bold):

Delirium Tremens

7 oz. German Munich Malt
5 oz. Belgian Biscuit Malt
3 oz. Belgian Aromatic Malt
7½ lbs. Extra Light DME
1½ lbs. Belgian Clear Candi Sugar
1 lb. Invert Sugar (Lyle’s Golden Syrup)
1½ oz. Styrian Goldings @ 4.7% AA (7.1 HBU) (bittering hop)
¼ oz. Styrian Goldings (flavor hop)
¼ oz. Czech Saaz (flavor hop)
1 tsp. Irish Moss
¼ oz. Czech Saaz (aroma hop)
¼ tsp. Grains of Paradise
1 pkg. Wyeast 1214 Belgian Abbey Ale or
1 pkg. Wyeast 1388 Belgian Strong Ale
½ cup Corn Sugar (priming)
⅓ cup Belgian Clear Candi Sugar (priming)

OG: 1.084 – 1.085
FG: 1.013 – 1.015
SRM: ~7
IBU: 26
ABV: 9.1%

Method:
Heat 1 gallon of water to 155°F. Remove the pot from the heat and steep the specialty grains at 150°F for 30 minutes. Strain the water into the brew pot. Sparge the grains with ½ gallon of 150°F water. Bring the water to a boil, remove from the heat and add the Malt Extract, Candi Sugar, Syrup, and bittering hop. Add water until the total volume in the brew pot is 3½ gallons. Boil for 45 minutes then add the flavor hops and Irish Moss. Boil for 11 minutes and add the aroma hop and Grains of Paradise. Boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Strain the cooled wort into the primary fermenter and add cold water to obtain 5⅛ gallons. When the wort temperature is below 80°F, pitch the yeast. Ferment in the primary fermenter for 7 days or until fermentation slows, then siphon into the secondary fermenter and add dry hops. Prime the beer in the second stage with another dose of the same strain of fresh yeast 3 days before bottling. Bottle when fermentation is complete, target gravity is reached and beer has cleared (approximately 6 weeks) with priming Sugar and Candi that has been boiled for 10 minutes in 2 cups of water. Let prime at 70°F for approximately 6 weeks until carbonated, then store at cellar temperature.

I'm assuming the part about dry hops is either a typo or an optional step, since they are not included in the list of ingredients.

So the recipe says once the beer is done fermenting, I should move it to a secondary, and then pitch a second batch of yeast into the beer? Would this even work without adding additional sugar, since the sugar was already eaten up by the yeast in the fermenter?

Or does the recipe intend for me to let the beer sit in a secondary for a bit to clear, and then 3 days before bottling, add a new batch of yeast? Is the point of this so that I end up with lots of yeast in my bottles for a strong yeasty flavor? And the next step about bottling "after fermentation is complete" also implies that the fresh yeast will kick up some activity in the secondary even without adding more sugars?

Oh and as a side question, I'm going to be using Wyeast Belgian Strong 1388 and the Wyeast website recommends fermenting at 64-80F. That's a pretty big temperature range - what temperature would be best for this style of beer?

Thanks!

 

[homebrewer_99]

Yep, about 3 days before bottling add more yeast, waitthe 3 days then bottle.

The fresh yeast will finish eating any residual sugar (not all of it) and will aloow you to bottle at high kreusen which will carbonate your beer in the bottle.

 

[jfrostp]

Ok, that's what I'll do. Thanks homebrewer_99!

My plan is to make a starter for my yeast and save maybe 1/2 cup worth of yeast in the starter for this second yeast pitching prior to bottling.

How soon should I pull the 2nd batch of yeast out of the refrigerator prior to pitching it? Should I pull it out a day early and give it some food to make it happy?

Oh, and any idea on what temperature I should ferment this yeast strain at?

Thanks again.