My first Belgian Ale.

[BelgianKing]

This is my first batch of beer. Feel free to comment on anything.
2 gallons water
3.3# Munich Malt Extract
3.3# Pilsen Malt Extract
.5# Candi Sugar
1# Bavarian Wheat Malt (65% wheat, 35% barley)

Boil to 212 degrees F.

1oz Perle pellet hops (start)
1/2 oz Styrian Goldings (45min)
1/4 oz " " (55min)
1/4 oz " " (60min)

added wort to 3 gallons water. Chilled to 75 degrees F.

1214 Wyeast Belgian Ale. (smack pack)

OG:1.060
FG: 1.010

It fermented for 7 days and I bottled on the 8th day which was today. I will know in about 3 weeks or later. Im a chef so I understand patience is a small price to pay for a great finished product.

 

[tagz]

Is that the predicted FG or did you actually measure it? It's generally not advised to bottle after one week. I don't know about that particular strain, but some Belgian yeasts can be finicky.

The yeast descriptions says: "It can be slow to start; however, it attenuates well."

If you didn't take a gravity reading, you may want to crack a bottle and check it out. You're probably fine, but you could have some bottle bombs on your hands...

 

[avidhomebrewer]

I agree. I doubt that was finished fermenting. One week is much too short.

 

[BelgianKing]

I did take the gravity readings on the 6th-7th and 8th day and the readings were consistent. While it does state that "it can be slow to start" I had serious action at the 25hr mark of the fermentation process. By day 4, the perculation almost came to a halt and by the 5th day there was nothing. I do have a controlled enviroment to ferment in. The temperature on the bucket was reading between 73 degrees F - 76 degrees F.

This may be my first batch of beer, and I do realize im a rookie. I am a chef and I did my research on brewing, especially this recipe. The guys at my local brew store helped me and I believe that it was done fermenting. I do know how to follow direction and have a good knack with these kinda things. I appreciate the replies and maybe after one week I will open one to try out. I also did look at my bottles and they seem to be doing nothing. I dont know if I would be able to see anything anyways.

 

[tagz]

If you took the gravity readings and they stayed consistent, you should be good to go. Some people argue that the yeast need time to do some "cleaning up" work after the initial fermentation, but that's something you can play with in the future. The fermentation temps (70s) may have helped the batch get the job done in quick order. At that temp it may throw off some pretty fruity esters. So, if you find it's a little too much banana, just ferment a little lower next time.

On a side note, I think wheat malt needs to be mashed. If you steeped for 30-60 minutes between 148 - 156 degrees, you should be good to go. It has enough enzymes to convert itself.

Let us know how it turns out!

 

[gio]

I just made a belgian dubbel with that yeast (Wyeast 1214) and I didn't find it slow to start at all. I should mention that I did pitch 2 packages of it in 5 gallons.

Within 12 hours it was fermenting vigorously. Fermentation slowed by the 3rd day and by the end of the 4th it looked like it completely stopped. My OG was 1.072 and at the end of day 4 it was 1.015. I waited a full 7 days before moving to secondary and by then it was 1.013-1.014.

So it is possible for fermentation to go that quickly with this yeast.

76 degrees is not too hot with this yeast either. The specs say it can be as warm as 78 degrees, and many belgian brewers ferment at high temperatures (Ommegang claims to go as high as the 80s and once hit 90 and still made a good beer). I actually used a space heater to keep my fermenter extra warm when using this yeast although I started off cooler to avoid fusel alcohols.

 

[BelgianKing]

thanks for all the help. I did use a electric blanket to help regulate the temperature. The guy at my local brew store suggested I do that to keep the temp a little higher for what I was trying to accomplish (Ommegang style). I will look further next time to keep the temp a little lower to get some of that fruity esters you had mentioned. Thanks again. Will update this thread after the first one is opened! Cheers

 

[BelgianKing]

So I tried my first one on Monday. They have been bottled for one week. It was cloudy, a little aroma of bananas and a touch sour. It did have nice carbonation to it already and the flavors are there but it seemed to need more time to get all those flavors to mesh together. Not bad for my first beer. Is there any red flags with this? Im still nervous I didnt let it ferment long enough and could have bottle bombs on my hands.

 

[BelgianKing]

This beer actually turned out awesome for my first brew. Learned some things through the process. Patience is #1. Doing a ipa and a stout on the 12th with some friends. This doesnt get any better.