New Brew w/ Belgian Tripel

[BrilliantSanityBrew]

Hey all,

New to home brewing and this website, so cheers everyone. I look forward to getting to know the craft and the forum here as well.

With that said, I'm brewing the Brewer's Best Belgian Tripel this week. I've already brewed some successful and tasty batches (IPA,Russian Imperial,Dry-Hopped a Porter,Hefe), but Tripel's are my absolute favorite. I had the pleasure of drinking De Garre out in Brugge, Belgium, and it blew my beer world wide open. I want to make sure this one has the ideal conditions all way through.

So, I was curious as to some pluses and minuses regarding brew techniques with Tripels. I've been doing some searching on the forum, and I've seen a lot of recommendations but with little explanation, background, outcomes to go with them. A lot of mention about keeping fermentation to a single container, and a lot of speculation about fermentation time (i've seen 2 weeks all the way to 2 months). Also, I've read a lot of mention about additional sugar or cane candy added before bottling, as well as additional yeast aside from that provided in the Brewer's Best package.

I would love to hear some experiences, opinions, etc. about the benefits of each. Single or double fermentation? How long? Any other info would be great.

Additional Notes just in case:
-Brewer's Best beer kit ingredients
-I have a plastic 5 gallon, as well as a 5 gallon glass carboy
-Bottling, not kegging
-Yes, I have a hydrometer

 

[Nateo]

I'm not really familiar with kits, but I brew Belgians regularly, and tripels are on my regular rotation.

Sugars are added to get the FG down to where it is dry and refreshing. I've made tripels with and without sugar. I do some involved mashing to cleave as much starch into simple sugars as possible. It is possible to brew a good, dry tripel without any sugar, if mashed correctly.

If you kit uses extracts, it should probably come with sugar. Simple table sugar works fine. Beer yeast can make an enzyme that cleaves sucrose in twain, so fancy "invert" sugars are not necessary.

I've read that adding sugars incrementally will help the beer ferment to dryness. From my experience, with plenty of healthy yeast, this is not an issue. Just make sure you have a larger and healthy starter.

 

[coypoo]

Tripels are large brews. You definitely need to control the ferm temps so it doesnt get too high. Also, with alcohol, comes aging. This wont be a beer that is at its peak 2 weeks in the bottle, so be patient.

I dont have enough experience with brewing Tripels to comment on the pros/cons of primary only vs primary/secondary, but as long as you dont rack too early, I think either one is fine.

Lastly, if you only have a 5 gallon bucket, I hope you are making a smaller batch. Belgian yeast will make form a lot of krausen, so if you've got a smaller bucket, put a blow off tube on to be safe.

Good luck

 

[Shaneoco1981]

I just brewed that exact kit. It was a fun day. I actually did a double batch with a friend, and he took half home. I was recommended by the owner of my LHBS to get the Wyeast pack, strain #1214. I would actually recommend getting 2. That way you don't need to worry about a starter. 2 packets would be plenty to get that going. The other thing I can recommend is to watch the temp of it as it ferments. To hot or to cold are really not good for it. Other then that, give it time. It takes a long time from everything I have read to age properly. Remember, the best beer of the batch is the last one you open.

 

[Legin]

I tend to keep it simple. Additions of sugars anywhere from 15 min to flameout. Leave it in the primary for 1 month, fermenting at 70 and allowing the temp to rise to whatever it wants. Transfer to secondary and leave for however long it needs. Good Belgians are easy to make, yet making phenomenal ones are incredibly difficult and require lots of experience.

As for leaving it the primary, most people will say autolysis is a myth and you can leave it the primary for 5 months or as long you like. Autolysis has a lot to do with yeast viability, which will be stressed with high alcohol content (it's poisonous to them). This is why I recommend transferring, merely as precaution.

Addition: Thus said, yeast viability is essential. Making a big and healthy starter can help you reach your intended attenuation.

 

[edmanster]

I've read that adding sugars incrementally will help the beer ferment to dryness. From my experience, with plenty of healthy yeast, this is not an issue. Just make sure you have a larger and healthy starter.

+1
Stepping the additions of simple sugars is what I do. If your kit comes with candi sugar don't add it to the boil of the wort. Wait 3 to 5 days during the end of fermentation and then add it. This will give the yeast time to work on the more complex sugars. I just throw mine in and let it desolve in the beer but most boil it with a cup of water and cool it..