Secondary Fermentation Time

[Derek]

I'm doing a Christmas Belgian ale, with White labs trappist ale yeast.

It that had an OG of 1.080. Primary fermentation got a little warm (~75 F), though Chimay supposedly goes to 78 F.

I racked to the secondary after 9 days, it was down to 1.030. I've dry-hopped and added spices to the secondary (cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, cloves, shredded ginger, etc.).

After 3 weeks in the secondary, this rocket fuel tasted like A$$!

How long should I leave it in the secondary? It's similar to the Unibroue recipe in beer captured (which recommends 6 weeks), but this has the added spices etc...

I'm hoping it'll condition a little more, but I don't want the extra stuff (ginger, cinnamon etc) to go bad!

Any advice?
Thanks!

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

What do you mean by tastes like a$$? Too spicy? Too alcoholic? Bad off taste?

 

[Cheesefood]

I'm hoping it'll condition a little more, but I don't want the extra stuff (ginger, cinnamon etc) to go bad!

Any advice?
Thanks!

The alky will preserve the spices, so don't worry about them. Did you disinfect them before you added them to the mix? Cinnamon sticks and live ginger can probably harbour a few baddies in their porous surfaces.

With an O.G. that high, you'll probably want to go long on conditioning.

 

[BlightyBrewer]

The alky will preserve the spices, so don't worry about them. Did you disinfect them before you added them to the mix?

How do you disinfect spices like these?

 

[Darth Konvel]

You could try soaking them in something like vodka for a while before throwing it in.

 

[Walker]

... or steam them in a veggie/rice steamer.

-walker

 

[Derek]

I steeped them at 170 F for 20 minutes (covered , cooled, and dumped the whole thing in).

It tasted very alcoholic, specifically fusil alcohols (not the fruity esters I was looking for). Very green/harsh... not smooth at all.

I'll be away at the 6 week mark, so I'm considering doing it this weekend (almost 5 weeks), or the following weekend (almost 7 weeks).

I guess if I leave it for the 7, I'll still have 8 weeks of bottle conditioning before Christmas...

 

[Walker]

I think you need a temp of at LEAST 180 degrees to sanitize things. 170 is probably too low. Not to say that this has anything to do with your flavor, but something to consider.

-walker

 

[Derek]

Hmm... I thought sterilization temperature was 160 F. I better check some references before next time!