When to bottle Belgian Blonde?

[cdunn1221]

I made a Belgian Blonde on Saturday with an OG of ~1.062 and by Thursday the SG was 1.012. I tasted the beer and it tasted great. No hot alcohol and seemed pretty balanced. My question is should I leave it in the fermentor if the FG stabilizes or is there a real benefit to letting it age in primary rather than in bottle. I used WLP500 and read it can be tough to get the beer to clear.

Is it necessary to secondary?
Should I cold crash before bottling?
Or should I just bottle it soon and let it carbonate and age in bottle?


I am basically down to only hefeweizen left for homebrew which I enjoy, but would like a different summer brew so I am looking to drink this soon.

Any help would be great...sorry for all the babbling.

 

[cdunn1221]

Also made NB's La Petite Orange. Looks awesome anyone have any experience with this kit?

 

[digglr]

Also made NB's La Petite Orange. Looks awesome anyone have any experience with this kit?

Just bought that kit myself... please let us know how it turns out! As for bottling, I learned the hard way..if in doubt..let it SIT! I bottled a Belgian white too early and they were like mini missiles when you opened them...lol. As I read in this forum many times, you can wait MONTHS with no issues. I don't use a secondary fermentor.. but thats always up to the brewer's preference.

 

[phuff7129]

I made a Belgian Blonde on Saturday with an OG of ~1.062 and by Thursday the SG was 1.012. I tasted the beer and it tasted great. No hot alcohol and seemed pretty balanced. My question is should I leave it in the fermentor if the FG stabilizes or is there a real benefit to letting it age in primary rather than in bottle. I used WLP500 and read it can be tough to get the beer to clear.

Is it necessary to secondary?
Should I cold crash before bottling?
Or should I just bottle it soon and let it carbonate and age in bottle?

I am basically down to only hefeweizen left for homebrew which I enjoy, but would like a different summer brew so I am looking to drink this soon.

Any help would be great...sorry for all the babbling.

If it tastes good that young you probably have a good beer on your hands. Make sure your gravity is stable over a 3 day period and then go ahead and bottle it. Let it carb for 2-3 weeks and you should be good to go. The beer will probably age very well in the bottle if you don't drink it up too quick.

 

[cdunn1221]

If it tastes good that young you probably have a good beer on your hands. Make sure your gravity is stable over a 3 day period and then go ahead and bottle it. Let it carb for 2-3 weeks and you should be good to go. The beer will probably age very well in the bottle if you don't drink it up too quick.

OK hope it's as good as I think it will be. My question still though is if the FG is stable and it's safe to bottle should I do anything to clear the beer? Is it proper for this style of beer to be super clear or will it clear naturally over time in the bottle?

thanks again

 

[phuff7129]

Refrigeration will clear the beer in time. Wlp500 is a medium to low flocculation yeast so it will take some time for the beer to completely clear. It's complete fine for a Belgian beer to be hazy and it won't affect the taste. Just carb it up, chill, and enjoy.

 

[fixitoscar]

no need to secondary. Yes cold crash it. If you have the means to do so. Once its done you should start dropping the temp a couple of degrees 2 times a day until you hit just above freezing. let it sit cold for a day or 2 then bottle. This will help a great deal for dropping the yeast out and clearing your beer up.