So last week, I brewed a Brewer's Best Belgian Tripel kit (partial mash). The blow-off tube bubbled vigorously the next few days after, but has slowed down over the weekend to where it now bubbles once every minute-ish (just a guestimation). At this point, I still consider myself somewhat of a homebrew n00b, though now I'm starting to get the rhythm of the brewing process. (Woohoo!) This marks my 5th beer altogether so far, this one being my first high-gravity brew I've ever done. I realize Belgian ales need a lengthy amount of time for fermentation/aging. After doing some research here and there, I already don't think I'll go through with secondary, as a lot of people seem to dismiss it for a tripel unless you're adding extra ingredients like fruit, spices, etc; which I'm not. So my question is actually a rather simple one. I'm pretty sure I'm going to let it age in the bottles for at least 3 months before drinking. I'm just not sure what an ideal amount of time would be to let it sit in primary. I'm thinking at least a month, though some say the longer the better. For anyone who may want specifics though: Grains/Fermentables: - 4 oz Aromatic Malt - 6.6 lb Light LME - 3 lb Pilsen DME - 1 lb Blanc Soft Sugar (White) Hops - 1 oz German Northern Brewer (55 minutes) - 0.5 oz UK East Kent Goldings (5 minutes) Yeast - Safbrew S-33 Dry Yeast (Only deviation I made from the instructions was that I rehydrated the yeast when it suggested to just pitch it straight from the pack.) Brew Day: June 30th, 2015 Batch Size: 5 gallons OG: 1.079 (Suggested target for the kit was between 1.083 - 1.086, so I'm under a bit.) Fermentation Temp: 68 degrees F Also may be worth noting that earlier tonight, I had to switch the blow-off tube with an airlock due to a small amount of trub seeping out in the tube during the vigorous bubbling. It could have been there for some time and I probably just noticed tonight, but hopefully it won't be a problem. On the flipside however, I got to smell the end of the tube that was inside the fermentor: had that trademark sweetness and fruity profile that I would expect of a Belgian ale... I'm even more excited now! Any tips or suggestions on primary time would be most greatly appreciated! Sorry for the lengthy post. Cheers!
Transfer from primary when the beer is finished. You can use the airlock as a coarse indicator, but not the only indicator. When you notice that airlock is quiet, check the gravity of the beer. When I use a bucket fermenter, I remove the lid and pull about 3/4 of a cup using a measuring cup. Check gravity with hydrometer to see that you are at the expected final gravity. Wait a couple days and do it again, just to make sure the yeast are done. If you get two gravity checks in a row that are unchanged, that's a good indicator that the yeast are no longer making alcohol. Taste the hydrometer samples to look for off flavors. Two common off-flavors, acetaldehyde (green apple) and diacetyl (butterscotch) often mean your beer needs to spend more time on the yeast, who will metabolize these off-flavors. When the hydrometer readings are stable and the beer tastes good, you can bottle. You also might consider cold crashing at this stage, before you bottle, if you have a cooler to do this. Bring the yeast temp down to 32 F or so and much of the sediments will drop out of solution. Then transfer to bottling bucket and proceed with bottling. As a guesstimate, I probably would bottle a big beer like this at the three week or four week mark. A lot of that would depend as much on my schedule as the yeasts schedule. It's possible the yeast would be done sooner.
I would recommend that you primary for 3 weeks and then bottle. After two weeks in the bottle the beer will be carbonated but additional bottle aging time will likely benefit this batch since it is a Tripel. Feel free to try a few of the beers when they are younger (i.e., less than 3 months old) and see what you think of this beer as it ages in the bottle. There is absolutely no need to conduct a secondary for this beer. The beer will age perfectly fine within the bottle. Cheers!
Big Belgians = 3 weeks in the primary, then bottle. Age it as long as you want, but if your recipe and fermentation was proper, you should be able to enjoy it a lot sooner than three months from bottling. It will take 2-3 weeks to carb if you have healthy yeast in the bottle and the right amount of priming sugar. It should taste good after one month in the bottle and might even improve with time. The worst part of your recipe is S-33 yeast. The most important part of a Belgian beer is the yeast. S-33 is not a good yeast for a big Belgian beer. However, the beer you made might be pleasant to drink.
Yeah, you make just about anything a "Belgian" if you use a Belgian strain. Conversely, it ain't going to be a proper Belgian style (whatever that may mean) if it was not brewed with a Belgian strain. S-33 is fine and will probably produce a nice beer but that ain't going to make it a Tripel and I don't care what Fermentis says. I really do think you want a specialty liquid strain and pay extra care to the fermentation schedule. You get the temperatures right and you'll walk away thinking you must be a friggin Cistercian monk. That fruity profile you smell will hopefully make it to the final cold beer and hopefully it will be of the nice varity and not the overpowering smell of pears and peaches. That's my advice anyway. Cheers.
Sorry for the late response, but I appreciate everyone's input! So from what I'm reading, bottom line is at least 3 weeks in primary, but 4 weeks won't hurt either. Since I'm going to be at work all week, I'll probably grab a hydrometer reading on Sunday to see where I'm at, then maybe another on Tuesday if my schedule permits. And next time I make a Belgian beer, I'll do a little research on the yeast before buying a kit/formulating my recipe (if I get comfortable enough to formulate by that point). I just happened to buy this kit in the box at a homebrew store because "Oh hey! Belgian beer! Let's brew like a monk!" Again, I appreciate everyone's advice. I'll be sure to give an update when my schedule permits. Cheers!
