I’m also brewing this for a co-worker of mine. He’s big on big beers, so of course he requested this hefty Belgian ale. The one in particular is also inspired from a local brew-pub. It has a relatively clean yeast profile with subdued “Belgian esters”. I’m starting off with a 1 gallon test batch and going from there.
It also has a fruity nose reminiscent of apples and pears, which is what lead me to my somewhat off-style aroma hop choice in this Belgian tripel recipe.
For this brew day I also made a little video recording the process, which you can watch below.
Belgian Tripel Recipe
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4 Days
I love the smell of fermenting beer. It’s still at high krausen, and I’ll be taking the first gravity reading at 2 weeks.
10 Days
Gravity check came in at 1.012, or a healthy 8.6% ABV. Smells like CO2 and bready malt. I’m also pretty stuffed up with allergies, so I’ll have a better judgment when it’s all done. I’ll bottle it at 2.5 weeks, and condition it from there.
15 Days
This is bottled and conditioning now. The final gravity came in at 1.011, so it’s at 8.8% ABV. The flavor of the un-carbed wort was a subdued “Belgian” character, and a fruity kick from the late hop addition. It’s pretty close to how I imagined it, so I’m happy so far. I’ll update in a week with tasting notes and a picture.
23 Days
Tasting notes: This had a bit of cidery character to it. In the original recipe, I included ~5% sugar to help dry the beer out, but I don’t think it’s called for, and I’ve removed it from the Belgian Tripel recipe. I think that is part of the issue. It’s got a nice alcoholic note, as it should for almost 9% ABV.
It’s Belgian yeast character is very subdued, almost a bit too much, so I’ll be changing up the yeast selection in round 2. Perhaps Trappist high gravity.
The calypso hops did a marvelous job at providing a fruity, earthy pear aroma. So I feel that was the right choice for sure.
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This Belgian recipe looks tasty. I love doing small batches. You have the measurements in weight? Not sure how to convert from percentage. Thanks
Hey Mike,
The percentages help translate to everyone’s individual inefficiencies.
If you make a new recipe in Brewtoad you can plug in your efficiency, then add pilsner malt and special B, and play around with it until you get the right starting gravity and percentages. For the sake of ease though,
3 Pounds Pilsner Malt / gal
0.05 pounds of special B (yes 0.05) / gal (which would translate to 1/4 pound in 5 gallons)