Sunday, June 18, 2006
Big Bad Bastogne Belgian Brew...
Today I thoroughly enjoyed Father's Day by brewing a 5 gallon batch of Tripel. Things went really well, although I did end up second guessing myself and adding another 15 minutes to the boil... so it was a 135 minute boil instead of a 120. Totally unnecessary, and as a result I'm going to end up slightly short of the 5 gallon mark (like 4.8 or something near there).... although the other consequence is that the gravity is higher... 1.094, actually. I did some quick spot calculations, and this beer is going to come out somewhere near 9.5-10% minimum.
Thank god I had lots of yeast to pitch... actually, the Hell's Bells Pale Ale was a fantastic starter. I ended up pitching 750mL of thick, nearly pure WLP510 slurry. There is ALOT of yeast in this thing. Its apparently the Orval strain, so it may have a somewhat acidic finish, but having tried all the strains (Trappist, Abbey, and Belgian) I am excited to try something new. I also oxygenated it for like 3 minutes, so there should be PLENTY of O2 in there for them to do their job.
Needless to say, its fixed with a big bore blowoff tube, and I am expecting some major action when I wake up tomorrow. I'll have to post pictures if it is really crazy.
Another BIG brew coming up. I'm going to have to brew more Black Honey soon... it goes so quickly... I'll probably do either a 15 or 20 gallon batch again. I am also planning a split batch with another homebrewer using all Horizon hops, and a 10 gallon batch of Oak Aged Vanilla Porter (5 gallons of which is going to my sister).
Both Wheatopias are kegged and carbonating. The raspberry turned out pretty tart... and the apricot is more grainy than I expected. I'm hoping that they'll fall clearer in the kegs once they're chilled, but they both tasted pretty refreshing. Also looking forward to getting my Saison on tap sometime really soon - that may be another beer I have to brew again this summer (got plenty of strisselspalt hops left).
Thank god I had lots of yeast to pitch... actually, the Hell's Bells Pale Ale was a fantastic starter. I ended up pitching 750mL of thick, nearly pure WLP510 slurry. There is ALOT of yeast in this thing. Its apparently the Orval strain, so it may have a somewhat acidic finish, but having tried all the strains (Trappist, Abbey, and Belgian) I am excited to try something new. I also oxygenated it for like 3 minutes, so there should be PLENTY of O2 in there for them to do their job.
Needless to say, its fixed with a big bore blowoff tube, and I am expecting some major action when I wake up tomorrow. I'll have to post pictures if it is really crazy.
Another BIG brew coming up. I'm going to have to brew more Black Honey soon... it goes so quickly... I'll probably do either a 15 or 20 gallon batch again. I am also planning a split batch with another homebrewer using all Horizon hops, and a 10 gallon batch of Oak Aged Vanilla Porter (5 gallons of which is going to my sister).
Both Wheatopias are kegged and carbonating. The raspberry turned out pretty tart... and the apricot is more grainy than I expected. I'm hoping that they'll fall clearer in the kegs once they're chilled, but they both tasted pretty refreshing. Also looking forward to getting my Saison on tap sometime really soon - that may be another beer I have to brew again this summer (got plenty of strisselspalt hops left).
