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You are here: Home --> Forum Home --> General Forum --> Homebrewed Beer Reviews --> Reviewed a Belgian Tripel by Skitzo2000

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tracebusta
Charter Member
Somerville, MA
155 Posts


First off, this was a good beer and I would have been happy if I had brewed it myself. Thanks again for taking the time to send it my way. I filled out an official BJCP score sheet, though I am no where near a BJCP judge; I just wanted to use it as a template. Here's what I have on the sheet:

Bottle inspection: Everything looked great. Packaging was exceptional. I think the delivery truck could have run off the road and flipped a few times and nothing would have happened to the bottles. I let them settle in the fridge for 5 days after delivery. I pulled a bottle out of the fridge 30 minutes before opening to let it warm up. Nice hiss upon taking the cap off.

Appearance: Poured with 1/4 inch white head with large bubbles. Dissipated quickly. It is a nice dark golden color, and very hazy. No lacing. 1/3

Aroma: Some esters in play, small malt aroma, slight spiciness. Got a bit of a black pepper smell. 8/12

Flavor: Slight alcohol flavor, bit of black pepper phenols, a little sweet but also has a bitterness that lingers on the tongue. Pretty malty for the style, yeast character is a little subdued. Can't quite put a name to it, but there's a slight off-flavor that detracts slightly. 11/20

Mouthfeel: Light body, good carbonation. Slightly astringent. A little warmth from the alcohol. 3/5

Overall Impression: A good beer. Many good qualities of the style, but some off flavors that detract from the overall drinkability a bit. Missing some flavors that are usually associated with the style, like banana and bubblegum. 5/10

Overall I gave it a 29, just on the cusp of good/very good. Though it was a good beer, I think the aspect that had it scoring this number was that the yeast character seemed a bit subdued compared to the malt, and Belgians are all about the yeast flavors, esters, and phenols.

Thanks a ton to Skitzo2000 for shipping a couple bottles to me!




Posted 34 days ago.

skitzo2000
Pittsburgh, PA
42 Posts


Thanks For reviewing my beer Tracebusta.

I sent this beer out cause I really thought it lacked the belgian character, and I think your in agreement.  I really think the yeast WLP530 just didn't work well for me with the temps I used.

Any one else used WLP530 with success?  I would love to hear what you did differently.  Oddly enough my goal was to get a little spiciness into the beer and at least we got that!  But the yeast character just isn't there




Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by skitzo2000

uberg33k
Charter Member
The Internet
314 Posts


What temps were you using?



Posted 34 days ago.

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


WLP550 is pretty clean, IMO - especially for a Belgian yeast.  The flavors it does give are more of the spicy/phenolic notes; I don't think it's a good choice if you want those fruity elements, too.  Consider WLP530 or WLP500 next time.



Posted 34 days ago.

skitzo2000
Pittsburgh, PA
42 Posts


Oh for sure.  I love WLP500.  But of course the LHBS didn't hhve that before I brewed this one.  So I ended up with WLP550.  



Posted 34 days ago.

skitzo2000
Pittsburgh, PA
42 Posts


I just checked my notes and I used WLP530!  Sorry for the confusion

Uberg33k heres my temp profile:  Note this is from a post over in the recipe discussion board
I tracked the fermentation with my brewpi, I started at 65 and ramped over 4 days to 72, then I allowed it to free rise all the way to 78(which took about 10 days), where it stayed for close to two weeks.

After the 7 days gravity was down to about 1.030 thats when I added the invert sugar.  I checked gravity again around week three and it had eaten up the sugar and was down to 1.018, and it slowly chewed through the remaining sugar down to a stable 1.010 after another week and a half.

I based my temp profile off of the chart you linked HomeBrewDad.   I was hoping I would get the perppery/spicy notes, instead I got a really light plum type flavor.




Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by skitzo2000

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


I'm not surprised that you got the plum, 530 gives a lot of that in my experience.  I'm surprised you didn't get more spicy to go with it.  Oddly, tracebusta got pepper, it seems, but didn't note fruitiness.



Posted 34 days ago.

skitzo2000
Pittsburgh, PA
42 Posts


Yeah with a little age the beer is changing for sure.  Its had close to a month and a half in the bottle after a month and a half fermenting.  Still a disappointing batch.  I usually make one per year and drink a few bottles a month with a buddy who loves Belgians.  Might just have to make another batch cause this one didn't hit the mark for me.  I know Tracebusta said he would be happy to have brewed it, but I'm my own harshest critic when it comes to my beer.



Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by skitzo2000

rayfound
Charter Member
Riverside, CA
313 Posts


After the 7 days gravity was down to about 1.030 thats when I added the invert sugar.

this would have concerned me, but I never check my gravity part way, just observe activity. I add my sugar as Krausen deflates. Maybe mine always stays that high, that long too... hmmm. 


This goes against all that is holy, I know... but I think WLP500 is the bees knees for a tripel. Yes, i know Westmalle Tripel/WLP530 is the epitome of the style and yeah yeah yeah.... OK, I hear you. I think WLP500 ester profile is REALLY NICE and I prefer my own with it to westmalle when compared blind. 

(PS: Don't tell olan, but a few grams of coriander(under 2g per gallon) accents a tripel nicely)

Anyway, sounds like you were well on your way to a very successful beer there. 




Posted 34 days ago.

mchrispen
Bastrop, TX
485 Posts


Excellent review. A couple of thoughts...

With a 29, this beer, if kegged might be tipped into the 30s with a couple of things:

1.) A tiny bit of heading powder will bring in some dextrin chains to improve head stability and retention. I find that using just under the recommended level can solve some of those problems. I pull a small sample of beer and dissolve the powder and very carefully add this back in. There is a slight risk of oxidation. Using less powder seems to reduce any possible flavor impact, although I find it nuetral.

2.) And now folks will shoot me for this - but you can mimic some of the spicy phenols by making a tincture. I like to use 50/50 grains of paradise for a citrus note and black pepper corns for a little heat. I tend to use about 5-10 grams of each, heat them slightly in a skillet over heat till they are aromatic, (EDIT: grind them in a coffee mill) then pop them into a jar and cover with just enough vodka. Let this sit and shake it every few hours. At about 12 hours, strain the liquid through a coffee filter. You can then dose to taste to increase that spicy bit - and it will add some aromatic that will fade over time. You can add some citrus zest or even other dried herbs (a very little rosemary or thyme can be nice) and experiment with this batch. Coriander gets a bit woody in a tincture - but a little might be nice.

if bottling then try this...

3.) Finally, I suggest grabbing a little lactic acid, pour a small beer and dropper in a drop of lactic. Stir gently and taste. I find that acidity seems to open up some of the esters a bit. If you can calculate what you have left or base this on a bottle basis, you might get away with a drop of lactic per bottle and recap.

I am currently experimenting with some really crazy fruit/herbal teas on a bland saison. Amazing the aromas and flavors that come off of it - and will back blend in the keg to create two very distinct and unique specialty saisons. This happened because my Ranco controller went nuts during primary and dropped the fermentation to 32F... stalling everything. Once I was back and caught the problem, I slowly raised it back to 68F and fortunately Belle Saison finished the beer dry - but completely lacking in phenol character that I like. Great time to experiment however.




Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by mchrispen

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


Wow... mchrispen, you are on a roll.  Super stuff.



Posted 34 days ago.

skitzo2000
Pittsburgh, PA
42 Posts


So I'll clarify a few things.  First of all I did use a beergun to bottle this beer, so I think thats to blame for the carbonation issue more than anything else, I just think the carb volume is a little low in general.

Rayfound, on the gravity thing, I was concerned by the gravity too, but I'd read a lot of folks talking about how slow this yeast can be, so I chalked it up to that.  I usually don't check gravities that much either, but it was just after I got my refractometer, so I was just excited to use it(a lot).  and preach on I think WLP500 is just better!

Mchrispen interesting stuff, I doubt I'll do anything to "correct" it now.  I'll drink the batch eventually it won't go to waste.  On the Blending idea,  I do have that infected raspberry wit hanging out maybe these two will make a good match eventually to blend at pour.

However the two of you should both be strung up by your hydrometers for suggesting I break the Reinheitsgebot!  JK

Thanks guys for the input. With some Luck hopefully Tracebusta will like the Belgian wit I sent him a little better. 





Posted 34 days ago.

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