How does this Tripel recipe look?

[Scotty]

This will be my first attempt at a Tripel-style beer, and first attempt at a Belgian beer. The plan is to brew it in February in memory of my Mam on her birthday so I am wanting something special.

I've been reading BLAM and I have come up with a recipe. I would like the yeast to play a major part in this beer.

Tripel

Fermentables:

Pilsener Malt - 5.6kg (84.8%)
Aromatic Malt - 0.3kg (4.5%)
Clear Candi Sugar - 0.7kg (10.6%)

Hops:

Tettnanger (4.5%) - 63g at 60 mins
Saaz - (3.8%) - 12g at 5 mins

Yeast - Possibly WLP500?

Brewlength - 20l
Mash - 90 mins at 65/66c, single-infusion
Boil - 60 mins
Est OG - 1.082
Est SG - 1.018
Est ABV - 8.5%
IBU - 37.6
EBC - 14.5

[Barley Water]

Your recipe looks fine, it will make a nice beer. Just a couple things you might want to think about; first of all, anytime you have alot of pils malt in the grist I would recommend boiling for 90 minutes just to make sure you get rid of all the DMS. Additionally, to the extent you get a bit of wort caramalization, so much the better, it will add some interest. Secondly, you want to pitch alot of yeast for a couple of reasons. Anytime the O.G. is that high, you can run into attenuation problems unless the cell count is up there. Also, WLP500 is very fruity (I have alot of experience with this particular strain and have gotten some really nice beers using it) so make sure not to run it too hot, maybe start at 65F then let it go to a little over 70F in about a week (that will get rid of any diacetyl plus help with attenuation). Also of course, if things get too hot you will end up with fusels which really messes up the taste, that's why I hate to judge Belgians in contests, the headaches are epic. I made a Triple in the fall which worked out pretty well and I got a high cell count by making a Single first then reusing the yeast, it worked great (I used WLP550 on that one, it's a bit less fruity than the Chimay yeast but good also). One other thing I did which you might consider, I added my sugar after high krausen, it keeps the yeast from getting lazy. You mention using candi sugar, that stuff will work just fine but it is expensive and from a flavor standpoint doesn't do anything for you over regular cain or beet sugar. I used honey in the Triple I made (also expensive but I was looking for flavor and aromatic contributions, another reason to add the sugar late) and of course I use jaggery alot and have been really happy with that as well.

As an aside, our big contest is coming up in March here in DFW. Every year we have a guest speaker who does a technical talk on Saturday morning after the action gets started Friday evening. This year, our guest speaker is none other than Stan H., the guy that wrote BLAM and the newer Wheat Beer book. I am very excited about that and am looking forward to the talk, I suspect it will be very crowded this year as BLAM is extremely popular. I must confess, that guy cost be quite a bit of money as I have gotten completely wild after reading that book, along with the "Radical Brewing" book by Moshier (who did the talk for use 2 or 3 years ago). Anyhow, looks good, let us know how it turns out.

[Scotty]

Thanks for the info Barley Water, great help!

I used to love Tripel Karmeliet but I've found recent examples to be too heavy on the coriander and I want to stay away from the spices, allowing the yeast to shine through. On that note, are there any other strains that whilst giving a decent profile, are more forgiving with regards to temperature, handling etc?
A boil of 90 minutes is no problem, I may even have converted to gas by the time I get to brew which would be great.

Would I encounter any problems if I added the sugar to the boil as opposed to the FV? I'll most likely forget if I don't add it on brewday.

[coatesg]

Adding to the FV is supposed to help attenuation and doesn't stress the yeast as much. Though, the 500 its a monster and given a big enough pitch will be fine. The 530 is used at both low and high temps by Westmalle and Westvleteren so there's another possible for you. I have a vial of 530, but haven't got to use it yet.

[Barley Water]

The thing about yeast is that they are lazy. If you give them "desert" first, they might not get around to eating all their normal dinner (like children in that respect). This could potentially lead to attenuation issues and perhaps cause more phenol/esther production than normal (and maybe more than you really want). Unfortunately, I don't have alot of experience with the other Trapist strains, I usually use WLP500, except the last Belgian brewing I did when just for grins I used WLP550 (and I would use it again by the way). You should for sure give it a shot and see what you think. Next time I do a Dubbel, I'll probably try WLP530, I have heard good things about it. I wouldn't say that the Chimay strain is difficult, it's just that you are doing "high gravity brewing" which is just a little bit trickier than doing regular gravity session beers. Any time you jack up the gravity, you run the risk of having excessive fermentation bi-products and if you increase the temperatures during the lag phase the chance for issues becomes higher. Of course, all this is what makes it so much fun, if you play with the fermentation parameters you can get the yeast to give up "the good stuff" if you are lucky.

[Scotty]

Is that why pitching temperatures are generally low, to stop the rot so to speak?

[coatesg]

Is that why pitching temperatures are generally low, to stop the rot so to speak?

To avoid over production of esters and fusels during the growth phase usually. Temperature will rise during the ferment naturally, and letting it rise to a target temp is a standard method. Plus, some strains get the hump if you cool themm while fermenting and will abruptly stop working.