Belgian Tripel with Fermenter sugar addition

[brewinhard]

I love to brew Belgian beers and have brewed JZ's tripel recipe 3 times now. The first time I had a thermometer issue and the beer didn't dry out enough (finished 1020..!).

The second time I made it with a new and improved thermometer and mashed at 149 and added the sugars with 20 minutes left in the boil. The beer still didn't dry out enough (1021... WTF?)

Sooooo, the third time I made it I mashed at 149 and added only 1/2# of sugar to the boil. The yeast ripped right through the wort/sugar and after about 5 days I boiled up another pound of sugar and added to the fermenter which the yeast gobbled right up. Two days later I repeated with the final pound of sugar and FINALLY the beer finished right on at 1011! Tasted great and smelled phenomenal. I will NEVER add more than 1# of sugar to the boil ever again. The yeast DO lose their ability to ferment maltose and will not dry the beer out enough. There is also very little risk of contamination when doing this due to decreased pH, alcohol content, and viable yeast getting right to work on added sugars.

[Otter]

Don't be afraid to go to the high end on temp ferment.

I followed JZ's recommendations on raising the temp to 70F, and that's where it's been for the last week or so. I will probably try warming it up a few degrees and see how that helps.

I'll probably check the gravity again in a day or two. It's definitely still bubbling away.

[brodie113]

Otter,

did you boil the sugar first? Or just pour in the crystals? I would think for sanitation sake you could get away with not boiling...but I would imagine that it would be hard for the sugar to dissolve. Maybe the yeast don't need to have the sugar in solution. I don't know!

Keep us posted...I am planning on brewing a trippel this weekend.

Thanks

[Bellmer]

I love to brew Belgian beers and have brewed JZ's tripel recipe 3 times now. The first time I had a thermometer issue and the beer didn't dry out enough (finished 1020..!).

The second time I made it with a new and improved thermometer and mashed at 149 and added the sugars with 20 minutes left in the boil. The beer still didn't dry out enough (1021... WTF?)

Sooooo, the third time I made it I mashed at 149 and added only 1/2# of sugar to the boil. The yeast ripped right through the wort/sugar and after about 5 days I boiled up another pound of sugar and added to the fermenter which the yeast gobbled right up. Two days later I repeated with the final pound of sugar and FINALLY the beer finished right on at 1011! Tasted great and smelled phenomenal. I will NEVER add more than 1# of sugar to the boil ever again. The yeast DO lose their ability to ferment maltose and will not dry the beer out enough. There is also very little risk of contamination when doing this due to decreased pH, alcohol content, and viable yeast getting right to work on added sugars.

I don't know man, I've never had a problem with it. Belgian Strong Ale with 2 1/2 pounds in the boil ended at 1.011, and my Saison with 1 1/2 pounds in the boil ended at 1.007. I still am not convinced that they necessarily LOSE the ability to ferment maltose, depending on when you add the sugar. Everybody's everything works a little differently.

[Bellmer]

Otter,

did you boil the sugar first? Or just pour in the crystals? I would think for sanitation sake you could get away with not boiling...but I would imagine that it would be hard for the sugar to dissolve. Maybe the yeast don't need to have the sugar in solution. I don't know!

Keep us posted...I am planning on brewing a trippel this weekend.

Thanks

I don't think that it necessarily has to be "in solution," and I just brought up boiling/sanitizing it for the sake of germ, etc. freaks out there.

[Otter]

I didn't boil it; just dumped the sugar straight into the fermenter.

I remember listening to the show and hearing Jamil talk about boiling it on the stove, or dissolving it into hot water, and then saying that you could just dump it in. Sometimes I'm lazy, so dumping it sounded good to me.

[burbankbrewer]

Just dumped it in? Wow, please let us know how it turns out.

[Otter]

Just dumped it in? Wow, please let us know how it turns out.

Yeah, upon reflection, maybe I should've put it in solution or at least added a little at a time.

It's still going. I'm going to check the gravity in the morning. I'll be in brewing mode anyway. I've got to transfer some to kegs, and brew a batch of Tasty's American Amber.