Other stuff

I did some reading and agreed to some of it, that the primary benefit of doing secondary fermentation is to clear the bear of suspended matter. I absolutely believe that the beer matures and finds a more complex personality during secondary. However, the latter of these two things can happen while bottle conditioning.

That being said, I chose to bottle both my Imperial Stout and the Belgian Dubbel early. The stout was given almost 2 months to secondary and the Dubbel was given about 3 weeks to clear in secondary. They’ll now age in the bottle and I might as well have them carb up at the same time.

Also, I need some equipment free to start my next brew, a Belgian Patersbier. I bottled both of the above using both plastic and glass bottles for a variety of sizes.

This was also the first time I’ve used yeast at bottling, which should be done anytime I secondary a beer from here on out. I used a couple dry yeasts for both. For the Dubbel I used a whole pack of T-58 along with 2/3 cup corn sugar, which was probably double of the yeast I should have used. The result will simply be more matter at the bottom of the bottle, so I’ll pour carefully. It shouldn’t effect the beer. For the Imperial Stout, I used about 3/4 cup of corn sugar with a half a packet of US-05. I was talking to a guy at the LHBS and he mentioned trying to use 5 oz of corn sugar and 2 oz of normal table cane sugar because traditionally they are both eaten by the yeast differently and for some reason it is a good method for bottling.

Today I racked to secondary. In my hydrometer sample, I tasted a bit of spice, some minor fruitiness but couldn’t put my finger on it. I’m relieved that it was a syrup-like as the Tripel that didn’t turn out quite right. Primary was held at 74 degrees. I’m letting it secondary at room temp which is currently 59. I plan on leaving it in sit until late February (45 days).

OG – 1.065

FG – 1.008

ABV = 7.6%

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I told Kel to pick this next style from the Norther Brewer catalog. She is a fan of the Belgian styles and I haven’t done a dubbel, so we thought it would be a good brew to make. We’ve tried a some dubbels from the store in the past (Ommegang, Westmalle and Affligem), which we really enjoyed.

Belgian Dubbel Quick Overview (from Norther Brewer)

Belgian Dubbel
Extract kit from Northern Homebrewer, Milwaukee, WI

Target OG: 1.065

Malt 1: 6 lbs. Gold Malt LME (60 min)
Malt 2: 1 lbs. Golden Light DME(60 min)

Adjunct: 1 lbs. Dark Belgian Candi sugar (60 min)

Grain 1: .25 lb Dingmans Caramunich
Grain 2: .25 lb Dingmans Special B

Hop 1: 1 oz Hersbrucker – alpha 2.4% (60 min)
Hop 2: 1 oz Czech Saaz – alpha 3.9% (1 min)

Yeast: #1762 Belgian Abbey II w/ decanted starter using stir plate (65°-75°F)

Boiling Schedule:
Collected 3 gallons of water. Steep grains at 155°F for 20 minutes. Bring to a boil. Sparge grains with 1/2 gallon of boiled water. Remove water from heat and mix Malt 1, Malt 2 with Adjunct 1. Bring water back to a boil and add Hop 1 @ 60 minutes and Hop 2 @ 1 minute left in the boil.

Notes:
Transfer to secondary fermenter after about 14 days or begin taking daily hydrometer readings – when hydrometer readings are the same on consecutive days, primary fermentation is complete. Proceed to secondary fermentation for 1 months. Bottle with .75 cups of corn sugar. Bottle condition for up to 1 month.

My OG was 1.065. Little hickups along the way were that I didn’t mix my wort well enough and there was major stratification for the first hour until I discovered it and shook it up again like crazy. I’ve attached photos of this stratification.

I also used Fercaps to prevent a lot of foam action from the proteins bonding during the boil. I’ve read a lot about this product and have faith in what it is supposed to do. It didn’t disappoint and I’ll use it again. I also used the carboy for primary fermentation instead of the bucket because of the higher gravity blow off issues I experienced last brew. I also saw a lot of hot break in this brew which I also attached a photo of.

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After some serious initial fermentation I’ve racked my Imperial Stout to a secondary fermenter. I think after this brew, I’ll purchase and use some Fermcap to reduce too much krausen and issues with excessive blow off.

My FG was 1.027. My OG was 1.081. I used this site to calculate my ABV and it gave me 7.2%. Ooofta. The color has a slight tint of burgandy, maybe from the malt. The rest looks like motor oil.

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