• Welcome to the new forum! We upgraded our forum software with a host of new boards, capabilities and features. It is also more secure.
    Jump in and join the conversation! You can learn more about the upgrade and new features here.

Belgian Dubbel Fermentation time

H

historian

I've got a Belgian Dubbel racked right now.  The recipe I was following didn't call for any tweaking of the process, and so I wasn't intending to play with fermentation times, but I recently read a reference that for high alcohol, strong brews such as this a longer racking period might be preferable?
I was intending of bottle conditioning for a while, but should I let it be a little longer as it is?
And as a note, I haven't drank any of this yet and I'm already immensely proud.  When I opened the primary fermentation chamber, the smell was wondrous, and took me back to my first chalice of Chimay red.  Letting this one age is going to be a strain on my self control. Original Gravity was 1.070 and Gravity at racking was 1.022, and there was a little more activity in the secondary so I expect that to have increased slightly.
 
Your patience will be rewarded.  The higher ABV, complex malts and yeast characters, etc., all benefit from additional time to come together and smooth out.  It is an ale, so full-blown lagering may not be necessary or beneficial, but something like 14 days primary and 21-28 secondary would be fine.  Even longer in secondary would not hurt it, but it should be done by then.  PLus the bottle time as you indicated.
 
Back
Top