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Oliver's Special Honey Tripel

This recipe is brewed in honor of a very special Orange tabby cat that
we had for 17 years. He was a wonderful cat with a lot of personality.
Hopefully this recipe will do justice to his memory. It is brewed to
emulate but not exactly copy the wonderful Westmalle Tripel of Belgium.

Brewer: Christopher McMath Email: mcmath@colorado.edu
Beer: Oliver's Special Honey Tripel Style: Belgian Tripel
Type: Partial mash Size: 6 gallons
Color:
8 HCU (~6 SRM)
Bitterness: 27 IBU
OG: 1.089 FG: 1.018
Alcohol: 9.2% v/v (7.2% w/w)
Water: Allowed 10 gallons to dechlorinate overnight.Added gypsum to mash.
Grain: 9 lb. Belgian Pilsner
1 lb. Wheat malt
1 lb. Belgian Munich
1 lb. Belgian CaraVienne
Mash: 75% efficiency
Step mash with rests at 122 for 30 min, 153 for 70 minutes and 170 for
30 minutes. Sparge with 6 gal of 175 degree water into brewpot(s).
Boil: 75 minutes SG 1.077 7 gallons
1 lb. sugar
1.5 lb. Honey
2 lb. Light dry malt extract
Irish moss last 30 minutes. Honey used was orange blossom.
Hops: 1 oz. Saaz (3.75% AA, 75 min.)
0.33 oz. Tettnanger (4.5% AA, 75 min.)
0.50 oz. Saaz (3.75% AA, 30 min.)
0.33 oz. Tettnanger (4.5% AA, 30 min.)
0.50 oz. Saaz (3.75% AA, 15 min.)
0.33 oz. Tettnanger (4.5% AA, 15 min.)
Yeast: Wyeast 1214, Abbey Ale, 1.5 qt starter + the dregs from a 750ml bottle
of Chimay Red added to the starter. I allowed the yeast pack to expand
to two inches, pitched it to a 1 pint starter at 1050, then allowed it
to ferment to high krausen, then added 1 qt of cooled wort and the
chimay dregs.Pitched starter to main batch at high Krausen.
Log: Brewed 10/18/97. fermented at 65 degrees F. Bottled two weeks later
and plan to bottle age for 2 months.
Carbonation: .9 cups priming sugar/6 gallons
Tasting: Update 12/10/97: This beer is really great. It has more flavor than some
of the belgian tripels I have had. It has a nice rich malt character with
apple and banana esters. The hops are subtle, but are there and the
beer is nicely balanced. It has a great head. The only things I would
change are a little more hops, since the utilization is less in a
strong beer and more carbonation. I am not sure if the level of
carbonation is affected more by the amount of sugar or the health of
the yeast in my case. I didn't add fresh yeast at bottling, which many
belgian brewers do, so the yeast may have been tired due to the high
alcohol content of this beer. I might also try a simpler recipe with
just pils and wheat plus pale candi sugar or lighter honey, with some
coriander, since the beer is almost amber rather than the gold I was
shooting for. Strong beer. Let me know if you brew this.

Recipe posted 10/21/97.