Classic Belgian Tripel

5 gallons; OG = 1.084 to 1.086; FG = 1.017 to 1.019; IBU = 25; ABV=8.5 

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. Belgian aromatic malt
• 3 oz. Belgian biscuit malt
• 8.5 lb. Muntons extra light dry malt extract (DME )
• 1.5 lb. Belgian clear candi sugar
• 7 AAU of Styrian Goldings bittering hops (1.5 oz. at 4.7% alpha acid)
• 2.5 AAU Styrian Goldings flavor hops (0.5 oz. at 5% alpha acid)
• 1 tsp. Irish moss
• 1 AAU Czech Saaz aroma hops (0.25 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
• 1 pt. starter of Belgian Strong Ale yeast (Wyeast 1388) or Abbey Ale yeast (White Labs WLP530)
• 1 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Bring one gallon of water to 155° F, add crushed grain and hold for 30 minutes at 150° F. Strain the grain into the brewpot and sparge with one gallon of 170° F water. Add the dry malt, candi sugar and bittering hops. Bring the total volume in the brewpot  to 3.5 gallons.

Boil for 45 minutes then add the flavor hops and Irish moss. Boil for 13 minutes and add the aroma hops. Boil for 2 more minutes then remove pot from stove.

Cool wort for 15 minutes. Strain into the primary fermenter and add water to obtain 5-1/8 gallons. Add yeast when wort has cooled to below 80° F. Oxygenate-aerate well. Ferment at 70° to 72° F for 7 days.        

Rack into secondary (glass carboy). Ferment until target gravity is reached and beer is clear (approximately 5 weeks). Prime and bottle. Carbonate at 70° to 72° F for 3 to 4 weeks. Store at cellar temperature.

Partial-Mash Option:

Mash 2.75 lb. Belgian two-row pilsner malt and the specialty grains in 1 gallon water at 150° F for 90 minutes. Sparge with 2 gallons water at 168° F. Follow the extract recipe, omitting 2 lb. of Muntons extra-light dry malt extract from the boil.

All-Grain Option:

Mash 13.75  lb. Belgian two-row pilsner malt and the specialty grains in 3.5 gallons of water at 150° F for 90 minutes. Sparge with 6 gallons of water at 168° F. The total boil time is approximately 150 minutes. Add 5 AAU of Styrian Goldings (bittering hop) for the last 90 minutes of the boil. Then add flavor hops and Irish moss for the last 15 minutes of the boil and add the aroma hops for the last 2 minutes.

If you don’t happen to have the capacity to mash this amount of grain, omit 5 lbs. of the German pilsner malt and add 3 lb. Muntons extra-light dried malt extract (DME) to the boil. You will then need only 2.5 gallons of water for the mash and 5 gallons of sparge water. This will also reduce your boil time to approximately 90 minutes.