Aging Belgian Dubbel in my basement

[pharaohpierre]

I brewed a Belgian Dubbel, however I tried it after fermentation and it tasted a bit thin. Either way I fermented for about 3 weeks and now I have kegged the beer. I want to condition the beer in the keg for about 2 or 3 months.
So I have two questions. The first is what temperature should I condition the beer. It is sitting in my basement which stay roughly 65F in the Summer. Also is 2 or 3 months a good enough time. This is my first Belgian that I brewed so I am still a novice, thanks in advance.

 

[RPh_Guy]

In my opinion aging beer makes it worse unless there's Brett, or it's otherwise in a barrel. Oxidation damages the flavors.

For more body you could add calcium chloride and/or maltodextrin.

 

[Big Monk]

I brewed a Belgian Dubbel, however I tried it after fermentation and it tasted a bit thin. Either way I fermented for about 3 weeks and now I have kegged the beer. I want to condition the beer in the keg for about 2 or 3 months.
So I have two questions. The first is what temperature should I condition the beer. It is sitting in my basement which stay roughly 65F in the Summer. Also is 2 or 3 months a good enough time. This is my first Belgian that I brewed so I am still a novice, thanks in advance.

Recipe?

 

[pharaohpierre]

In my opinion aging beer makes it worse unless there's Brett, or it's otherwise in a barrel. Oxidation damages the flavors.

For more body you could add calcium chloride and/or maltodextrin.

Yeah that's a good point adding some maltodextrin, I'll try that next time. Maybe like a half a pound or something. Also I purged the keg with CO2 so I'm hoping I got most, if not all of the oxygen out of there. I guess I figured I should let the beer age so that the fruit notes develop more. Thoughts?

 

[pharaohpierre]

Recipe?

10.5 lb pilsner
2 lb Crystal 40
1 lb special B
1 pound of 90 Belgian Crystal Sugar added after krausen in primary
.75 oz of hallertau blanc at 60 minute. 9.3 AA
1/2 tsp of irish moss 15 till end of boil
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 liter of White Labs wlp500 Trappist Ale with yeast starter

I actually way overshot my mash water and ended up with about 9 gallons of wort so I boiled it for 2 hours to get it down to like 6 gallons and that was still too much. Either way my reading are:
OG 1.066
FG 1.011
IBU 25
est ABV 7.2

While siphoning into the keg I reached the top fo the keg and still had like maybe close to a gallon of beer still in the fermentor. I way overshot this but luckily it didn't affect the alcohol too much. Maybe it affected the body that I was talking about. Thoughts?

 

[mashpaddled]

Your aging process is fine. The beer is not going to oxidize sitting in a keg unless you have terrible kegging practices or a leak in the keg.

However, aging the beer is not going to cure the problem of thinness. I'm not sure if you mean it has a thin flavor as it has a thin body or the flavor is lackluster but aging definitely will not improve the body. It might improve the flavor if you tasted it uncarbonated or if fermentation continues in the keg. The flavor should become more refined with a little age.

 

[brewcat]

If anything 2 months is long. I would also try to store colder (40-50).

 

[pharaohpierre]

Your aging process is fine. The beer is not going to oxidize sitting in a keg unless you have terrible kegging practices or a leak in the keg.

However, aging the beer is not going to cure the problem of thinness. I'm not sure if you mean it has a thin flavor as it has a thin body or the flavor is lackluster but aging definitely will not improve the body. It might improve the flavor if you tasted it uncarbonated or if fermentation continues in the keg. The flavor should become more refined with a little age.

Yeah it's the body that I'm talking about, I figured aging would not help this. So I guess I'll call it a Belgian Strong[emoji12] The aging is to refine the flavors like you were saying so I'll give it a whirl and age it like 2 months in the keg and I think I have good kegging practice.

 

[pharaohpierre]

If anything 2 months is long. I would also try to store colder (40-50).

Do you think conditioning it at those temps will do the beer more justice than 65F, and if so how come? I don't have experience in aging beer so that's why I'm asking. Thanks.

 

[Parrothead1]

Skip the conditioning and carbonate. Try it After 10 days on CO2. If its still cloudy, give it time to clear. Thats going to be as good as it gets.

 

[pharaohpierre]

Skip the conditioning and carbonate. Try it After 10 days on CO2. If its still cloudy, give it time to clear. Thats going to be as good as it gets.

Yeah I think I'm going to. I'll carbonate it in the next couple of days and try it out. I'll let you guys know.

 

[brewcat]

Do you think conditioning it at those temps will do the beer more justice than 65F, and if so how come? I don't have experience in aging beer so that's why I'm asking. Thanks.

It will just age slower I think. I'm not sure of the science. I know St. Bernardus does their conditioning at cellar temps. I'm guessing because once fermentation is finished hotter temps just degrade the beer. Anyway, my aging consists of kegging and carbing then letting the beer sit at fridge temps.

 

[pharaohpierre]

It will just age slower I think. I'm not sure of the science. I know St. Bernardus does their conditioning at cellar temps. I'm guessing because once fermentation is finished hotter temps just degrade the beer. Anyway, my aging consists of kegging and carbing then letting the beer sit at fridge temps.

I just added carbonation to it last night and put it in my beer fridge. If you guys are having success with this method than that's enough evidence for me. Thanks again.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I feel like I should be more knowledgeable of aging beers than I am. My pattern has leaned toward [ferment for 2 weeks] + [keg, move to beer fridge and hook to CO2] + [start drinking]. Most beers are better after 2 weeks, some beers are better after 2 months where some are on the decline at 2 months.

I brewed a 9.6% Imperial Stout that tastes much better after 6 months in the bottle. I recently brewed a ~8% Dubbel that has improved as it has aged since the 2 months it was brewed (that beer was bottled as well).

 

[pharaohpierre]

Well, after a couple of months of drinking this beer I give it about a 6.5 out of 10. The aroma is pleasant with notes of malt, caramel, and a hint of dark fruits. The flavor profile is a bit soft; it is sweet forward with notes of malt and currants. The flavor profile feels under-developed and lacking layers. The finish is smooth and enjoyable but it feels like the beer completely falls off at the end. I think that is because the body feels thin.
In conclusion, I think this recipe would come out nicer if the execution was better. The body needs to be a bit thicker and the flavors need more depth and to be a bit bolder. I'm not sure how to do that since I did mash at ~152. I also added Special B to the grain bill. Plus, how do you get more flavor out of the malt? Any thoughts would be appreciated.