From what I have read (main source being Palmer's "How to Brew"), as long as you dont leave your brew in primary for a month or more, it is safe to let it condition there, on top of the yeast cake, before you go to secondary (you dont want to go over a month b/c the yeast will begin to breakdown and cause off flavors). So anyway, with the Hive Door, I decided to leave it in primary for a good while, a little over three weeks, actually. Before racking it, I pulled some for a hydrometer reading as well as a tasting. The Final Gravity came to 1.010 (Original Gravity was 1.067), making it a nice 7.5% alcohol. Perhaps a bit low for the Tripel style (what my recipe was somewhat based upon), though many Tripels are actually reyeasted and pushed a bit further with more sugar etc.
So how did it taste? Wow. I cannot say enough about the fullness of the flavor. I didnt take notes as I just wanted to enjoy it, but I will say, with my first first brew that I went maybe a bit out there (from a beginner's standpoint) in regards to spices (black pepper, white pepper, coriander, vanilla), I really feel like I nailed it. The sweetness and the peppery spice of this brew go hand-in-hand (I am a fan of peppery red wines, so I appreciate how this balances the sweet). I plan to leave it in secondary for two weeks, and then bottle. Also, due to recent activities, we ended up with a few empty bottled of Dom Perignon. I was very pleased to find out that these Dom bottles are recapable as their lips fold and match the lip of a beer bottle. This is great news for aging a few!
From what I have read (main source being Palmer's "How to Brew"), as long as you dont leave your brew in primary for a month or more, it is safe to let it condition there, on top of the yeast cake, before you go to secondary (you dont want to go over a month b/c the yeast will begin to breakdown and cause off flavors). So anyway, with the Hive Door, I decided to leave it in primary for a good while, a little over three weeks, actually. Before racking it, I pulled some for a hydrometer reading as well as a tasting. The Final Gravity came to 1.010 (Original Gravity was 1.067), making it a nice 7.5% alcohol. Perhaps a bit low for the Tripel style (what my recipe was somewhat based upon), though many Tripels are actually reyeasted and pushed a bit further with more sugar etc.
So how did it taste? Wow. I cannot say enough about the fullness of the flavor. I didnt take notes as I just wanted to enjoy it, but I will say, with my first first brew that I went maybe a bit out there (from a beginner's standpoint) in regards to spices (black pepper, white pepper, coriander, vanilla), I really feel like I nailed it. The sweetness and the peppery spice of this brew go hand-in-hand (I am a fan of peppery red wines, so I appreciate how this balances the sweet). I plan to leave it in secondary for two weeks, and then bottle. Also, due to recent activities, we ended up with a few empty bottled of Dom Perignon. I was very pleased to find out that these Dom bottles are recapable as their lips fold and match the lip of a beer bottle. This is great news for aging a few!
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