Belgian Ales?'s

[bo_gator]

is anyone here brewed any type of the Strong Belgian Ales
I have come across a few recipes for "Belgian Golden Strong Ale" and am wondering if it really takes a few months to ferment is it really smooth at over 9%ABV I am new to brewing and am wanting to try a more complex brew, is this a good starting place

[BillyBock]

The ferment is done normally within a week, the rest of the time is for aging to allow the flavors to blend. The stronger a beer is, the more time you want it to spend aging. If you tasted it young, it might seem a bit 'rough.'

If you're new to brewing, I would personally recommend starting with something weaker in strength--such as a standard pale ale or the like. High gravity ferments present different challenges than normal gravity ferments. So I'd suggest getting some of those under your belt so you can work out your techniques.

[cleone]

bo_gator,

Just finished a Duval clone with happy results. Fermented in primary until completely finished (12 days or so), lagered in secondary (around 33-38 F) for 1 month. Primed with 1 cup dextrose to 5 gallons and bottle conditioned for 2 - 4 weeks min.

By tradition, the lagering is done to clarify and condition the ale.

Good luck, well worth it.

As BillyBock mentions: the higher the gravity, the longer the fermenting/conditioning period.

[jefflmyers]

Currently brewing an oatmeal stout for St. Pats day. Actually it is an Imperial stout, I'm using Trappist ale yeast. The SG was 1.085, lots of fermentables. After about 3 weeks the SG is now 1.004. This stuff never went nuts fermenting but is still chugging along (bubbles about every minute ). I'm soon gonna rack into the secondary and let it go till mid Feb. when I'll bottle and hope it is conditioned by St. Pats day.

[cozrulz]

I'm going to start a brown ale hopefully this weekend.

[splashmike]

I've got a tripel in a secondary. It's about 8.5% ABV. When I tasted a sample, it tasted very alchoholic. I'm hoping that with aging the other flavors develop. It's my first time with a high gravity beer. (OG = 1.080; FG = 1.014).