state of the brew - updated

Since my last post, I've kegged the Oktoberfest and it's carbonating fine.

The Belgian though.. oh those Belgians.. sometimes they can be easy, and sometimes they can be a pain. It doesn't help that I tried to use the tripple/trippel method for the first time.

Last week I transferred it into another carboy to begin the 'third fermentation' cycle. On Tuesday, it was still under heavy krausen and bubbling away at the airlock.

Last night I transferred it to my big (6.5 gal) carboy once more to try to get it to settle out and to check the gravity.

This beer:
Original Gravity: 1.086
Gravity at secondary racking: 1.018
Gravity at tertiary racking: 1.011
Gravity at quadriary racking: 1.008 (!!)

At this point, this is a quadrippel ale, which is not what I intended, but clearly I over-sugared it.

I didn't really believe that quadriary gravity, so I took three readings and averaged. It's lost a lot of body.

As of this morning, the krausen had finally fallen and the beer is starting to look clear. Hopefully the mid-day warmth (I've moved it out of the cottage and into the laundry room, which will not stay as temp-stable) doesn't cause activity to resume.

Given the calculations, currently this is 10.31% ABV - one of the strongest (but not THE strongest) beers I've brewed.

I haven't tasted it yet, but I'm a little concerned that it's going to be thin and harsh.

Makes me consider blending...