I’m back! Did you miss me? In case you were wondering, I’m not dead, I’m not pregnant and I haven’t stopped drinking beer. I felt like I needed a break to recharge the creative batteries. After a two month hiatus, I’ve decided to resurface in the blogosphere.

I realized that I never did follow-up with the results of the open-fermented tripel I brewed back in September. I’m sorry I left you hanging for two months.

It turned out very well. No infections or anything malicious. In fact, I thought it was one of my best beers.

The beer was very aromatic, with a malty sweet, banana, circus peanut flavor. It finished dry with a mild bitter, funky twist at the end.

While it was not overpowering, I do believe that the open fermentation contributed to enhancing the fruity ester character in the beer. I feel like it maintained a nice balance and was an exceptionally drinkable beer.

I would love to try this technique again, especially if I can get a fermenter that will provide a large surface area. I was using a bucket, which doesn’t provide the exposed surface area to make it an ideal fermenting vessel for an open fermentation. That may have inhibited the potential of the fermentation.

So if you feel like being risky, give it a shot. Don’t be scared!