Transforming hefeweizen into witbier

Hello,

I recently made a hefeweizen recipe that calls for malts 2-row, wheat, carapils and vienna as long as yeast WLP380, but I replaced the yeast by a WB-06. Now I would like to transform it into a witbier instead of a hefeweizen but it's now in the primary fermenter for 2 days and I haven't add any coriander seeds nor orange peels during boil. Does anyone now if it's ok to boil and add them at the beggining of secondary fermentation? Will it help to create a witbier?

Thanks!

Spices won't make this a witbier, it'll just make it a spiced weizen. Witbiers require different malt bills, processes, and (most importantly) yeast.

You made a weizen, and I can't see that there's much to do at this point but enjoy it.

GuldTuborg said:

Spices won't make this a witbier, it'll just make it a spiced weizen. Witbiers require different malt bills, processes, and (most importantly) yeast.

You made a weizen, and I can't see that there's much to do at this point but enjoy it.

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Every word of the above post is true when it comes to the style guidelines. If you add coriander and orange peel, it won't be a wit.

That doesn't mean you can't add coriander and orange peel anyway. Depending on the esters and phenols in the brew you've made and how well they play with coriander and orange, you might make a beer that is similar to a wit and which you enjoy as much as a wit.

I say wait a few more days and taste a sample. If you like it as is or if you've got so much clove and banana that coriander and orange wouldn't work, then leave it as is. On the other hand, if the yeast flavors are on the subtle side, give it a go.

BigJack said:

That doesn't mean you can't add coriander and orange peel anyway.

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Well of course. I didn't say a spiced weizen would be bad, or impermissible, just that that is what it would end up as. I'm not sure I would want one, but that doesn't matter; it's what the OP wants that matters. I didn't want him to think that adding the spices would make it somehow taste like Hoegaarden or something similar.

GuldTuborg said:

Well of course. I didn't say a spiced weizen would be bad, or impermissible, just that that is what it would end up as. I'm not sure I would want one, but that doesn't matter; it's what the OP wants that matters. I didn't want him to think that adding the spices would make it somehow taste like Hoegaarden or something similar.

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No argument from me. I wasn't disagreeing with you- just expounding on the point you made to give the OP some options. That's all.

Cheers!

BigJack said:

No argument from me. I wasn't disagreeing with you- just expounding on the point you made to give the OP some options. That's all.

Cheers!

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Thank's guys for your comments!! Today, after 6 days on the primary fermentation I tasted it and it seemed very good to me, so I decided to not add anything that could change the flavor.
I haven't checked the gravity in the passed days, so don't know if it have stabilized yet, but the gravity measured today was the same FG from the recipe, so I think fermentation has ended. As the beer was cloudy I moved it to another plastic bucket for a secondary fermentation. I'm a bit worried about how long I should leave it on the secondary and if should I move it to the refrigerator. I read hefeweizens are best enjoyed fresh. Do you guys have any comment about it?

I'm not afraid of a cloudy hefe. I'd give it a week at most in the secondary and then package that thing. (For future reference, doing a secondary on a hefe is, IMHO, not really worth the infection risks. I'd have let it sit for two weeks in the primary and then bottled or kegged.)

Unless you want to make this a kristallweizen, move ahead to bottling once it's done. Cloudiness is normal in hefeweizens, so don't worry about that. If you're unsure, just give it a few more days to finish up and then bottle.

Too late. You need to use a Wit yeast. Enjoy your Hefe and brew again with Wit yeast to make a Wit.

Wit is one of those styles (like most/all Belgians) that are very yeast dependent. You can't just swap something else and expect the same style.

Thank you for the tips guys! I bottled the hefe almost a week ago and I'm just waiting it to carbonate so I can taste it. Cheers!