Belgian Witbier color question..

HellenicHomeBrewer · 04-26-2009, 03:05 AM

Just a quick quesiton that I could not find and results in a search. In my second extract attempt I tried the aforementioned Witbier with the recipe included below. The resulting color has me a little concerned. Should I be?

It appears to be darker than a 6 and lighter than a 12 so around a 7-9 for this Witbier!

Thoughts?

I did a partial boil with 2 gallons

7 lbs. Wheat liquid malt extract
8 oz. Wit specialty grain
3/4 oz Willamette hops 60 mins
1/4 oz Willamette hops 15 mins
3/4 teaspons Coriander 15 mins
1 oz bitter orange peel 15 mins
1/2 oz Saaz 3 mins

I also added 1 lb. dry wheat extract to boost the alcohol.

Of course I'm not too concerned if the flavor is there, but it looks like the grains darkened it a bit to me.

HellenicHomeBrewer · 04-26-2009, 03:07 AM

BTW, I did read about LME creating a darker beer, but I didn't expect it to be this dark. am I off?

**Coastarine** · 04-26-2009, 03:08 AM

That is just a reality of malt extract, particularly liquid extract. I started with extract brewing and made an amber looking wit that tasted great, so no worries. I gotta say though, it does feel great to be able to make a properly colored wit.

**Denny's Evil Concoctions** · 04-26-2009, 03:08 AM

How are you judging the color? Kettle, fermenter or in the glass?

HellenicHomeBrewer · 04-26-2009, 10:37 AM

Yes, the whole point of making a particular style is to be complete, that includes color! Consider this lesson learned.

I based the color as i was moving from kettle to fermentor. I didn't try a glass, but it certainly isn't a light color as anticipated!

HillbillyDeluxe · 04-26-2009, 12:32 PM

I picked up a Wit kit from brewews best and tried it last month. It came out great. Color in a glass was just a shade darker than orange juice. taste was perfect, even though i fermented it about 5 degrees F to warm.(72). I modified the recipe a little and made it myself this time. I think i screwed up cause i added the coriander and peel too soon. i let themboil abour 40 min. Can i expect off flavors or colors?

HellenicHomeBrewer · 04-26-2009, 08:29 PM

By no stretch of the imagination am I a pro, but I'm thinking 72 is spot on, and it is recommended by White Labs 400 for 70-75!

I actually pitched my yeast yesterday by mistake at around 78 degrees since we are in a mini-heat wave here already. I took it to our basement and by 10 pm it was 72 and this afternoon it seemed to settle to 70! I thought I trashed the batch but it seems to be more than happy as it has already started bubbling.

As for the coriander and peel, I would say you might have weakened it by adding it so early but ya never know for sure..

How much did you use of each?

**Scotty_g** · 04-26-2009, 08:46 PM

LME is notorious for causing darker color, especially if you do a small boil. If you pour it into the kettle while it's on the heat, it will scorch or caramelize really easily. I'd recommend doing a partial late extract addition and/or increasing boil volume. If you can't do either of those, at least pull the pot off the heat and stir to dissolve the LME before going back on the heat.

Both of those changes will increase your hop utilization so you may be able to back off the bittering addition. You need to run that through a calculator to know how much to modify it, though. 3/4 down to 1/2 oz is probably about right.

Nerro · 04-26-2009, 09:04 PM

What''s up with witbier specialty grain? Typically pilsmalt and wheatflakes or wheatmalt will do just dandy... Neither is particularly expensive and you eliminate the risk caramelized LME.

**Scotty_g** · 04-26-2009, 09:34 PM

If this is an extract with steeping grain kit, the 8 oz of grains are probably just as you described--pilsner malt and wheat. Most of the fermentables would be the wheat LME. Any problems with color (or whatever) would be the fault of LME.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nerro

What''s up with witbier specialty grain? Typically pilsmalt and wheatflakes or wheatmalt will do just dandy... Neither is particularly expensive and you eliminate the risk caramelized LME.