Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: WLP400
Yeast Starter: 1L
Batch Size (Gallons): 12
Original Gravity: 1.051
Final Gravity: 1.010
IBU: 14
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 4
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14 days @ 68F
Tasting Notes: Nice wheat tartness

Grain/Extract/Sugar (at Brewhouse Efficiency of 82 %)


% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
47.6 10.00 lbs. Pilsener Belgium 1.037 2
47.6 10.00 lbs. Raw White Winter Wheat America 1.034 3
4.8 1.00 lbs. Flaked Oats America 1.033 2


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfruh Whole 4.30 6.8 60 min.
1.30 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfruh Pellet 3.00 6.8 60 min.
0.20 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfruh Pellet 3.00 0.6 20 min.


Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 Oz Corriander Seed (crushed) Spice 2 Min.(boil)
1.00 Oz Bitter Orange Peel (chopped) Spice 2 Min.(boil)


Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP400 Belgian Wit Ale


Mash Schedule
-------------


Total Grain Lbs: 21.00
Total Water Qts: 18.90 - Before Additional Infusions
Total Water Gal: 4.72 - Before Additional Infusions

Grain Temp: 70.00 F


Step Rest Start Stop Heat Infuse Infuse Infuse
Step Name Time Time Temp Temp Type Temp Amount Ratio
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glucan 0 20 109 107 Infuse 117 18.90 0.90
Protein 5 5 122 122 Infuse 209 3.98 1.09
Saccrification #1 5 20 140 140 Infuse 200 8.12 1.48
Saccrification #2 10 90 140 152 Direct --- ------- ----
Mash Out 20 5 152 170 Direct --- ------- ----


Total Water Gal: 7.75 - After Additional Infusions
Total Mash Volume Gal: 9.43 - After Additional Infusions

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.
All infusion amounts are in Quarts.
All infusion ratios are Quarts/Lbs.


Also added 1 lb rice hulls

______________________________________

I have not been a fan in the past of Belgian beers or wheat beers, so of course I made a Belgian Wit, but I have been trying them lately and find them refreshing in the summer. My wife was the inspiration for this beer as she had a Lavender beer in Seattle that she liked and we thought we would do it as a Wit instead of American Wheat. Since Wits can have some additional spices, I thought I would also add some fruit to it. Cranberries seemed obvious due to its tartness, but it has been done quite a bit, so I was trying to think of something else tart and came up with rhubarb. Both beers came out well - the Wit scored 38 at Beer & Sweat and won Category 16 against 26 beers and the Rhubarb Lavender Wit took second in SHV beers. The rhubarb went in one fermenter for the second week in the primary (no secondary) and 0.40 ounces of culinary lavender went in a tea ball into the keg for 3 days.

I think the secret of this recipe is raw white winter wheat. Most of the wheat sold in homebrew stores or online is either malted or raw red or unspecified. I ordered the wheat from a baking web site to insure I was getting raw white winter wheat - it adds that special tang that is missing from many homebrewed Wits. Tough as hell to mill, but worth the effort. The other thing was to use coriander from an Indian market, not from a homebrew supply store. The stuff from India has a citrusy flavor where the other stuff is of other origins (Moraccan I believe) and has a tinge of celery to it.