Homebrewing a Belgian Witbier

heywolfie1015 said:

I just throw them all straight in. Always turns out great.

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berley31 said:

Do you have any problems with all the citrus zest getting caught in the racking cane or siphone tube or anything?

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heywolfie1015 said:

Sorry, I should have clarified. When I transfer from boil pot to fermenter, I pour through a strainer, which catches the majority of the trub. When I racked the most recent wit, though, there were some chunks of bitter orange peel still floating around and the racking cane did fine. Main thing to remember about wits is that they are meant to be hazy, so some extra gunk in the mix is fine.

All that said, though, no harm in throwing them in a bag. Whatever will make your brew day the most enjoyable.

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berley31 said:

Ok, gotcha. I don't mind using a mesh bag, I was just more concerned that doing so may rob some of the aroma/flavor from the beer (that is, if the bag was removed and the zest is supposed to get into the fermenter, but it sounds like its ok just steeping for a while).

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winvarin said:

+1 for tossing it right in the brew. I did a saison a couple of weeks ago with a little fresh citrus zest and some grains of paradise. Both went straight into the boil kettle. I whirlpooled before going to the fermenter and it made a big difference. No solids apparent in the racking tube, and no clogs.

And +2 for brewing what appears to beer the wit recipe from Brewing Classic Styles. My cousin asks me to brew it as his Christmas gift every year. He always scratches his head tho and says to me "I thought you said a 5 gallon batch makes about 2 cases." My reply is always the same, "It usually does," I say "But I lost a little during the boil this time." (as I toss a blanket over the 12 pack of wit my wife extracted from his gift)

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