Trying to make a blue moon type beer...

any thought if I'm on the right track?

Grains & Adjuncts
Amount Percentage Name Time Gravity
6.00 lbs 75.00 % Wheat Liquid Extract 60 mins 1.036
1.00 lbs 12.50 % Oats, Flaked 30 mins 1.037
1.00 lbs 12.50 % Candi Sugar, Clear 60 mins 1.036

Hops
Amount IBU's Name Time AA %
1.00 ozs 12.07 Crystal 60 mins
1.00 ozs 0.00 Crystal 0 mins

Yeasts
Amount Name Laboratory / ID
1.00 pkg Belgian Witbier Wyeast Labs 3944

Additions
Amount Name Time Stage
1.00 oz Coriander Seed 10 mins Boil
2.00 oz Orange Peel 10 mins Boil

Mash Profile
(none)

Carbonation
(none)

Notes
Put oat flakes into a grain bag and bring 5.83 gal. of water to 155° F. Turn off heat and let oats steep for 30 min. Remove bag and drain completely. Stir in malt extract and candi sugar. Bring to a boil. Add 1 oz. of hops and boil for 50 min. Add orange peel and coriander and boil 10 min. more. Turn off heat and add remaining 1 oz. of hops. Steep for 10 min., remove hops, cool, and transfer to fermenter.Pitch yeast after cooling.

you might want some rice hulls. they will keep the wheat suspended so they dont clog your mash tun during the sparge. also IMO a little pilsner malt would be nice. the hops for a wit are typically a single addition at 60. the extra 1oz will make it hoppier then usual. personally i would do 1 oz of orange at 10 then the other oz soaked in vodka and used for a "dry hop" down the road. its easier to add more orange flavor/aroma then take it out. thats just my 2 cents. you dont have to follow anything i said but truly consider rice hulls. -cheers

A belgian wit "style" I recently made included
6lbs wheat LME
1lb weyermann's light wheat
2 AAUs saaz bittering
4.35 AAUs centennial finishing
1 oz sweet orange peels 10 min
1 oz paradise seeds (cracked) 10 min

I just steeped the wheat grains at 158 for 30 min then you know the rest....
It came out really good if a little sweet. When it is refrigerated it tastes wonderful, but when it hits room temp, its a bit malty. Next time I plan to balance a little better with bitter instead of sweet orange peels and maybe a little more hops. Not too much though to keep with the style. Hope it helps? Cheers. Also I know the centennial is not traditional in this style, but I wanted something a little different...

The wheat extract and oats are fine, but there's no candi sugar in Blue Moon. If you're really trying for something similar to BM, I'd only go with the 60 min hops addition and increase the amount to about 17 IBUs. Do away with the 2nd addition. Also, I think you're way overdoing it with that much coriander and orange peel. Try something in the area of .75 oz coriander @ 10 min and .50 oz orange peel @ 5 min. You also don't want to use a Belgian yeast, rather something clean like US-05/WLP001/Wyeast 1056.

Here is a thread on making a BM clone in which the guy (Wayne1, an HBT member) who was directly involved in creating the recipe for the actual Blue Moon at Coors offers a bunch of input. The thread is epically long and deals primarily with all-grain, but there are some suggestions about how to make it with extract.

basilchef said:

you might want some rice hulls. they will keep the wheat suspended so they dont clog your mash tun during the sparge. also IMO a little pilsner malt would be nice. the hops for a wit are typically a single addition at 60. the extra 1oz will make it hoppier then usual. personally i would do 1 oz of orange at 10 then the other oz soaked in vodka and used for a "dry hop" down the road. its easier to add more orange flavor/aroma then take it out. thats just my 2 cents. you dont have to follow anything i said but truly consider rice hulls. -cheers

Click to expand...

Didnt realize it was lme wheat. No need for rice hulls.

I use 2oz of orange peel and 1.25oz coriander in my 10 gal batches so I would cut back on what you have listed. I put my orange peel in with 10-15 min left in boil and coriander at flame out. I all so agree with the one hop addition at around 17 IBU's. I use WLP-400 witch is a Belgian yeast. I know BM uses just 005 or something but I was trying for a better beer and got it with the 400. I make my Belgain Wit all the time and love it.

Do you leave the peel and seed through fermentation or do you strain it out before fermentation?

HoshBrew said:

Do you leave the peel and seed through fermentation or do you strain it out before fermentation?

Click to expand...

i use a hop bag and pull them out just before racking to my carboy and pitching the yeast.

Oh good idea. I'll go that route.

I use a 5 gal paint strainer bag for the orange peel. The coriander I grind up and just throw it in the boil kettle.