Witbier OhioBrewtus' Hoegaarden Clone - (AG)

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ohiobrewtus

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
7,762
Reaction score
75
Location
Ohio
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
WLP400
Yeast Starter
2 Qt.
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.048
Final Gravity
1.008
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
15
Color
3
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
21 days at 66 degrees
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
none
Additional Fermentation
none
Hoegaardeen Clone
-----------------

Brewer: Ohiobrewtus
Style: Belgian White Ale
Batch: 5.00 gal, Mashed

Characteristics
---------------
Recipe Gravity: 1.048 - 1.054 OG
Recipe Bitterness: 15 IBU
Recipe Color: 3° SRM
Estimated FG: 1.008 - 1.012
Alcohol by Volume: 4.8-5.5%

Ingredients
-----------

Flaked wheat 2.50 lb, mashed
White wheat 3.00 lb, mashed
Belgian pilsner 4.50 lb, mashed

Cascade 0.50 oz, pellet, 60 minutes
Cascade 0.50 oz, pellet, 5 minutes

1/2 oz Coriander seeds @ 15 min
1/2 oz bitter orange peel @ 15 min
1/2 oz orange extract @ 15 min

Notes
-----
Mash @ 155 for 60 minutes
Double batch sparge with 5 gallons (2.5 gallons each) of 170 degree water
draw off 6.25 gallons
follow hop/misc. ingredients schedule above

I left this in primary for 3 weeks, then bottled.

I used a mixture of yeasts in my brew, but WLP400 works fine as well:

yeast cultivated and stepped multiple times from Hoegaarden bottles
California Ale V (WLP051)
Belgian Wit (WLP400)

Make a 2 qt. starter at least 48 hours prior to brewing.
 
beergears said:
Good substitute for Cascade hop, in this context...?

When I do this again I'll probably use some Hallertau that I have on hand. Any descendant of Hallertau, Tettnang or Sazz would be appropriate (Crystal, Mt. Hood, etc.)

I'd also recommend tossing in a half pound or so of rice hulls to prevent a stuck mash. I didn't use any and didn't have any major problems, but why risk it? I used a high amount of flakes in this to get the Hoegaarden color, and it was spot on.
 
Brewed a 10 gallon batch of this a month ago, been a hell of a month but its finally coming out of the fermenters on Sunday, getting kegged up and hopefully drinking it down on the 4th! Let you know how it turns out.
 
Good stuff, just getting started on my second keg after me and my friends killed the first one of the fourth. I used wyeast belgian white beer yeast for this and it is spot on, incredible breadloaf flavor that hits you right in the face. As for the clones likeness to the original, spot on. The only thing different that I notice in mine is that I probably overdid the orange peel a bit, but that was somewhat intentional, and I couldn't get this batch to attenuate as much as I would have liked which left it a little sweet.

All in all a very good beer, and a dead shot for the original. Will definitely be a summer staple, if only in five gallon batches from now on.

Oh and i used hallertau instead of cascade, had a bunch of it and couldn't really see the point in using an american hop in this recipe, worked out great.
 
I've had my first batch of this on tap for just over a week and it is some tasty stuff. I omitted the coriander (already have a belgian blonde on tap with that) and also the orange extract. Added a single clove instead.

Went with the cascades, as I already had them on hand.

I appreciate your posting this. It's going to be my go-to Wit recipe.
 
Mine came out with little body...I attribute that to a cool and thin mash. Other than that, it's a great beer. I used Wyeast 3944, at around 67F or so. I think next time I would try a warmer fermentation temp
 
This needed to be bumped up :mug:

Brewed this with a Belgian Abby II yeast and I had non beer drinkers slamming it down :rockin: In fact, they killed my keg. So I had to brew it again. 2nd time wasn't as good as the first (still a good beer) so I don't know what I did wrong. But it will definitely be in the stable for summer beers.

Not quite sure how close it is to the original but it is a damn fine beer!

Thanks for the recipe!
 
Good stuff, just getting started on my second keg after me and my friends killed the first one of the fourth. I used wyeast belgian white beer yeast for this and it is spot on, incredible breadloaf flavor that hits you right in the face. As for the clones likeness to the original, spot on. The only thing different that I notice in mine is that I probably overdid the orange peel a bit, but that was somewhat intentional, and I couldn't get this batch to attenuate as much as I would have liked which left it a little sweet.

All in all a very good beer, and a dead shot for the original. Will definitely be a summer staple, if only in five gallon batches from now on.

Oh and i used hallertau instead of cascade, had a bunch of it and couldn't really see the point in using an american hop in this recipe, worked out great.

try mashing at 150-152 to boost the fermentables. body may suffer but maybe try a thicker mash. wlp 400 should finish most of the way, it seems like 155 is a bit high of a mash temp for this style
 
Hello All,


Anyone have a suggestion for the alternative to an orange extract? I know there was a suggestion to just cut it out of the recipe, however I was thinking fresh orange zest. The last time I brewed with an extract, I wasn't a fan (and the flavor tapered out over the course of a month).

Any thoughts on the quantity required to afford some of the same flavoring?

I really enjoyed this thread and the recipe and I plan on brewing this in the next two weeks. The optimist in me says summer is not that far off...

:mug:

Rogue
 
Get curacao orange peel from your homebrew supplier, grind .5 oz and add it in the last 10 mins of the boil. Taste when racking to secondary, if it seems to have been scrubbed out, add another .25 oz and maybe some more coriander. Careful with coriander, though. It can ruin a beer (Blue Moon).
 
Thanks (for both the quick reply and the info)!

I'll be brewing this up next week and will try to get back with amounts used/results.

Slainte.
 
just re-read the recipe. you don't need the orange extract. pretend its not there and proceed as I previously mentioned. fresh orange peel can make beer taste soapy and should usually be avoided. any time you see 'bitter orange peel' in a recipe it is referring to dried curacao orange peel available from most lhbs. make sure you grind both spices in a coffee grinder right before brewing, you will be rewarded with positive results!:mug:
 
Will do. Thanks for the attention and cautionary advice.

:off:I have used fresh orange zest before (small quantities) with fair results, assuming I'm careful to refrain from including the pith. That being said, I agree; my "experimentation" produces inconsistent results. Using fresh stuff took a hit on a GingerAle I made.
 
try mashing at 150-152 to boost the fermentables. body may suffer but maybe try a thicker mash. wlp 400 should finish most of the way, it seems like 155 is a bit high of a mash temp for this style

I've made quite a few wits this past year. I found myself wanting a silkier fuller body. I have been bumping up my mash temp with each batch last one I mashed at 154 and might go up a touch on the next one also. I would say 155 is just fine especially with wlp400 as that attentuates pretty well and if you give it a easier to ferment wort it will dry it too much I think.

When it comes to orange peel I don't see how fresh orange will give a soapy taste. I have used the zest of oranges, lemons, and grapefruit in my wits with great results. Just make sure you wash them before hand with a brush to remove any wax. The key is to zest it not use the whole peel that will give you that weird astringent bitterness like you're eating the pith.
 
does this beer need to sit in a primary for 3 weeks? My thinking is since it's a wheat beer wouldn't 10 to 14 days be sufficient?
 
I'm intrigued by the bottle cultivated yeast you mentioned. Is there a reference or how-to on the process that you followed?
 
i just brewed something very similar to this. Virtually the same grain bill, wlp400, whole leaf hallertau's at 11.6 IBU's, 1/2 oz bitter orange for an 11 gallon batch, 1.1 oz crushed coriander, and mashed at 155 to get me some body. Came in at 1.050 and expect it to finish out at 1.011 or 1.012. I made something like this last year and loved it.
 
That's what I did and it turned out awesome. I used the Wyeast Belgian wit on a 2liter starter and just split that between the two carboys.
 
1.25 quarts of water for every lb of grain is a good amount. For 10lbs of grain that would be 12.5 qts of water.
 
Brewed this yesterday. Used hallertau, wlp400, and skipped the orange extract. Happily bubbling away in the carboy now. OG was 1.051. Thanks for the recipe.
 
Just kegged after 2 weeks in primary. FG was 1.010. Smell and color were dead on, but the taste was a bit bitter. I'm really hoping that dies off after a couple weeks in the keg, otherwise I wonder if subbing sweet orange peel would "fix" that. Maybe the orange extract, which I omitted, is important?
 
Drink an IPA or pale ale then go back to the howgaarden clone and then tell me if it's bitter! Haha
 
Just tapped this after 11 days in the keg (couldn't wait any longer). Absolutely delicious
Going to be a great summer.
 
I wonder it would be like to go small on the orange and omit the coriander and hop with high AA/citrusy hops what the result would be like. I realize the IBUs would mean it was no longer technically a Belgian Wit. I think I might try a small batch to experiment.
 
I brewed another batch of this yesterday. 10 gallons. Great recipe. (if you follow it) I used double the coriander and orange peel though! Am I doomed?
 
drawdy10 said:
I brewed another batch of this yesterday. 10 gallons. Great recipe. (if you follow it) I used double the coriander and orange peel though! Am I doomed?

Update: double orange peel and coriander didn't hurt it (may actually be better) I used to think this was better with a fresh orange slice in it but now it has all the flavor you need already in it so it doesn't leave you wanting that extra orange slice.
 
I'd like to get a nice Belgian Wit bier bottled for summer, anyone have any ideas on how I can make this an extract recipe with some steeped grains? Is it possible to achieve the hallmark Hoegaarden color with an extract recipe?

Any help would be greatly appreciated
 
yeast cultivated and stepped multiple times from Hoegaarden bottles
California Ale V (WLP051)
Belgian Wit (WLP400)

This confuses me. Is that a blend hoegaarden uses that you cultured from bottles? Is that what you get when you culture hoegaarden yeast?
 
Those are three separate options. You can culture from bottles or use the Two different wlp versions he mentions. I use Wyeast 3944 when I make this recipe. It is my one and only go-to wit recipe and love it. This charts says 3944 is the hoegaarden yeast: http://www.mrmalty.com/yeast.htm



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