The White Tornado Wit

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dcott

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2008
Messages
258
Reaction score
5
Location
Fairfield
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
Wyeast 3944 - Belgian Witbier
Yeast Starter
No
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.049
Final Gravity
1.012
Boiling Time (Minutes)
90
IBU
32
Color
4.2
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
21 @ 68F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
None
Tasting Notes
Rich mouthfeel, full of wheaty, yeasty, estery goodness.
Primary Malt Bill:

Belgian Pilsen Malt - 3.0#
US Mild Ale Malt - 1.0#
US Carapils Malt - 0.38#

Adjunct Malt Bill:

Red Wheat - 3.0#
US 6-Row - 2.0#
Oats - 1.13#

Hop Schedule:

US Northern Brewer 8.0%AA - 14g @ 90min
German Tettnang 4.5%AA - 28g @ 30min
German Tettnang 4.5%AA - 28g @ 5min

Spicing Regimen (all at flameout, steep):

Crushed Coriander (the good stuff from the indian market) - 14g
Chamomile Tea (again, the good stuff from tea shop) - 7g
Fresh, Sweet Orange Peel - 1g

Mash Schedule:

Primary is step mash: Dough-In at .98 qt/# at 98F for 30min, raise by infusion of boiling 2.5qts to 122F for 15min, raise by addition of adjunct mash to 155F for 45min

Adjunct Mash (concurrent to primary mash, in separate heating vessel): Dough-In at 1.1 qt/#. Rest at 122F for 15min, raise by direct heat to 150F for 15min, Boil for 15min, add to Primary Mash to bring total mas to 155F for 45min

Mash out at 170F, sparge to reach target system volume



I know it's a super complicated mash, but it's worth it. The beer is damn tasty (IMHO)!
 
I've been eyeing up lots of Witbier recipes and this looks awesome! Thanks for sharing and will give this a whirl.

Cheers

Chris
 
Let me know how it turns out. It's one of my favorite recipes, in fact, I'm planning to brew it next weekend.

Cheers!
Dan
 
dcott,

I've been looking at a lot of Wit recipes, and I'm getting a little discouraged. I'm not too confident about doing all the different rests. Would you say that the separate mash and rests are a necessity for this beer? Or could I get a similar result using flaked wheat?
 
I would imagine you could sub flaked wheat and do a single step infusion mash. The step mash is more traditional, and you may get slightly lower efficiency, but I'm sure you'll still make great beer.
 
I also forgot to add to the recipe that I add rice hulls to aid with lautering.
 
Chamomile at flameout? Do you sanitize it? I just purchased the tea and a 3" tea ball. I was planning on loading up the tea ball and dunking it in at flame out without sanitizing. Thoughts?
 
Brewed last Saturday and still in the fermenter. My LHBS store didn't have Mild Malt or Red Wheat. So, I modified the recipe per the following:

Amount Item Type
4.50 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain
4.50 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain
0.50 lb Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain
0.50 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] (60 min) Hops
0.50 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (15 min) Hops
0.50 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (10 min) Hops
0.75 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
1.00 oz Chamomile Tea (Boil 0.0 min) Misc
4.00 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
5.00 gal Raleigh Water
1 Pkgs Belgian Witbier (Wyeast Labs #3944) Yeast-Wheat


I didn't actually measure the Orange Peel. I zested 2 large Naval Oranges and 1 Pink (Ruby) Grapefruit. I did get some good Chamomile Tea from a local English Tea Room. Smelled amazing!

I should be bottling this next weekend.

Did you cold crash? I have never cold crashed before and thought I might try that for this brew to really add some clarity. Thoughts?

Cheers!

Chris
 
Hey Chris,

Sounds good!

As for cold crashing, Wits are generally supposed to be cloudy, so if you're aiming for true to form, I wouldn't do it. That being said, if you would prefer it that way, go for it!

Also, definitely make sure you check your gravity. Wit yeast always takes forever to finish for me (usually around three weeks in primary).

Hope it turns out great!
Dan
 
It's been 3+ weeks in the bottle and this beer rocks! Thanks for posting your recipe. I did get the good Chamomile Tea from a local Tea Shop and think that it comes through nicely.

Again, thanks.

Cheers!

Chris
 
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