Critique- Belgian Wit

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sweed

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3 Gallon Batch

Wheat DME- 3lbs
Extra Light DME- 1 lb
Flaked Oats- .5 lbs
Saaz- .25 oz. 60 mins
Saaz- .75 oz. 15 mins
Cascade 1 oz 5 mins
Corinader seed- 5 mins
Sweet Orange Peel- 5 mins
Yeast- Belgian Witbier Yeast- TBD

OG- 1.054
FG- 1.014
SRM- 4.1
IBU's- 20
ABV- 5.25%

I looked around at a few recipes in the database, and came up with this one. I think it's a pretty basic wit recipe. This is the first time I am not using crystal/ grains to steep, and just the oats. I am guessing I can just steep them for 20-25 mins around 150? The cascade at the end is just for a little flavor/ aroma that I think will turn out good.
I think I will brew this, this weekend.
 
Looks pretty good. I made a Wit recently and used 2 oz of un-cracked Coriander seed and the flavor was very prominent. I liked it, but some BJCP judges said it was too much for the style. You might try 1 oz. (You should be able to find it pretty cheep if you look around)

If you want some of the crystal/caramel switch the Light DME to Amber. That would be the equivalent of about 3-4oz of Crystal L60. (Most "Amber" malt is essentialy 90% base and 10% Crystal L60)

I would used cooked oatmeal (just as if making it for breakfast) and add that in a muslin bag when you turn the flame on the kettle and remove it when it just starts to boil. With the healthy amount of Wheat you might not need the oatmeal.
 
Belgian wits would typically not have oats nor Cascade hops. I would suggest using just wheat DME since it would likely have a good percentage of 2 row barley in its production. It also appears that you have little bittering for this batch as the alpha acid in Saaz is pretty low. JMHO, it's your beer.
 
Looks pretty good. I made a Wit recently and used 2 oz of un-cracked Coriander seed and the flavor was very prominent. I liked it, but some BJCP judges said it was too much for the style. You might try 1 oz. (You should be able to find it pretty cheep if you look around)

If you want some of the crystal/caramel switch the Light DME to Amber. That would be the equivalent of about 3-4oz of Crystal L60. (Most "Amber" malt is essentialy 90% base and 10% Crystal L60)

I would used cooked oatmeal (just as if making it for breakfast) and add that in a muslin bag when you turn the flame on the kettle and remove it when it just starts to boil. With the healthy amount of Wheat you might not need the oatmeal.

Thanks, I think the 1 oz. sounds good. I've never used it so I'll take your advice. I want the color to be pretty light, so I left out any crystal. I have a feeling the wheat dme will darken it up some anyways, like with my hefe I made last summer.
Cooked oatmeal- quick oats or old fashion?
 
Belgian wits would typically not have oats nor Cascade hops. I would suggest using just wheat DME since it would likely have a good percentage of 2 row barley in its production. It also appears that you have little bittering for this batch as the alpha acid in Saaz is pretty low. JMHO, it's your beer.

Right, I just saw a few recipes had oats in it, and thought it would contribute to a good mouthfeel. The cascade something I thought would be different. The ibu's for this are at the high end for the style. I started off with .5oz at 60, but it was in the mid 20's, so I dropped it down.
Thanks for your comments. I always do slight changes to recipes, so maybe once I should follow a true recipe. Like you said it's my beer, and we'll see how it turns out. :)
 
Cooked oatmeal- quick oats or old fashion?
Either way is fine. After they are cooked per the package directions they are pretty much the same thing. The cooking processes is to gelatinizes the starches.
 
So I have decided to make this a 5 gallon batch, and thus changed my recipe a little bit.

Wheat LME 6.6lbs (adding late in boil to keep color lighter)
Extra Light DME 1 lb
Flaked oats- 1 lb
Saaz- 1 oz at 60mins
Cascade .5 oz at 15min and 5 min
Coriander seed- 1 oz
Sweet Orange Peel- 1 oz

OG 1.058
FG 1.014
SRM 4.4
IBU's 15
AVB 5.7

I may add an extra 1/4 - 1/2 gallon of extra water to get those numbers down a little. I could just take out the light dme, but I don't want to have that wheat lme to get any darker. My last (and first) hefe was a little darker than I wanted it to be, but it tasted awesome. Also more beer is better than less beer! I figured these would go quick, and I didn't want to be sad they didn't last as long as I'd like. I am already giving 6 bombers to a friend, and probably a good amount more to friends/ family, so I'd like to enjoy a couple. Excited to brew this tomorrow!
 
What yeast do you plan to use?

I bought the WLP400 Belgian Wit liquid yeast. I got all the ingrediants at lunch today. I love having a lhbs right around the corner from work, and right down the road from home (different stores).
 
I just finished brewing this beer. I got just about 5.5 gallons, maybe a tiny bit less. The OG is 1.056. The wort tasted pretty good. I only got about .2 oz of coriander from the lhbs. I found out after that the package was 1 Tbsp, so I weighed it, and it was much less than I wanted, so I cracked the seeds a little and added those and the bitter orange peel at 5-6 mins.
The color won't be like a true wit, but I have a feeling it'll look good when it's all done. I added the last 2 wheat lme at 5 mins and basically at flame out.

I can't wait to try this in about a month.
 
Sounds like a nice brew. For next time, Indian grocery stores are a good place to get coriander.
 
WoodlandBrew said:
Sounds like a nice brew. For next time, Indian grocery stores are a good place to get coriander.

+1. You can get a giant package for cheap. Maybe only a little more than you pay for the little packages.

Question: are you adding your extracts at the beginning or end of the boil? That might be what makes it darker than you want, if you add it early.
 
I'll look for one, I saw one in the grocery store. It was .8 oz. I think and it looks like a lot. I'll see how this does then I can always make another.

I posted up that I added the lme at 5 mins and at basically flame out. That wheat lme just seems to darken it up more than you want for a wit. AG is where you can control that more. But I'll happy for now. As long as it tastes good, right!?

No activity yet, but the air lock price has tipped, so I know there is a tiny bit going on. It's only been 12 hours since I pitched though. I'm used to stuff taking of right away.
 
Almost the same one I make. I use half a pound of oats for mouth feel and oz of Coriander and an oz of bitter orange peel. It is very well received by guests, quick to make and refreshing when it gets hot. A 5 gal keg doesn't last long. I know I should bottle it for the real Wit look and feel but it is easy. Not exactly to style but... like the man said, it is your beer. Cheers.
 
Almost the same one I make. I use half a pound of oats for mouth feel and oz of Coriander and an oz of bitter orange peel. It is very well received by guests, quick to make and refreshing when it gets hot. A 5 gal keg doesn't last long. I know I should bottle it for the real Wit look and feel but it is easy. Not exactly to style but... like the man said, it is your beer. Cheers.

I actually only used a half pound of oats after seeing how much it was. I baked it in the over until it was done, then put it in a muslin bag and steeped until boil.
 
I'm bottling this right now, and I just took the FG. It finished at 1.012. The sample tastes great, the color looks good. I'm very satisfied, and can't wait to try these in a few weeks.


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