Witbier Blue Balls Belgian Wit (Blue Moon Clone)

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I just bought a big bag of Pilsner malt (Breiss). Should I sub this in for the pale? Answer quick, cause I'm running downstate to pick it up tonight! Brewing on Sunday.

First AG Wit!! I'm stoked!
 
Darn, I"M not stoked anymore. I made up a starter for the WLP400 last night and this morning nothing is going on. Absolutely no activity. It was getting a bit old, but still should have been viable. I'm keeping it on the stirplate, but might have to sub some nottingham again. Thank God for backup yeast! I just wish I could have used the Wit yeast this time.
 
Well, I brewed it up. I mulled my options and decided that I really didn't have a better alternative than to brew it with Notty. I also used pilsner malt cause i had it.

I was thinking about doing a saison, or a belgian pale, but I didn't have time to build a starter, and I wanted to keep the wit yeast on the stirplate for a while to see if I can get it going.

The brew went very well, and came out so much lighter than my previous extract versions! Smelled differently, though. I blame the pilsner malt, and can't wait to try it!
 
I've made this twice now with amazing results. I went ahead and used an ounce of coriander and an ounce of sweet orange peel, just because that is the size of the package they both came in, and it came out perfect. For me, you cannot overdo those flavors in this beer.
 
I finally kegged and sampled this and it's awsum! I feel I'm getting my process down now. I used the Notty yeast, due to the above mentioned poor start on the Wit yeast, and I zested 2 large oranges, and 1 lemon.

This thing it very light in color, and the aroma is very nice. Taste is very clean with the usual wheat and citrus you'd expect. I am giving this to a couple of ladies who like Blue Moon and I think they will like it.

I expect I'll continue to use this as a base Wit recipe from now on, and maybe try some variations here and there. Maybe different yeast next time, or a different blend of spices.
 
I brewed this beer 3 weeks ago and tasted it out if the primary. It had a strong banana aroma. Is this normal?

It was not that great out of the fermenter tasted watered down. How long should this beer condition before it peaks in taste?

This is my first brew so I am not experienced with how beers taste before they condition.

Thanks
 
This beer came out great. I was several degrees low on my mash, so this came out a little drier than I had hoped. Oh well, still tasty. The corrander is certainly coming through, but I'm not tasting the orange as much as I had hoped. Would I get more orange flavor by using fresh orange zest as opposed to the dried orange peel that I used? I did soak the dried peels in water before adding them to the boil to try and extract as much of the flavor as possible.
 
HossTheGreat said:
This beer came out great. I was several degrees low on my mash, so this came out a little drier than I had hoped. Oh well, still tasty. The corrander is certainly coming through, but I'm not tasting the orange as much as I had hoped. Would I get more orange flavor by using fresh orange zest as opposed to the dried orange peel that I used? I did soak the dried peels in water before adding them to the boil to try and extract as much of the flavor as possible.
Click to expand...

I switched to fresh zest. More of a PITA, but you definitely get a richer aroma.
 
I brewed, bottled, and tasted this last week for the first time using the Extract method.

Gotta say, it was good. However, me and the guys all commented that it seemed pretty weak in the APV vareity.

That being said, maybe bump up the Wheat extract to 2lbs might make the apv go up a little without altering the taste too much. Prolly give that a try for round 2.
 
This is completely off topic and I apologize but I'm new to the forum and i'm trying to figure something out... can you post recipes w/the free membership or do you have to buy a membership to be able to do that?
 
BierMuncher - I'm brewing this one next week. My LHBS has both the T-58 and the US-o5 - would you recommend the T58?
 
HI again BierMuncher - we brewed this one up yesterday as a 10 gal batch. Used the T-58 yeast, but had to make a few modifications to the recipe because the LBS doesn't carry flaked wheat. I had enough to do a 5 gal batch following your recipe, but for the second 5 gals, here's what we subbed for the flaked wheat: 1.5# wheat malt, 1# torrified wheat, 1# flaked oats, 1# flaked barley. The wort looked and tasted great, but I'm concerned about how these mods will affect the beer. Any ideas on how it might turn out? This is my first time modding a recipe like this. I took copious notes in the event that it turns out great and want to be able to replicate it, or if it's horrible and I want to make sure I never make the same mistake again.

Thanks!
 
Man this stuff has a crazy fermentation! My airlock just about blew off after a little less than 24 hours and Ive still got bubbles 10 days later! Looking forward to trying this bad boy
 
My brewing buddy said he was afraid to go in his basement when this one took off - said it sounded like some monster had been unleashed.
 
i had blue moon while in chicago last year for work and really enjoyed it. unfortunately blue moon isnt available for purchase where i live.

im going to start a partial mash of this next week and im very excited!

what temperature would you recommend fermenting this at?
 
I'm going to give this a go either this weekend or next. My biggest problem is that my LHBS only carries these yeasts:

California Ale
California V ale
European Ale
London Ale
Pilsner Lager
German Lager
Champagne

All of the above are whitelabs. I think I have a couple packets of Nottingham in the fridge at home.

Any suggestions which of the above I should go with?
 
BierMuncher said:
This should be a good base:
3.00 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM)
2.00 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM)

1.49 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (60 min)

0.75 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
0.75 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 10.0 min) Misc

1 Pkgs Belgian Witbier (Wyeast #3944 or White Labs WLP400) Definitely want a Belgian Wit yeast though.

Mash your flaked wheat at 155 degrees for 60-75 minutes (the longer will up the efficiency and ABV%)

Strain the wheat grains out and bring wort to boil, add extracts and you know the rest...
Click to expand...


I am going to brew this today.

I have all the ingredients however I haven't done any partial mashes yet.

I read the tutorial on partial mashing (Easy Partial Mash Brewing (with pics)) but I have a few questions.

1) How much water should I use to mash the wheat? I calculated it to be 0.625 gal @ 173 degF to reach the 155 degF strike temp. My calculations were simply based on the flaked wheat amount.
2) Your instructions doesnt mention sparging the flaked wheat. Is this required? If so at what vol/temperature and for how long
3) I read online that mashing wheat alone requires other grains to be added as well. Should I mash the extract with the flaked wheat, or simply add the extract at the end of the mash (ie: just before boil)?

Just want to make sure so I have enough/big pot (I only have one 23 qt pot, I believe). I think I will go buy another pot this week.

Really excited for this beer.
 
I am boiling as I type
5lb of US tow
4 wheat malt
.5 rice hulls
1 pearle 60 min
.5 saaz 5 min
.75 corriander 5 min
.75 orange peel 5 min
I am going to rack it on to a wl001 yeast cake
did a protein rest at 122 for 30
and sac at 152 for 30
mash out 168
pre boil gravity of 1.042 for 7 gallons that I will boil down to 5


I have determined I am going to build a heat stick it is a pain in the ass when you dont hit the right numbers.
 
anyone use fermentis safale s-04 on this?

I brought the recipe to the LHBS and I'm doing a hybrid of this (2-row, white wheat and oats). they gave me s-04 for a dry yeast to use on this.

with the mention of t-58, s-05 and even s-33 in the past in the posts I'm wondering what would be a good dry yeast for this?
 
Are you guys getting enough orange taste with 0.75oz of dried bitter peel? I made the original recipe a few weeks ago, and after carbonating it doesn't have the same depth as the real deal.
 
sailsandskates said:
Sample more heffies and you will see that Blue Moon is NOT special!
Click to expand...

I love hefe's. Blue Moon is a great, light, wheaty after taste (and I mean after) that can be desired, IMO. I am going to get a good clone and use it for all fruit beer standard. That is until I get more edjamacated.:rockin:
 
I' ve never had a "Blue Moon" but after reading all these positive comments i know i HAVE to give it a shot! I am changing my brewing schedule so that i will be able to brew it in a month or so (will be hotter over here till then).
What i wanted to ask is this.... how about using some Bergamot orange instead of "plain" orange? (got my hands on some nice ones today. They are bitter but extremely aromatic). Would it be too overwhelming ? I think i am going to split the batch in two and brew it both ways. Has any of you ever tried using this particular type of orange?
Cheers.
 
This looks just like the sample witbier recipe from Beersmith. With all the great reviews I'm definitely going to try this next. Thanks for posting it.:rockin:
 
Brewed this on Sunday. Went ok until I got my first stuck sparge which was kind of a pita.Not enough rice hulls I guess. I added a lb. of flaked oats and .25 oz. of sweet orange to the original recipe so we'll see how that goes. It sure smells good bubbling away in the closet right now. I also noticed I ended up with the most trub I've had from any beer so far.I'm thinking probably from all the flaked wheat and oats.
 
I am planning on doing this brew and was looking at my bottle of orange peel. The ingredients list a preservative.

Obviously it has worked for others, and hasn't stopped the fermentation. My question is how? Does the boil remove the preservative, or is there just that little of an amount that it doesn't effect the yeast?

EDIT....
Ok, I found orange peel at the LHB and quit looking at just what was in my kitchen cabinet.

I went ahead and brewed this yesterday. I replaced 3lbs of the flaked wheat with:
2 lb white wheat and 1 lb of torrified wheat (cleaning out the closet).

On a different note,
Could anyone ID the film that was leftover in my tun last night? It was very thin but was on top of the grains and seemed to get poorer efficiency. It was only my second time using the cooler and was somewhat surprised. (It was actually from a Sam Adams clone ftw) It didn't happen to this brew. Good? Bad?

 
gicts said:
I am planning on doing this brew and was looking at my bottle of orange peel. The ingredients list a preservative.

Obviously it has worked for others, and hasn't stopped the fermentation. My question is how? Does the boil remove the preservative, or is there just that little of an amount that it doesn't effect the yeast?

EDIT....
Ok, I found orange peel at the LHB and quit looking at just what was in my kitchen cabinet.

I went ahead and brewed this yesterday. I replaced 3lbs of the flaked wheat with:
2 lb white wheat and 1 lb of torrified wheat (cleaning out the closet).

On a different note,
Could anyone ID the film that was leftover in my tun last night? It was very thin but was on top of the grains and seemed to get poorer efficiency. It was only my second time using the cooler and was somewhat surprised. (It was actually from a Sam Adams clone ftw) It didn't happen to this brew. Good? Bad?

Click to expand...

That film is from the flaked wheat. I noticed it when I started making recipes with flaked wheat. When you use strictly wheat malt, the film is absent. The protein rest in my later recipes seemed to help with my efficiency. Flaked wheat is there mainly for head retention.
 
I made this beer with the following exceptions, and it was excellent. 1 week in the bottle and it is a super summer quencher.

  1. I used Malted Wheat instead of flaked. To ensure a nice haze, I added 1 tsp flour to boil.
  2. Used Saaz hops
  3. Zested 1 orange (from neighbors tree, no idea what this weighed)
  4. Belgian Strong Ale Yeast (Wyeast #1388)
  5. 2 week primary only.
 
BierMuncher said:
Recipe: Belgian Wit
Brewer: BierMuncher
Style: Witbier
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (47.0) Awesome taste. Add a slice of orange and people will be asking how you bought a keg of Blue Moon.Distinctive, light wheat beer with a hint of spice. The head is very white and lasts a long time. This is a light, spicy session ale. Perfect for the summer.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.20 gal
Boil Size: 6.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.038 SG
Estimated Color: 4.4 SRM
View attachment 1233
Estimated IBU: 17.0 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
4.50 lb Pale Malt Crisp (UK) (3.0 SRM)
4.50 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM)
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (60 min)
0.75 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min)
0.75 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 min)
1 Pkgs Belgian Witbier (White Labs #400)


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 9.00 lb
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Mash In Add 3.50 gal of water at 165.9 F 154.0 F 60 min
Mash Out Add 3.00 gal of water at 196.6 F 168.0 F 10 min
View attachment 1700

View attachment 1234
Click to expand...


When you add .75 orange peel and coriander do you use zest only? or just toss a .75 oz chunk in the food processor w/ .75 of coriander seeds?
 
Zest the fresh oranges, but dry the zest on a cookie sheet overnight before using it in the beer. The stuff sold at your local HBS is dried, so drying yours will give you an accurate weight to add.

Bitter orange peel is more of a green peel vs. sweet oranges which are..duh..orange. :)
 
im at work so i dont have the time to run through all of the replys but what is the general thoughts on its closeness to blue moon? I tried a recipe a month ago that the guy said was a perfect clone and it was not. He added 2 lemons and a grapefruit and this thing came out very tart! Thanks
 
ekjohns said:
im at work so i dont have the time to run through all of the replys but what is the general thoughts on its closeness to blue moon? I tried a recipe a month ago that the guy said was a perfect clone and it was not. He added 2 lemons and a grapefruit and this thing came out very tart! Thanks
Click to expand...

2 lemons and a grapefruit - did that really sound like a clone? Funny.

I think this recipe is very close. I just made it (with slight mods). I think it would be closer with a neutral yeast (i.e., 1056 or S-05).
 
jamie3 said:
I am going to brew this today.

I have all the ingredients however I haven't done any partial mashes yet.

I read the tutorial on partial mashing (Easy Partial Mash Brewing (with pics)) but I have a few questions.

1) How much water should I use to mash the wheat? I calculated it to be 0.625 gal @ 173 degF to reach the 155 degF strike temp. My calculations were simply based on the flaked wheat amount.
2) Your instructions doesnt mention sparging the flaked wheat. Is this required? If so at what vol/temperature and for how long
3) I read online that mashing wheat alone requires other grains to be added as well. Should I mash the extract with the flaked wheat, or simply add the extract at the end of the mash (ie: just before boil)?

Just want to make sure so I have enough/big pot (I only have one 23 qt pot, I believe). I think I will go buy another pot this week.

Really excited for this beer.
Click to expand...

Did you ever get these figured out?
 

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