Witbier fermentation question

Hi, my fisrt batch of wit is at the primary stage. I used White labs Belgian Wit liquid yeast. The recipe says 4 days in primary, 10 days in secondary. The other recipe I look at almost only use primary for longer time. I also want to keep my yeast and reuse it later. What is the best witbier primary and secondary time for wit? I plan to keg it.

Thanks

You might just want to skip the secondary phase altogether since wit beers are supposed to be somewhat cloudy from yeast... putting in secondary will help clear the beer. Do you really want that?

no I don't want it to be clear. But, how many time in primary?

If you're adding anything in the secondary (coriander, orange zest, ect..) then make sure fermentation is complete before moving. I'd say at least a week. If you are not adding anything in the secondary just keep it in the primary until you bottle it. Maybe 2-3 weeks total.

And what about the yeast I want to keep. Will the yeast still alive after 3 weeks?

papamike said:

And what about the yeast I want to keep. Will the yeast still alive after 3 weeks?

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Oh yeah! They'll live a looooooonnnng time.

Let your hydrometer be your guide. After 10 days or so, check the gravity. Then check it again a couple of days later. If they're the same, you're done fermenting.

When you bottle the yeast might settle to the bottom. When you pour a glass, pour about 3/4th of the bottle, then gently swirl the sediment off the bottom and dump it into the glass to get a nice cloudy look.

Yumm... I am getting thirsty just thinking about it.

papamike said:

Hi, my fisrt batch of wit is at the primary stage. I used White labs Belgian Wit liquid yeast. The recipe says 4 days in primary, 10 days in secondary. The other recipe I look at almost only use primary for longer time. I also want to keep my yeast and reuse it later. What is the best witbier primary and secondary time for wit? I plan to keg it.

Thanks

Click to expand...

I would leave it in the primary for 14 days then go straight to bottles, sample one at 2 weeks to check for the carbonation, if it seems carbed properly, enjoy.

I also use WLP400 for my Wits, it is some funky smelling yeast, however, it does its job adding that Witbier character.

Good Luck!