Witbier advice

Hey guys I'm planning on brewing up some Witbier this weekend and could use a little help on the recipe. I've never brewed a wheat beer and I'm not sure what ingredients will make the best but I know the basics. So far I've picked up the following:

6 1/2 lbs of 65% wheat 35% barley malt extract

1oz Corriandrum
1oz Bitter orange peel

1oz Czech Saaz pellet hops

White labs 400 yeast

What other suggestions do you guys have? I could also use some boil time suggestions etc.

Thanks,

Matt

BrewCaster said:

Hey guys I'm planning on brewing up some Witbier this weekend and could use a little help on the recipe. I've never brewed a wheat beer and I'm not sure what ingredients will make the best but I know the basics. So far I've picked up the following:

6 1/2 lbs of 65% wheat 35% barley malt extract

1oz Corriandrum
1oz Bitter orange peel

1oz Czech Saaz pellet hops

White labs 400 yeast

What other suggestions do you guys have? I could also use some boil time suggestions etc.

Thanks,

Matt

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That's alot of wheat proportion. How much total grain? 6.5lbs total? AG, I take it?

Sounds like a solid recipe.

Hops - 60 minute boil


Coriander and orange, 10-15 minutes.

Make sure to crush the coriander with a rolling pin.

personally I would drop the spices a bit, and ferment warm.. Let the yeast take care of the spice. Besides that looks good.

I was about to say that is a lot of corriander, bit thats just me.

Thanks for the replies.

Maybe I'll go with 1/2 oz of the corriander. Now as far as the grind, any recommendations? I was thinking a coarse grind and using the the spices at the end of my boil figure 10-15 for the corriander as BierMuncher suggested, and 20 on the peel. I was considering going with the real orange zest but I read that getting the right part of the orange is crucial and I want to make sure I get the flavoring I need.

1/2 ounce would be good. I do 1/4 ounce at 15 in my wit beer.I just use a wine bottle to crush it. Go with fresh.. It is soo much better than the dried stuff. Its kind of a pain, but well worth it. You can use a zester, but I just use a cheese grater. Just make sure to only use the orange stuff, no white.

Thanks Ryan I'll give the real stuff a try Any special type of orange I should look for? :cross:

BrewCaster said:

Thanks Ryan I'll give the real stuff a try Any special type of orange I should look for? :cross:

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I have used Tangerines and normal oranges. For a wit beer I would just use normal ones. The Tangerines give a sweeter flavor, IMO. You could mix the two up, might make things interesting.

Funny you mention that I was thinking of those or maybe a mandarin because I know they are sweet.

The grain bill looks good. I think most wit recipes hover around 60% wheat. What you do with the over 40% is up to you, but some oatmeal (up to 10%) may help you get the mouthfeel you're after.

If you're mixing citrus zests, I like to either do lemon-lime or orange-grapefruit. They're close enough so that they overlap and make it taste more complex.

Another option is to toast your coriander on the stove before adding it. Basically you put a pan on the range, preferably one that has no non-stick properties, with no oil in it. And you put your coriander in the pan and let them toast in the pan until they quiver. A little smoke is fine but if the kitchen starts filling up with smoke you've gone too far and should start over. It brings out the essential oils of the spices and hence gives a more robust flavor than using them plain.

Hmmmm never thought of toasting it. Thanks for the ideas.

If you're using fresh orange peel i'd go an once, 1/2 ounce dried.

This is one time where fresh makes the difference. I've zested mandarin oranges, blood oranges, grapefruit, clementine, etc.

I would probably move the orange addition down to 10 or 5, as it's really easy to cook out the flavor and aroma by leaving it in for a long time.

I just made my first and 2nd batch of all grain saisons and experienced some interesting flavor developments. I used a mix of brett, sacc and bacterial culture with citrus zest, lemongrass and corriander (whole, crushed, non-toasted). My beer has a pleasing celery taste, but one considered out of style by BJCP. It tastes awesome and smelled better in the fermentor. Should I have toasted the corriander, used less, boiled less, etc? I'm trying to AVOID the blue-moon-coriander-tea-effect.

Aspera said:

I'm trying to AVOID the blue-moon-coriander-tea-effect.

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My main objection to blue moon is that it's too sweet and completely thrown off balance by fruit notes (wit should be more subtle). Granted I haven't had it in a few years, but I remember it being sickly sweet. If that's part of your objection to it, dropping your mash temperature should help avoid that and produce a more continental-style beer.

And you should be able to reduce coriander flavor by using a different yeast or by fermenting at a lower temperature. Or using less coriander in the recipe (it's pretty potent stuff).

I don't know how much water you boil, but you should look into the late addition method to keep the color of your Wit light.

homebrewer_99 said:

I don't know how much water you boil, but you should look into the late addition method to keep the color of your Wit light.

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I'd like to keep it light. Please explain a little more when you say late addition.

Thanks

I'm making a Witbier tomorrow with the following Ingredients:
4.5 lb Belgian 2-row
4.0 lb Flaked Wheat
0.5 lb Wheat
1 oz Goldings, East Kent (UK)
.75 oz Coriander
.75 oz Orange Peel
White Labs WLP400 (WitBier)

BrewCaster said:

I'd like to keep it light. Please explain a little more when you say late addition.

Thanks

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This is simply waiting to add the bulk of your malt extract until the last 15 min. of the boil. The longer one boils extracts, the darker the color gets.

pjj2ba said:

This is simply waiting to add the bulk of your malt extract until the last 15 min. of the boil. The longer one boils extracts, the darker the color gets.

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Sounds good. Thanks

Now as far as the boil times etc. Please share your opinions for the following ingredients:

6 1/2 lbs of 65% wheat 35% barley malt extract
.75oz Corriander
.50oz Bitter orange peel
.50oz Sweet orange peel
1oz Czech Saaz

I'm going to go with the dried orange for this batch I was talking to a professional brewer and he advised me that although using the fresh orange works great there is a chance of head loss or off-taste due to the oil in the peel. I'll give it a try next time. My main concern now is boil times and when to add my spices.

Thanks,

Matt

Boil 2 gals of water and 2 lbs of malt add hops.

Boil 30 mins. Add coriander and orange. Boil 15 mins.

Remove from heat. Add remaining malt and steep for 15 mins.

Top off to 5.25 gals.

I use gal water bottles in the freezer for 4-5 hours prior to brewing to get them icy cold and use it to top off.

Thank you

This is my first time doing an extract brew so I know a lot of people have different opinions on boil times etc. I will give this a shot tonight

I used .75 ounce of coriander, and thought it was pretty good. It's easy to go overboard, and I think if I'd used the full ounce, it might have been too much.

I did the Blue Moon clone recipe, and thought it turned out great, even though it used an Ale yeast with the Belgian. Next time I'm going all Belgian, and see how it differs.

recipe looks good, I agree with reducing the corriander (powerful stuff). You might think about adding .5 - .75 lbs of flaked wheat for head retention and mouth feel. Maybe a half pound of caravienne or a light crystal (like 20 or 30) just to add some complexity, but that would just be optional. Also, a plane zester works wonders, but I have had great results with a ribbon zester. seems to keep more of the essential oils in the peel.

If you want a real burst of citrus flavor, dry hop with .5oz cascade or a little less simcoe. (simcoe creates strong grapefruit like aromas when used to dry hop, but use sparingly, it's power stuff)

Thanks guys I definitely wanted to reduce the spice I read way to much of people overpowering their batches. Now how about some opinions on boiling times when to add my extract etc. Homebrewer99 posted some great info, Id like to hear some more.

Thanks

I would say late extract addition really depends on the size of you're boil. If you are doing full boils then it really isn't necessarry. If you are doing 2-3 gallon boils, go ahead and try it. When I first started, I did 3 gallon boils and added all sugars before the boil. I never really had a problem, but there are many who say they do notice a big difference, so, go ahead and try it. either way, it sounds like a tasty brew.

Since this is my first time brewing this recipe I'm doing a 5 gal batch then making adjustment's. If things turn out well I'll do a bigger batch next time. Once again thanks for all the help this forum rock! :rockin:

My fermentation took off great just about 30 hours after pitching my yeast. I have had the Wit in my primary for a week now with light signs off activity still. What is the typical span of time I can expect my Wit to stay in the primary before I rack it?

Anyone have any insight on how long I can expect to see activity? I've never seen a beer ferment for so long, then again this is my first belgium beer.

My last wit was bubblin away for about 15 days.

I believe it. I racked to my secondary last night and within a few hours I was at high krausen again My gravity is at 1.021 at 73 degree's. The Wit had a pleasant aroma already and after tasting it I can say I think my spice's balanced out very well. I plan on leaving the Wit in my secondary for 2 weeks then racking to my keg.

BrewCaster said:

I believe it. I racked to my secondary last night and within a few hours I was at high krausen again.

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You should always wait until your beer is done before racking to secondary IMO. If you had a krausen in secondary, the beer was not finished. In primary, gently swirl the wort once or twice a day to keep yeast active. Always best to leave your beer on the primary yeast until it's finished!