Can't believe my first batch tastes great!

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billpaustin

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I can't believe my first batch tastes great! It is a Belgian White Beer recipe, and it turned out fine. I got addicted to wheat/white beers after spending some months in Germany/Belgium.

But, the alcohol level was only 4.7%, before bottling. My guess is that it was brewed at too low a temperature, since in the mountains here, it can get to 60 degrees in my house at night (not running the heat). It went for 21 days though.

Is 4.7% a good value for a Belgian White beer? Will it get any higher after being in the bottles for a while? (primed with sugar).

When bottling, it smelled fantastic! And even after just a few days in the bottle, it has enough fizz to really taste good. I can't believe my first batch tastes great! :)
 
Congrats on the good first batch! I had great luck with my first (Vanilla Coffee Stout) and second (IIPA), got the third (Black IPA with bitter chocolate) bottled now.....we'll see about that one, its my first AG, and it didn't go so smooth.....as long as it has alcohol i'll chalk it up as a win.
 
Is 4.7% a good value for a Belgian White beer? Will it get any higher after being in the bottles for a while? (primed with sugar).

Congratulations - I'm glad your first batch turned out so well! My first batch was... eh... okay. :eek: This is surely a sign of promising things to come!

In answer to your question, yes, that's a pretty good ABV for a Belgian Wit. Mine have turned-out basically the same using White Labs WLP400 - Belgian Wit Ale Yeast, which I thought added terrific qualities to my own Wit, I must say.

Also remember that the level of ABV you achieve will have a great deal to do with the amount of malt or other fermentable sugars that you use, so in the future, if you're looking for something a bit higher in ABV and don't mind things a little denser, then just throw in another pound or so of malt extract and it should do the trick. :)

Just noticed that I didn't answer your second question... In answer to the question of will the ABV increase in-bottle, the answer is no. From what I've read, the priming sugar makes virtually no detectable difference in the final ABV in-bottle. But again, 4.7% is more than respectable for a Belgian Wit, so in my opinion, your first batch was plenty successful as is!
 
Same here. My Hefeweizen is a huge hit. I went to a Texas Hold 'Em and beer tasting party this past Saturday. The three other guys there all loved it and so I won at poker and I brought the best beer.

S
After that its gone fast. Everybody is taking a couple bottles. I'm down to 27 after starting with 48. I just brewed a California Common beer for my second batch.
 
I used a Brew Craft Belgian Wit beer kit, using grain. I followed the instructions: boil the grain, cool it off, add stuff and boil some more, add yeast. I used 1/2 the hops, 1/2 the orange peel, and 1/2 of the coriander. I wanted to try for real Belgian style. The French, and also the Americans, tend to add too much spices for my taste.

My water is rainwater, very soft; I used a glass carboy and put it outside to cool off (it's cold here). Then three weeks in the carboy, no secondary; my temperatures range from 60-68, with some low 70's for a short time.

It started at 1.045, and finished at 1.100, which I think is 4.7% (right?). Then it was bottled.

I've spent many lunches in Europe drinking Belgian White beer, and I can't believe this turned out so well! Much better than Blue Moon or Shocktop (American corporate Belgian white beer).

So now I am hooked :) I ordered kegs, another carboy, etc, :) :) It looks like I can brew a better beer than I can buy, and for 1/2 price!

edit: we're at 8,000 feet here, not sure if that makes any difference
 
Congrats! Now that you're hooked there's a whole world of options and techniques... But don't think you're going to save money, not the reason to homebrew! 😄
 
I can't believe my first batch tastes great! It is a Belgian White Beer recipe, and it turned out fine. I got addicted to wheat/white beers after spending some months in Germany/Belgium.

But, the alcohol level was only 4.7%, before bottling.

Pursue the flavor. Concern not yourself about the ABV being just a bit low. IMO, it's so much better to have a really tasty 4.4% ABV brew than one with unpleasant off-flavors and 1-2% higher alcohol content.

Sounds like you did great.
 
Ok, I will admit this. When in Belgium, I tried the "red", "silver" and "gold" beers in the local store. Red was 5%, silver was 10%, and gold was 20%. I can't remember the brand LOL

It was bad. A 20%, 40 proof, beer. In cans.
 
Excellent!

My first batch was a simple American Pale Ale. I have 3 completed drinkable batches under my belt but this one was by far the best.

Beginners luck maybe?
 
Before I went all grain I learned the big "upgrades" to extract brewing that can make extract almost as good, better in some cases.

- full wort boil
- wort chiller
- if liquid yeast, do appropriate starter
- whirlfoc (to clear)
- ferm temp critical! Measure temp of wort not air by taping sensor to fermenter and taping something to insulate over it
- pitch yeast at correct temp into wort at correct temp

All of these apply to AG brewing but usually aren't in the "getting started" instructions with extracts. You can make good beer with extract, great beer with adding these techniques.
 
Before I went all grain I learned the big "upgrades" to extract brewing that can make extract almost as good, better in some cases.

- full wort boil
- wort chiller
- if liquid yeast, do appropriate starter
- whirlfoc (to clear)
- ferm temp critical! Measure temp of wort not air by taping sensor to fermenter and taping something to insulate over it
- pitch yeast at correct temp into wort at correct temp

All of these apply to AG brewing but usually aren't in the "getting started" instructions with extracts. You can make good beer with extract, great beer with adding these techniques.

+1.

May I please add just a bit to the last - If using dry yeast, pitch rehydrated dry yeast at correct temp (within 10*F of wort temp) into wort at correct temp (mid 60's). The percentage of cells that survive introduction into the wort will be much better.

This will likely require that you "attemperate" the yeast slurry before pitching it. Do this by adding small quantities of the cooler wort to it, stirring and letting it sit a few minutes. Repeat until it's within the 10*F window.
 
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