Added sweetness for a Belgian wit?

Hi everyone,

Drinking my first beer, a belgian wit. Overall, it's a workable beer, and I'm happy to have it. I'd say three things are "wrong" with it, two of which--dark color from early LME addition and a lack of spice flavor from poorly-crushed and probably old spices--I already have an idea how to fix.

The third, however, I don't quite know: how do I make the beer a bit more sweet? Not a lot, just a bit more to round out the flavor and balance the beer. Can folks map out the options for increasing sweetness to one's beer? I get the sense it's not just "add a bunch of sugar," as I assume this just leads to more ABV due to fermentation?

Thanks.

You're right about adding most sugars - it ferments out and actually leaves you with a drier product.

You could experiment with lactose (milk sugar), which doesn't ferment out at all.

You could try adding 8oz of Crystal 10L - this would add some residual sweetness without affecting the color very much. It might lend too much of a caramel flavor, though, and I don't think this belongs in a wit.

What yeast are you using? You could experiment with a lower attenuating yeast, which would leave more residual sugars in the beer. This can also lead to a fuller mouthfeel, which isn't something I want in a wit.

I agree that I don't want too full of a mouthfeel, but it just tasted a bit too dry. I think I may also have overcarbonated the beer, which might emphasize dryness over balance. Thanks for the Crystal 10 suggestion, that's very useful to keep in mind.

rtb178 said:

I think I may also have overcarbonated the beer, which might emphasize dryness over balance.

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I've made this same mistake before - too much carbonation lends a bitterness (or maybe a bite) that would definitely counteract whatever sweetness you have.

Don't forget you can mash at a higher temp to leave more unfermentable sugars in the end.

sfrisby said:

Don't forget you can mash at a higher temp to leave more unfermentable sugars in the end.

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exactly. The higher temp you mash your grain at the less fermentable the sugars you're extracting. I see LME in your post - are you doing any grain with this or is it all extract?

brycelarson said:

exactly. The higher temp you mash your grain at the less fermentable the sugars you're extracting. I see LME in your post - are you doing any grain with this or is it all extract?

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It was my first brew, so it was a combination of LME and DME. A week ago, I made an IPA with only late addition DME (to a 3.5 gallon partial boil); I did this to avoid excessive coloration. I'm thinking about going to BIAB in order to make something for the winter (either a Belgian tripel or a Belgian Strong Dark), though that's a topic for another post.

rtb178 said:

I'm thinking about going to BIAB in order to make something for the winter (either a Belgian tripel or a Belgian Strong Dark), though that's a topic for another post.

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I agree it's a topic for another post. However...

You should consider trying a partial mash first. It probably won't require any new equipment. For a little research, you get to learn the basics of all grain without any detrimental consequences if something goes wrong.

I don't think of wits as particularly sugar-sweet beers. There's usually some elements that give a perception of sweetness. Normally you see some oats in the recipe, which add some silky texture to it and adds to the perception of sweetness. There's also usually coriander and other spices giving it a sweet taste but not necessarily a sugary sweetness. I'd look at making a spice adjustment first.

If this is your first brew, I'd say you probably need to work on process vs recipe. Being able to consistently reproduce a beer is not something most beginning brewers can do and those variations can easily be larger than small recipe tweaks. eg a couple degrees on your fermentation temp can make a HUGE difference with most belgian yeasts.

billl said:

If this is your first brew, I'd say you probably need to work on process vs recipe. Being able to consistently reproduce a beer is not something most beginning brewers can do and those variations can easily be larger than small recipe tweaks. eg a couple degrees on your fermentation temp can make a HUGE difference with most belgian yeasts.

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That makes sense. I was really wondering for my own edification rather than any desire to make a change to the recipe. It's interesting to hear what people use to add more body/sweetness, etc. to a beer style. If I want to brew a belgian, I definitely need to think about how to start the fermentation at a lower temperature (even though it will slowly rise to basically room temp.).

Thanks everyone.

Another thing you may want to try is to use a little less hops for bitterness. As someone else mentioned the higher the carbonation the more bitter a beer can taste. Did you let it warm up, and swirl it while drinking? If so, did it get sweeter?

I whole heartedly agree with the posters that said process and fermentation temp. Those two things can have a gigantic effect on the finished product. With that said, you could add a bit (more) of sweet orange peel. There are two places to add the orange peel and other spices. 1. Near the end of the boil. or 2. In secondary or after fermentation has subsided. I prefer to add orange peel during the boil and spices in secondary.