Looking for a great Spring Brew

[rcboelter]

I just made the jump to all-grain brewing and I'm looking for a good Spring brew. I really want to make something similar to Sam Adams Alpine Spring / Blue Moon. I found a few good belgian white recipes here on the forum. They look really good including the Austin Homebrew Blue moon clone, Saison Furtif, Blue Balls Belgian Wit. Some of those are partial mash recipes but I want to truly do all grain/wheat haha. I'm planning on gathering the ingredients on Saturday so I can have it ready asap. Thanks in advance.

Here is what I have thus far straight from the Austin Brew:


Ingredients:
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 50.0 %
3.00 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 30.0 %
1.00 lb Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 10.0 %
1.00 lb White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 10.0 %
0.50 oz Cascade [6.90%] (45 min) Hops 10.0 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [6.90%] (10 min) Hops 3.9 IBU
0.18 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
0.18 oz Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
0.35 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Belgian Wit Ale (White Labs #WLP400) Yeast-Wheat

Mash Profile
Name: Double Infusion, Medium Body
Mash Grain Weight: 10.00 lb
Grain Temperature: 72.0 F S
parge Temperature: 168.0 F
Sparge Water: 3.79 gal

Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Protein Rest Add 10.00 qt of water at 131.1 F 122.0 F 30 min
Saccrification Add 7.00 qt of water at 208.0 F 154.0 F 30 min
Mash Out Direct Heat to 168.0 F over 2 min 168.0 F 10 min

I am thinking about switching out the Cascade aroma for Citra as they are available here and I like them.

Among other pointers, any advice for maybe eliminating the oats and adding in a little Vienna malt or other? Again, Thank you all in advance.

Ryan

 

[aseg]

Looks solid, and a cascade/citra combo would be pretty awesome. I agree that you should 86 the oats, but there is no need for vienna. You have a pretty solid recipe going.

 

[tre9er]

Check out BierMuncher's Blue Balls Wit. Pretty tried-and-true. If you use a witbier yeast, ferment higher and drink it younger it comes out more like Hoegaarden. Mash extra thin with flaked grains (more water). They get all kinds of gummy. You might want to try a rest in the 130's for 10 minutes using flaked grains.

Nilo has one that's supposed to be almost exactly like Blue Moon, #4 here:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=18cgDc_7Ke-dDnZhwp_E-ZM77zIn1-GFr5_oD_bTa6ESTJI3Hhibmptv8CudC

 

[rcboelter]

Thanks for the advice guys. I brewed this yesterday and can't wait to see how it turns out. I did switch out some of the hops and upped the bittering content; I prefer a more bitter wit but that is just personal preference. I am using witbier yeast, so how high should I primary ferment? I'll upload the new recipe in the right forum thread and post the link here when it's uploaded. Thanks again

- Ryan

 

[BOBTHEukBREWER]

Iwas going to suggest doubling the hop amounts, but you seem to have addressed this.

 

[tre9er]

Thanks for the advice guys. I brewed this yesterday and can't wait to see how it turns out. I did switch out some of the hops and upped the bittering content; I prefer a more bitter wit but that is just personal preference. I am using witbier yeast, so how high should I primary ferment? I'll upload the new recipe in the right forum thread and post the link here when it's uploaded. Thanks again

- Ryan

If you want more banana esters, high 70's. Cleaner beer, nearer 70.

 

[rcboelter]

First off thanks again for the advice.

Second, here is the link to the final recipe:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f71/mountain-blew-belgian-wit-310385/

Third, I used WLP400 Belgian Wit Yeast and it has been in the primary for 10 days now and I have two questions. I left over the weekend for a trip (I know, how horrible am I to leave one of my baby brews all by itself) and the temperature changed somewhat from about 74 to about 66. How much will that period of change affect the fermentation? It was still in the yeast's range according to White Lab's website.

Next question, how long should I continue to leave it in the primary? I let the usual high activity settle down but can't decide if it is worth transferring to a secondary? If I leave it in the primary (or transfer to the secondary) when can I expect to bottle or keg this brew? I'll attach a couple of pictures if that helps. (Early Picture is the one from the left of the carboy and that was the day after pitching. Late Picture is from today and is more centered.)

Thanks,

-Ryan