Anyone have an easy Hoegaarden/White Beer recipe for a newbie?

[THRobinson]

Hey there, just starting out in brewing... and until now just been doing the basics with a can of Coopers, water, yeast and dextrose. Follow directions, wait and done.

I was looking to do something more like Hoegaarden, or even Rickards White. I have limited resources, as I only have the very basic brew kit, but don't mind buying a few more things so long as people aren't suggesting a $1000 worth of stuff.

I was wondering if anyone had a good basic recipe for a newbie to get his feet wet with before diving into the more complex brewing.

Thanks

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I have been brewing for three years. All grain for 2.75. Just started reading Brewing with wheat and this recipe scares the hell out of me.

Search the recipes for wit or Hoegaarden clone and buy some lactic acid to get close. But, from my reading Hoegaarden doesn;t even resemble Pierre Cellis original concoction. Turns out it's been severly dumbed down over the years.

 

[THRobinson]

I don't want to be scared...

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I don't want to be scared...

Meh. I am looking at traditional/historical practices.

 

[THRobinson]

Ah well... I'm just looking for something to transition with, going from canned more traditional.

I've seen recipes, but... I don't know from looking which would be easier or harder.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Ah well... I'm just looking for something to transition with, going from canned more traditional.

I've seen recipes, but... I don't know from looking which would be easier or harder.

Extract with Lactic Acid doesn't get any easier. Otherwise, look for AG that doesn't involve a sour mash and has a simple grain bill and hop schedule.

 

[itsme6582]

Here's a bunch of recipe's from How to Brew - Palmer. The first one is a wheat beer. Maybe this is fate calling. These should all be pretty easy. If you have any questions you have the whole book to look at as well.

How to Brew

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

I don't want to be scared...

Drinking beer can help with that.

 

[Bob]

Brewing a really spot-on Belgian-style Wit is almost impossible without mashing. That said, you can get pretty close with your standard procedure and setup.

Here's an easy recipe that'll at least remind you of Witbier:

1 1.5kg tin of Coopers Wheat Beer "beer kit"
2 lbs Wheat Dry Malt Extract (DME)
1 ounce Saaz or Hallertau or Tettnang hops
1 ounce package Bitter Orange Peel
1 ounce Coriander Seed
2 grams Paradise Seed
1 sachet Brewferm Blanche yeast

(You probably can't order from the links provided but I wanted you to know what the products looked like for when you go to get ingredients)

Procedure:

1. Bring at least 2 gallons of water to boil. Remove from heat, stir in DME. Bring back to boil.
2. Add hops. Boil 20 minutes.
3. While boiling, crack coriander and paradise seed roughly in a coffee grinder, mortar & pestle, or in a ziploc bag with your Cooper's tin.
4. Add spices. Continue boiling 10 more minutes.
5. Remove from heat. Cool.
6. When cool pitch yeast.

Follow your normal bottling procedures after fermentation is complete.

Make sense?

Bob

 

[heywolfie1015]

Here is an extract + steeping grains recipe I got from my LHBS when I first started out. SWMBO loved it, and everyone who tried it thought it was pretty damn good. Make sure you lightly crush the coriander seed to get the spicy essence out. (The way I did it was to just put the seeds in a ziplock bag and take a rolling pin to them.)

The honey dries this out pretty good, but takes a while to ferment out completely. Expect about 2 weeks for primary and then the 2-3 weeks for bottle carbonation. (Since this is a wit, you don't need to let it clear up.)

Cheers.

 

[THRobinson]

Hey thanks guys... and wow, Coopers makes a wheat? Never seen it for sale before but checking the Coopers site and yup, not only a wheat but a Ginger Beer kit which I'm keenly eyeing up as well. If Coopers did Rootbeer too I'd be even happier.

 

[Bob]

Witbier is really all about yeast and spices.

You need a dedicated Wit yeast. Brewferm Blanche is okay, but if you can get a packet of Wyeast or vial of White Labs Belgian Wit yeast, it'll be even better.

Without the specific yeast and spices, you'll have a decent wheat beer, but not Wit.

When the time comes for you to switch to all-grain, then you can really dig into brewing Wit.

Bob