Belgian Wit Recipe Questions

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I am in the planning stage of doing a Belgian Wit that I purchased from AHS. I have a couple of questions.

The recipe suggests the following:

Steeps 1 lb of White Wheat crushed grains 15 Minutes,

Add 4 1/2 lb of Wheat Extract and Beer Add Pack (24.5 oz of Corn Sugar, Malto Dextrin, and yeast hulls,

Bring to Boil, add 1/2 oz of Cascade and set timer for 30 minutes
After 15 of the 30 minutes add flavor hops i.e. 1/2 oz. Coriander and 1/2 oz of Bitter Orange Peel.
After 25 minutes add aroma hops for last 5 minutes, 1/2 oz of Cascade

1) I have read multiple places that you need to boil for 60 minutes to isomerize the alpha acids in the hops. Why 30 minutes on this recipe?
2)Am I safe adding extra sugars and malto dextrin to my wort? Will it improve my final product?
3) Should I be adding the coriander and orange to the boil or into the secondary after fermentation?

Thanks as always!

 

[zoebisch01]

1) I believe in this case they are basically not taking full advantage of the bittering potential of the hops

2) If you add more sugars to the boil, this will reduce isomerization as hops utilization is a function of boil gravity (for one)

3) You can add the Coriander and Peel to the last 2 minutes of the boil to sterilize it and protect from boiling off the volatile oils/flavor components. I think some people may sterilize them by briefly boiling and then adding to the secondary when cool although both of these approaches will produce different results. I'd be particularly wary of the latter because you have to monitor the strength of the infusion...unless you make a tea and add that rather than the Coriander and the peel.

 

[cweston]

2) Adding sugar increases fermentability and gives a drier product (lower FG) than an all-malt wort of the same gravity. Many Belgian styles use sugar, although I don't think Wit is usually one of them.

3) Many Wit recipes call for orange peel + coriander for about 15 minutes and another addition for about 2 minutes. These ingrediants are always added in the boil, not later in secondary.

Since your kit came from AHS, a place known to sell high-quality kits that make good beer, I'd just follow the instructions. After brewing it once, try it again with tweaks if you want.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I like hoppy beer, but I don't know that I want to stray from the recipe too much. I am fearfull that I will be taking off from a successful outcome and risking a poor one. I don't have enough experimentation under my belt to know better.

 

[zoebisch01]

I like hoppy beer, but I don't know that I want to stray from the recipe too much. I am fearfull that I will be taking off from a successful outcome and risking a poor one. I don't have enough experimentation under my belt to know better.

Keep in mind though, that just because you hoppy beers doesn't necessarily mean you have to shoot for that in all of your brews. Some styles, you really kill what they are all about if you stretch the wrong parameter. Some people might argue with me here, but personally not all beers should be hoppy. Bitterness is one tool to help bring balance. And the flavor and aroma of the hops are used to create dimension. The Wit should have enough dimension on it's own without showcasing the hops. I am not saying it is wrong to do so, just pointing out the obvious. I would agree with cweston's advice and just follow the kit this time around. You kind of answer your own question there though, just hold off until you get familiar with the techniques. It is easy to make good beer if you stay in the boundaries, but once you start playing around you can easily wind up with something not too great if you don't know how one thing affects the other.

 

[chainsawbrewing]

i just did an AHS blue moon clone kit, and it was pretty much exactly what your kit looked like. what i did was follow the directions precisely, other than i put half of the coriander/orange peel in the boil, and the other half in the primary, and left it in the primary when i racked to my secondary. i'm bottling it tonight, so i don't know how it will turn out yet, but i do know when i did a final gravity check last night, i tasted the sample, and the orange/coriander was not overpowering at all, and had the same taste as blue moon, just a bit more watered down, and sweet, probably due to being green still.


brian

 

[zoebisch01]

Keep in mind that the flavors that dominate the profile may dramatically change in conditioning. What you taste standing out today may not necessarily stand out in a few weeks, and visa-versa. If it is a good kit (which it has been indicated it is), then you are most likely garaunteed success. A poor kit would be another story altogether.

 

[sirsloop]

belgian wit is not a hoppy beer... its a light fruity funky brew. If you want a hoppy beer just make an IPA

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Thanks for all the advice guys. The belgian wit is for the wifey I am looking at a IPA next.

 

[Cheesefood]

Belgians are rarely ever hoppy. If you want hops, go for English or American styles.