Witbier Blue Balls Belgian Wit (Blue Moon Clone)

[NitrogenWidget]

Brewed 10 more gallons today. Here is my last batch.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Soon as a Fermenter is open i'll be brewing 10 gallons of this.
I have some Arcadian hops I grew last yr that give you an orange tangerine flavor/aroma with dry hopping.
no idea on AA% but supposed to be 9%.
Think I'll toss an oz in for the 60 min since I have no east kent gold.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

So I brewed up 10 gallons of this on the 13th.
so been in the fermenter a week and a few days.
changed it slightly to be less shock top with an orange and more bluemoonish without the orange.

10 lbs of pale.
10lbs torrified wheat.
1 oz of first gold at the 60 min. mark.
1 oz of first gold at 5 mins.
1 oz of bitter orange peel 5 mins.
1 oz of coriander seed run through a coffee mill gently at 5 mins.

T-58 yeast at 64 F.

OG was 1.042
FG 1.002.

way lower than expected. I mashed in at 156 to try and avoid too dry a beer.
It tastes like a wheat beer with a bit of spiciness and a hint of orange.
the spice flavor lingers in my mouth.
which is what I was trying for in a fall beer.
So the yeast did what it was supposed to.

gonna bring the temp up to 70 and give it a few more days in the fermenter then get it kegged.

 

[Jayjay1976]

So I brewed up 10 gallons of this on the 13th.
so been in the fermenter a week and a few days.
changed it slightly to be less shock top with an orange and more bluemoonish without the orange.

10 lbs of pale.
10lbs torrified wheat.
1 oz of first gold at the 60 min. mark.
1 oz of first gold at 5 mins.
1 oz of bitter orange peel 5 mins.
1 oz of coriander seed run through a coffee mill gently at 5 mins.

T-58 yeast at 64 F.

OG was 1.042
FG 1.002.

way lower than expected. I mashed in at 156 to try and avoid too dry a beer.
It tastes like a wheat beer with a bit of spiciness and a hint of orange.
the spice flavor lingers in my mouth.
which is what I was trying for in a fall beer.
So the yeast did what it was supposed to.

gonna bring the temp up to 70 and give it a few more days in the fermenter then get it kegged.

Sounds delicious! Can't wait to see a pic of the first pint!

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Sounds delicious! Can't wait to see a pic of the first pint!

just kegged it.
initial thoughts are it's super crush-able and has a surprisingly pleasant orange character to it without it being the focus like the original recipe.
it subtlety finishes with a hint of spice that lingers on the tip of your tongue.
it is warm and flat and really cloudy though so things change after a few days of carbonation and chilling.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

So I let some friends sample it. Everyone said it needed more orange and spice. So I boiled up a half oz of orange peel and crushed coriander seeds In 2 cups of water for 5 mins. Tossed in the French press. Then dumped that in the keg. Gave it a few mins to mix and let them sample again. Got the thumbs up.

So it looks like all I really did was change the yeast and the hops. Orange + coriander amounts were pretty much spot on from original.
shouldn't of tried to mess with perfection.

 

[NewJersey]

666

Reply of the beast!

I'm planning to brew this soon. Might go with a different yeast. Any suggestions?

 

[evolutionary]

Should I try to make a "dry hop" with another 1 oz of coriander and 1 oz of orange peels ? Maybe this time I will mill the orange as well. How do I sanitize the spices?
Thank you !

Did you try the dry hop option? I just brewed this yesterday and its bubbling away but wondering if I'll need more orange or coriander flavor.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Did you try the dry hop option? I just brewed this yesterday and its bubbling away but wondering if I'll need more orange or coriander flavor.

I go an oz of each for orange and coriander to make it pop and will sometimes make an orange peel tea to add if more is needed.
i don't dry hop this.
everyone loves it and it goes quick.
but i have a new 25 gallon pot so i should be able to biab up 15 gallons of this so i have spare kegs.
it goes down fast when i have people over plus i can drink it most of the day on the weekend.

 

[Shenanigans]

plus i can drink it most of the day on the weekend.

That make me laugh

 

[NitrogenWidget]

I'm looking to experiment with some lemon and pineapple wheats.
since i have a lot of torrified wheat on hand (bought to make lots of this )
thinking I'll just use this grain bill as the base for them.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Brewing another 10 today.
i'd do 15 but i'm out of room in my ferm chamber.
using T-58 yeast.
didn't have enough torrified wheat so sub'd in 3lbs of red wheat.
shouldn't make a huge difference.

 

[ChiknNutz]

I brewed a Blue Moon Clone using a different recipe a few months ago and found the overall flavor profile quite underwhelming (5G packaged). Although I used 1.5 oz of orange peel and 0.6 oz of coriander, neither of those flavors came thru. I used Hallertau Blanc as that's the closest hop I had and find it imparts an Earl Grey tea flavor...which is not bad but certainly different than Blue Moon.

5.5# Briess 2-Row Pale Malt 2L
4.5# Briess White Wheat Malt 2.5L
1.5# Flaked Oats 1.5L
1.0 oz Hallertau Blanc Hops (last 40 mins of boil)
0.6 oz Ground Coriander (last 10 mins of boil)
1.5 oz Valencia Sweet Orange Peel (last 10 mins of boil)
Safale S-04 English Ale

 

[rtstrider]

I brewed a Blue Moon Clone using a different recipe a few months ago and found the overall flavor profile quite underwhelming (5G packaged). Although I used 1.5 oz of orange peel and 0.6 oz of coriander, neither of those flavors came thru. I used Hallertau Blanc as that's the closest hop I had and find it imparts an Earl Grey tea flavor...which is not bad but certainly different than Blue Moon.

5.5# Briess 2-Row Pale Malt 2L
4.5# Briess White Wheat Malt 2.5L
1.5# Flaked Oats 1.5L
1.0 oz Hallertau Blanc Hops (last 40 mins of boil)
0.6 oz Ground Coriander (last 10 mins of boil)
1.5 oz Valencia Sweet Orange Peel (last 10 mins of boil)
Safale S-04 English Ale

The problem with the recipe is you're using spices in the boil. How do you make tea? Would you throw a tea bag in boiling water and let it continue to boil for 10 minutes or would you throw it in after the water has been removed from the heat source (flame out)? I had the same issues and consulted with a buddy of mine with over 20 years of head Chef experience. That is exactly what he said and he's not a brewer. I tried that and the spices finally came through. Give that a shot

 

[hout17]

The problem with the recipe is you're using spices in the boil. How do you make tea? Would you throw a tea bag in boiling water and let it continue to boil for 10 minutes or would you throw it out after the water has been removed from the heat source (flame out)? I had the same issues and consulted with a buddy of mine with over 20 years of head Chef experience. That is exactly what he said and he's not a brewer. I tried that and the spices finally came through. Give that a shot

I absolutely agree with this I used Wayne's recipe but threw in my coriander and sweet orange peel at flameout and the coriander and orange definitely came through very well.

 

[rtstrider]

I absolutely agree with this I used Wayne's recipe but threw in my coriander and sweet orange peel at flameout and the coriander and orange definitely came through very well.

The chef said when you boil spices it flashes off all the oils and such that you're looking to keep in the "tea". If you steep it the oils are retained. HUGE difference since I started doing this

 

[ChiknNutz]

Not knowing any better, I just followed the OP (Wayne's) recipe which indicated to put those ingredients in for the last 10 minutes of the boil. Now i know.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

I've always run my coriander and orange peel through a coffee grinder when i make this and never had any issues with the flavor when tossing it in last 5 mins. of the boil.

so, I brewed 10 gallons of this on wed the 7th.
used t-58 at 65 deg.
it's currently at 1.010.
i need this for sat the 17th. lol.
For some reason thought i had more time.
I upped the temp in my ferm chamber so i'm hoping it can finish out in a few days and i'll have a few days to burst carb the keg then transfer to a new keg for transport.


what i like about this beer is that it has a fast turnaround time and it's cool it's cloudy because so is shocktop/bluemoon.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

my kegs are empty. busy summer. decided I'm going to brew up 20 gallons in one shot then split it off into 4 different beers.
#1 the OG blueballs wit.

#2 Grains of paradise, lemon zest, and some hallertauer dry hop. ( same adams summer spices)

#3 Blueberry with 3lbs of frozen blueberries as a secondary and flavoring if needed. this one needs to get sorbated to keep the yeast from fermenting out the blueberry flavor.

#4 crystalized mango, smoked Habanero powder, and a small citra dry hop. these are home grown peppers, smoked with cherry wood and ground to dust. hot as hell so only a little bit. mainly just going for hints of flavor.

making a big starter with Jovaru yeast.
OYL-033 Lithuanian farmhouse.
i don't have temp control right now and this yeast doesn't need it plus they say it makes a great wit.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

so i brewed this with pils malt and red wheat flour from the grocery store. also 2 oz of each. bitter & sweet orange peel plus coriander.
took it to a company picnic and they basically killed a 3 galllon keg. was maybe 4 beers left.
my friends and i finished the rest of the 5 gallon keg i used to fill the 3 gal keg.
will def. use wheat flour going forward.

will admit though, with biab was a tad of a pain to get the wort off the top after i pulled the bag.