brewing my first Belgian Witbier today ?

[chaos2984]

like it says im brewing my first beer with special additions to the brew today besides hops. Anything i should be looking out for or anything when adding the orange peel or the corriander to the brew in the final 10 min. Also im using a wyeast smack pack belgian ale yeast. Also any special temp i should keep it at when fermenting.

Thanks

 

[beergolf]

What yeast are you using? That will determine ferment temp.

 

[aiptasia]

Congrats. Witbiers are wonderful on warm spring and summer days.

There's really nothing you should be watching out for other than maybe the hot break so your boil kettle doesn't overflow. If you're using a big enough kettle and paying attention to what you're doing, this should be fine. The addition of the adjuncts is for aroma and flavoring and bring out the character of witbiers very nicely.

I'd use the recommended temperature range on the smack pack when fermenting this one. Belgian ale yeasts are usually pretty highly attenuating and do fine in the 65-75 f degree range. Follow the instructions on the smack pack and mix the yeast and starter solution together ahead of time.

 

[chaos2984]

its a belgian ale yeast from Wyeast

Also I was wondering if i could add some fresh zest from some fresh orange peels in addition to the dried orange peel that it came with. I want that orange aroma to really come threw

 

[beergolf]

They make a lot of Belgian ale yeasts.

Here look up which yeast you are using on the Wyeast site......

http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain.cfm

I usually like to pitch at the low end of the temp range and slowly let the temp rise.

 

[chaos2984]

its number 3944

 

[beergolf]

its number 3944

The recommended range for that yeast is 62-75 degrees. Pitch it in the low 60's and then when it starts to ferment the temp will rise. Do you have a way to control temps?

 

[chaos2984]

well the fermentation room i use stays about 65-68 all the time.

What you think about adding extra orange peel

 

[aiptasia]

It's fine, you can add some extra orange peel to the wort. Add it at the same time as the dried bitter orange peel. A nice clementine or mandarin orange would probably do fine.

Now, as the beer ferments, it's going to go up in temperature above the ambient conditions in your room. It should be fine at those temperatures, but if the beer winds up having a lot of fruity flavors like banana and raisin, those are ester alcohols that are produced when yeasts ferments a little too warmly.

Although, in a witbier, this might be a desireable thing.

 

[chaos2984]

should i add the clementine peel to the boil or add it when i put it in the fermentation bucket

 

[ScoRas]

The idea of adding some orange zest (grated peel) just came to mind. I think that would really give you a strong citrus flavor. Of course, see if anyone tried it first!

 

[chaos2984]

well i tried to zest it and it wouldnt zest very well just mushed the fruit so i just peeled it and ate it and just sliced up the peel a little.

 

[ScoRas]

oops, i missed the post where you mentioned using zest. I'm putting a belgian witbeer (partial mash) into my queue, inspired by this thread.

 

[gavball6]

My second batch was a Witbier and I just drank a bottle last night... It is definitely green right now, but it is still really great. Lots of citrus, wheatiness with a spicy finish from the coriander. In another couple weeks it will be awesome!

Good luck with yours... I am sure it will be great... For what it's worth, I fermented in the low-mid 60's and left in primary for three full weeks before bottling.

 

[passedpawn]

Wit's are pretty easy to make and almost always end up excellent. I've made a few.

Get a zesting tool from local kitchen store, costs about a buck. The zest from one large orange is perfect for a 5g batch. I use neighborhood oranges. The white part of the peel, under the orange skin, is the pith, and is bitter. It's recommended not to use this, but I'll bet it does not have much effect if you do.

I'm making a kumquat wit next wkend. I have a kumquat tree that is bearing some serious fruit right now.

 

[chaos2984]

yea sounds good. i took a clemintine orange peel and diced it up and added it to the last 10min of the boil along with the dried orange peel it came with.

I have it fermenting at the mid 60's the yeast says best results are 65-72 range Everything seems to be going good. Fermentation started about 6 hours after pitching and is going full bore now.

 

[SwillyBilly]

I brewed a Wit on January 1. I forgot to add any orange peel or spices. Though I did use about 0.75 lbs of flaked oats and I feel like that gave it a nice creamy mouth feel.

 

[chaos2984]

yea i really want that blue moon taste. My gf really perfers that kind of been and i like it as well