Northern Brewer kit, Belgium Wit.
Wyeast #3944 Belgian Witbier Yeast
6.3 lbs. Wheat Malt Syrup
1 oz. Saaz (60 min)
1 oz. Coriander Seed (11 min)
1 oz. Bitter Orange Peel (1 min)
1 oz. Freshly ground Ginger root (6min) * my tweak to the recipe
*Papazians book said that you could use 1/2 - 4 oz of fresh ginger for 10-15 min, I cut that back, didnt want to make it too extreme.
My mistakes:
1 - I used too much water, I thought I was at 5.5 gallons but clearly had just under 6 gallons in by bottling bucket. Know will mark off carboy at the exact point of 5 and 5.5 G.
2 - Might have scorched my LME because it came out dark amber in color. Could also be that the extract was old (1 year). I was sitting on the kit for a year before actually getting the brew supplies. I replaced my yeast and hops but didnt think about the extract.
3 - Didnt take an initial gravity reading
Lessons learned:
Mark my carboy properly
Buy a thief, siphoning hose is too messy for taking readings
The color is a bit darker (copper colored) than what I would like it to be but I'll mess around with the late extract methods when I make my Wheat or IPA later on.
End Results:
You have to love making beer its so forgiving.
I sampled a bottle from my first batch 2 nights ago, wasnt fully carbonated but the taste was good. It was just a slight bit watery (Dohh!), the ginger was a nice addition to the flavors, you can tell its there on the first sip but it doesnt linger. Definitely think adding some grains to it would make it better.
Should I avoid the sediment in the bottom of the bottles, this was in a secondary for a week or embrace them because its a wheat beer?
Wyeast #3944 Belgian Witbier Yeast
6.3 lbs. Wheat Malt Syrup
1 oz. Saaz (60 min)
1 oz. Coriander Seed (11 min)
1 oz. Bitter Orange Peel (1 min)
1 oz. Freshly ground Ginger root (6min) * my tweak to the recipe
*Papazians book said that you could use 1/2 - 4 oz of fresh ginger for 10-15 min, I cut that back, didnt want to make it too extreme.
My mistakes:
1 - I used too much water, I thought I was at 5.5 gallons but clearly had just under 6 gallons in by bottling bucket. Know will mark off carboy at the exact point of 5 and 5.5 G.
2 - Might have scorched my LME because it came out dark amber in color. Could also be that the extract was old (1 year). I was sitting on the kit for a year before actually getting the brew supplies. I replaced my yeast and hops but didnt think about the extract.
3 - Didnt take an initial gravity reading
Lessons learned:
Mark my carboy properly
Buy a thief, siphoning hose is too messy for taking readings
The color is a bit darker (copper colored) than what I would like it to be but I'll mess around with the late extract methods when I make my Wheat or IPA later on.
End Results:
You have to love making beer its so forgiving.
I sampled a bottle from my first batch 2 nights ago, wasnt fully carbonated but the taste was good. It was just a slight bit watery (Dohh!), the ginger was a nice addition to the flavors, you can tell its there on the first sip but it doesnt linger. Definitely think adding some grains to it would make it better.
Should I avoid the sediment in the bottom of the bottles, this was in a secondary for a week or embrace them because its a wheat beer?