Help with Belgian witbier

[sciwife2007]

I use a belgian witbier recipe kit from Midwest Supplies but am not completely satisfied with the end result.....The kit comes with dried orange peel and a little bag of coriander. It tastes okay but I was expecting something closer to a Hoegaarden or Blue Moon and it's nothing like that.

Should I try using freesh orange peel and coriander or should I use the dried and use twice as much?

Thanks for any help!

 

[tagz]

Personally, I think the dried bitter orange tastes gross. Its traditional but I'm not a fan. I successively lowered my quantity of bitter orange over the course of my first three wits. Now I don't use any at all. I also lowered my coriander as well. Indian coriander provides a nice flavor, but ime if you use over .5 oz it masks other flavors. I started adding a small dose of fresh ginger to mine, which provides a nice spice to the background. But again, use sparingly. In the end you'll get the best flavor from using a solid yeast (400/3944) and getting it to ferment from 68-74 degrees.