Belgian White
Our thirst-quenching wheat beer is a authentic rendition of this classic style. While the wheat has a mild flavor, the coriander, bitter Curacao, and Belgian yeast give it its distinctive taste. The wheat malt extract imparts a cloudy pale gold color, topped with a light frothy head.
Ingredients
8 lb. Alexander's Wheat Malt Extract (2 cans)
1 oz. Tettnang Hops (Bittering)
1 oz. Crushed Coriander (Finishing)
½ oz. Bitter Curacao (Orange Peel) (Finishing)
Wyeast # 3944 Belgian White Yeast
Procedure
Before starting, make sure your liquid yeast will be ready to add to the beer. Plan on putting your fermenter where the temperature is within the temperature range listed on the Wyeast yeast package.
Soak the cans of malt extract in hot water for 20-30 minutes so that the syrup will be easier to pour.
Put 1 1/2 gallons of water in your kettle and bring to boil.
Right before the water starts to boil, remove the kettle from heat and add the cans of malt extract. Keep the kettle off the burner and stir until the malt extract is completely dissolved.
Put the pot back on the burner and bring it to a boil. Avoid messy boil-overs by reducing heat or momentarily removing the pot from heat. Once boiling commences, add the bittering hops (if using whole hops or plug hops place in a muslin bag) and boil for 1 hour (set a timer).
50 minutes from when the boil started, add the coriander and Curacao.
After 60 minutes of boiling, turn off the heat.
If you are using whole hops or plug hops remove hops from the kettle, cover your pot and cool in an ice bath (use your sink) for 20 minutes.
After the wort (stuff in your pot) is cool, add 2 gallons of water to sanitized fermenter, add the cooled wort (if using pelletized hops pour through a sanitized strainer), and top up fermenter with additional water to bring total volume to 5 gallons.
Take hydrometer reading (optional).
When the temperature of your wort and fermenter is below 78º F (check your stick-on thermometer strip) add yeast. When using liquid yeast make sure you sanitize the yeast package and scissors.
Bottle when fermentation is complete.
This is my complete recipie...If i was brewing this again to the people who have not done this yet. I would probobly add 1/2 oz of corriander crushed. you will see when you mash it with a rolling pin...also i would use prolly 1/4 oz corraco...I think that should get you with a "lighter" orange taste and corraco taste. mine is overwhelming. I may also add some rice solids to lighten the color as well. Also think (if you drink hoegaarden with a lemon) maybe adding some fresh cut lemon to the primary. Also i would NOT use a secondary for this brew. You want **some** yeast on the bottom of your bottles it does make a difference and i like it that way.
Eric
Eric