I brewed a Hoegaarden Clone this weekend using Wyeast 3944 Belgian Wit yeast. I made a 1.4 liter starter 4 days ahead to prep for my brew day. Everything went well with the brew session, but I'm honestly lost on what temperature to ferment at. I pitched at 70 and set the temp controller to 69. I held that temperature for 24hrs, then set the controller to 70. After 48hrs, I set the controller to 71 and plan to leave it there until I'm ready to keg.
I guess my confusion is because I'm not too familiar with Hoegaarden or Wyeast 3944. My searches for optimal temperature returned such varying results. Some say they get great results in the 60's and others say it's too clean at low temp and needs to hit the 70's to get some decent flavors (banana and clove). While banana and clove sound good, it may not be appropriate for Hoegaarden. I've had Hoegaarden before, but it's been years so I can't recall what it tastes like.
Forgive me if it sounds ridiculous brewing a beer that I can't remember, but I recall that I liked it and wanted to try something new. Most of my brews are IPAs, pale ales, and English ales.
Is my temperature choice okay, or did I make a poor choice? I'm interested in what others would have done. Thanks.
I guess my confusion is because I'm not too familiar with Hoegaarden or Wyeast 3944. My searches for optimal temperature returned such varying results. Some say they get great results in the 60's and others say it's too clean at low temp and needs to hit the 70's to get some decent flavors (banana and clove). While banana and clove sound good, it may not be appropriate for Hoegaarden. I've had Hoegaarden before, but it's been years so I can't recall what it tastes like.
Forgive me if it sounds ridiculous brewing a beer that I can't remember, but I recall that I liked it and wanted to try something new. Most of my brews are IPAs, pale ales, and English ales.
Is my temperature choice okay, or did I make a poor choice? I'm interested in what others would have done. Thanks.
