Witbier Imperial Belgian Wit

[pm5k00]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

WLP 410

Yeast Starter

no

Batch Size (Gallons)

5.25

Original Gravity

1.064

Final Gravity

1.015

Boiling Time (Minutes)

60

IBU

18

Color

6

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

14 @ 72F

Tasting Notes

Nice spicy notes from yeast and subtle orange flavor from the warrior hops

Imperial Belgian Wit
Witbier

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (G): 5.25
Total Grain (lb): 11.500
Total Hops (oz): 1.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.064 (°P): 15.7
Final Gravity (FG): 1.016 (°P): 4.1
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 6.29 %
Colour (SRM): 5.4 (EBC): 10.6
Bitterness (IBU): 18.6 (Tinseth)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 75
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
----------------
8.000 lb White Wheat (69.57%)
3.000 lb American 2-Row (26.09%)
0.500 lb Crystal 10 (4.35%)

Hop Bill
----------------
0.50 oz Warrior Pellet (17.2% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil) (0.1 oz/Gal)
0.50 oz Warrior Pellet (17.2% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil) (0.1 oz/Gal)

Misc Bill
----------------

Single step Infusion at 152°F for 75 Minutes.
Fermented at 72°F with WLP410 - Belgian Wit II Ale


Recipe Generated with BrewMate

I hade higher than expected efficiency and beer was at 6.5%. yum.
Taste great, the 410 yeast does a terrific, job use wlp 400 if 410 is not available as its seasonal. I've also brewed this with Summit hops with very similar results. Everyone who's tried this loves it, I even had a friends dad ask if I could make him 6 cases worth

 

[jvcjbl]

Brewed this on 8-7-11. My first all grain batch. OG was 1.067 (74%) and took a sample today (10 days later) WLP410 has the gravity down to 1.014. Activity appears to be done, but I will check it on Friday before racking to secondary.

 

[pm5k00]

Congrats on your first AG batch, hope you like this brew as much as my family and I do. Secondary is not needed (but wont hurt anything), wheat beers taste great young. I let sit up to 14 days in primary, sometimes as little as 7, then keg and serve. Most of my Imperial Wheat batches are drank within 3 weeks of brew date.

 

[jvcjbl]

Congrats on your first AG batch, hope you like this brew as much as my family and I do. Secondary is not needed (but wont hurt anything), wheat beers taste great young. I let sit up to 14 days in primary, sometimes as little as 7, then keg and serve. Most of my Imperial Wheat batches are drank within 3 weeks of brew date.

I was thinking of doing 14 in primary and 14 in secondary as I pretty much do with all my brews. Thoughts?

 

[lumpher]

I was thinking of doing 14 in primary and 14 in secondary as I pretty much do with all my brews. Thoughts?

you can, but no reason except to clear, and a wit should not be clear. 2 weeks in primary is fine

 

[jvcjbl]

you can, but no reason except to clear, and a wit should not be clear. 2 weeks in primary is fine

Really?!?!?! I will have a fresh keg of beer this weekend I will check gravity again Friday and if it is done I will transfer to keg Friday night and it should be drinkable by Sunday. What is the volumes of CO2 recommended for this beer?

 

[pm5k00]

well the normal range is 2.1-2.6 but i personally prefer this particular beer at a volume of 3.

 

[jvcjbl]

well the normal range is 2.1-2.6 but i personally prefer this particular beer at a volume of 3.

2.6 it is. I have my system balanced at that, and honestly carb all my beers at that. I will report more on Friday when I check the gravity again. If it is done, this will be another couple of firsts. My first beer finished under a month... my first beer transferred to keg straight from primary... my first Wit beer... etc. I see lots of good coming from this beer

 

[pm5k00]

I wanted to add that i highly recommend washing and reusing the wlp410, I make a batch of this once every 2 months or so and that's the only way to make this through out the year. The wlp400 is good but i prefer the 410 much better, its more spicy and sweet.

 

[jvcjbl]

This yeast is pretty much disposable to me. The place I buy it from locally had 20 + vials of it and said "we keep it in the back"... LOL

 

[jvcjbl]

I'm at 1.012 now... I am contemplating just kegging tomorrow as it is already well bellow the FG of the recipe.

 

[jvcjbl]

Kegged yesterday around 4pm. First pour today around 3. Forced carbed for about 23 hours. Wasn't expecting miracles, but it will only get better, but it is already fantastic!!

 

[sweetcell]

Time (Minutes): 60

Hop Bill
----------------
0.50 oz Warrior Pellet (17.2% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil) (0.1 oz/Gal)
0.50 oz Warrior Pellet (17.2% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil) (0.1 oz/Gal)

question: no bittering hops? traditionally witbiers only have bittering (60 min) additions, and no flavor or aroma additions. are the 15 & 5 minute additions of high-alpha hops enough for bittering?

and if there is no bittering additions, why are you boiling for 60 minutes? you could just boil for 15 minutes. that's plenty to sanitize the wort.

 

[pm5k00]

question: no bittering hops? traditionally witbiers only have bittering (60 min) additions, and no flavor or aroma additions. are the 15 & 5 minute additions of high-alpha hops enough for bittering?

and if there is no bittering additions, why are you boiling for 60 minutes? you could just boil for 15 minutes. that's plenty to sanitize the wort.

I was going for an American take on a Belgian Wit, I liked the hop flavor and aroma in American Wheats and thought it would do well here too. That is also why I use 2row instead of pilsner, and no orange peel or coriander.

Yes there is plenty of bitterness from the late additions, and you could boil for 15 minutes, but with less boil off your efficiency will take a small hit.

Also I prefer the version with Climax hops ....I mean Summit hops over the Warrior, more flavor.

 

[dumsboa09]

I am planning on brewing this as my first all grain. Any thoughts on zythos hops?

 

[pm5k00]

I am planning on brewing this as my first all grain. Any thoughts on zythos hops?

Should pair well, any citrusy hop would be good.

 

[dumsboa09]

Should pair well, any citrusy hop would be good.

I am brewing this up on Saturday and was curious as to what your pre boil volume was? I appreciate the info.

 

[pm5k00]

I am brewing this up on Saturday and was curious as to what your pre boil volume was? I appreciate the info.

Well it depends on your setup, but for my setup my preboil would be 6.25 gallons.

 

[dumsboa09]

Well it depends on your setup, but for my setup my preboil would be 6.25 gallons.

I'm brewing outside in a keggle. Being that it has been kind of humid due to rain I think that may be sufficient. Thank you for the quick response

 

[dumsboa09]

I'm brewing outside in a keggle. Being that it has been kind of humid due to rain I think that may be sufficient. Thank you for the quick response

Brewed today with an original gravity of 1.054.

 

[mikepenzone]

I like your recipe (I might tweek the grain bill and hop schedule to match what I have), but I am going to infuse about 8 lbs. of fresh strawberries into the wort.

 

[tonymark]

How did that strawberry wit turn out? I did my standard wit this summer with 3944 and took 3 gallons and added 36 ounces of frozen raspberries to secondary (2.5 weeks in primary). I prefer my wits fresh. Carb right out of primary, cool and drink. They turn into more of a light Beligian at 6-10 weeks. At 10 weeks and well carbed the raspberry wit was so refreshing. A summer drinker for sure. Almost soda like.

 

[woo_pig]

I brewing this up today . Everything about this sounds perfect to me. I love a strong imperial taste .With out a strong hop bitter flavor. I love the aromas and citrus and floral .Hope it turns out great .

 

[woo_pig]

Og 1.043 .Pretty low. Don't know what went wrong.

 

[IslandLizard]

Og 1.043 .Pretty low. Don't know what went wrong.

Maybe you didn't get full conversion, old grain?
Or your mash didn't lauter/sparge well? With that much flaked wheat it's very gooey. Did you use rice hulls?

 

[woo_pig]

Maybe you didn't get full conversion, old grain?
Or your mash didn't lauter/sparge well? With that much flaked wheat it's very gooey. Did you use rice hulls?

It wasn't all stuck together. I was checking for that .I had rice hulls for back up.I should have used them anyways. It tasted pretty sweet. I don't think it will turn out bad. I will probably do this one again .

 

[IslandLizard]

It wasn't all stuck together. I was checking for that .I had rice hulls for back up.I should have used them anyways. It tasted pretty sweet. I don't think it will turn out bad. I will probably do this one again .

I do mill flaked goods on a tight gap, so the pieces are small for quick gelatinization and the enzymes can get to them. This recipe is borderline on DP with only 27% of diastatic malt (2-row). If you mash in too hot you may denature enough enzymes to prevent full conversion. Just trying to troubleshoot.

 

[woo_pig]

I do mill flaked goods on a tight gap, so the pieces are small for quick gelatinization and the enzymes can get to them. This recipe is borderline on DP with only 27% of diastatic malt (2-row). If you mash in too hot you may denature enough enzymes to prevent full conversion. Just trying to troubleshoot.

Maybe mash at 180 with out the malt. Then step it down to 153 and add the malt. ?

 

[IslandLizard]

Not sure what you mean...

Your strike water should be hot enough that when you add the grain the mash is a few degrees higher than your intended mash temp. Then while you're stirring with the lid off it drops those few extra degrees down to your exact mash temp. Cover with aluminum foil and put a lid on it. But if it stays too long at 180F yeah you could lose some enzymes. The average DP of the grist should be 30 or higher to fully convert. I always aim at 40 for all security if I can. Or mash longer if the DP is closer to 30.

In those critical cases, anything could throw it off and you end up with a starchy wort. An Iodine test can reveal if your grist has fully converted.

 

[IslandLizard]

Let me note, with the OPs grain bill the diastatic power (DP) of the convertible grist is 3/(3+8) * 140 = 38.

For full conversion a minimum DP of 30 is required, so with an estimated DP of 38 there is a usable margin built into the recipe. I estimated the DP of 2-row to be around 140, but it could be higher or lower, depending on the maltster and specific batch of course. Older grain will lose some DP too over time, especially when storage conditions aren't optimal. 2 years is usually still OK.

 

[woo_pig]

What I meant was to basically gel the wheat cool it down and then add the enzymes. I do that all the time with corn and rye when I'm making a mash for distilling .I might be thinking of this in the wrong way.

 

[woo_pig]

Next time I will add the rice hulls and amylase. It couldn't hurt right

 

[IslandLizard]

What I meant was to basically gel the wheat cool it down and then add the enzymes. I do that all the time with corn and rye when I'm making a mash for distilling .I might be thinking of this in the wrong way.

Oh yes, sure, add the 2-row after the wheat is all gelled and ready to go. I always boil corn before the mash. It then becomes the strike "water" for the rest of the grains.

Now a beta-glucanase rest at 113F or combined with a protein rest at 121F would be in place too with all that raw wheat, breaking those gums down.

 

[IslandLizard]

Next time I will add the rice hulls and amylase. It couldn't hurt right

You should get enough enzymes from the 2-row. No need for a dose of amylase. It still needs some body left.

 

[woo_pig]

Got ya. Thanks a lot lizard man .

 

[tonymark]

Why not just use flaked wheat? Then you can do a straight infusion mash, no need to precook wheat. I actually do a protein rest at 122F and then do boiling water infusion to get to 150F. I have burnt 10lbs of wheat on multiple occasions and just moved to flaked.

 

[woo_pig]

Why not just use flaked wheat? Then you can do a straight infusion mash, no need to precook wheat. I actually do a protein rest at 122F and then do boiling water infusion to get to 150F. I have burnt 10lbs of wheat on multiple occasions and just moved to flaked.

Is there more than one kind of flaked wheat?

 

[woo_pig]

I think I have figured it out .Just watched a video on this . I need the rice hulls. And maybe do a brew in a bag .Gonna try again once a fermenter gets free .I got to much happening at once .Not always a bad thing .

 

[tonymark]

Is there more than one kind of flaked wheat?

Not that I am aware.

Rice hulls are essential for me. I mill my barley finer than most people in a flour mill and always use rice hulls. (I am king of stuck sparges). I had 8 stuck sparges on a wit once and added an extra hour+ to my brew day.

 

[maxtpower]

I wanted to add that i highly recommend washing and reusing the wlp410, I make a batch of this once every 2 months or so and that's the only way to make this through out the year. The wlp400 is good but i prefer the 410 much better, its more spicy and sweet.

What's the best way of washing and reusing the yeast?
Thx