My witbier tastes very stouty

[kevinjo23]

Just finished up with my first home brew. It was a "Brewer's Best" witbier kit. I was going for a blue moon clone, but the final product tastes nothing like blue moon. The final product is actually very tasty, it fermented for three weeks, and was bottled for one week. The final gravity dropped below the final gravity that the Brewer's Best kit said it would, but then again, I let it ferment 10 days longer than the kit recommended, based on feedback from this website. I have no regrets, like I said above, the beer is tasty, just stoutier than I had anticipated.

So, my question for those that are more expereinced...Have you had beer turn out differently than originally anticipated? Do you guys know how my witbier turned into a lighter bodied stout? Was it because I let it ferment longer than recommended. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Eventhough the taste is different than anticipated...the stuff tastes great! I love it.

 

[woodstone]

Wit to a stout? Huh? Your talking light/white/wheat (Blue Moon) to dark/chocolate/malty (Guinness)? Not sure you have your terms right or are describing accurately. These are really opposite ends of the spectrum.

"Beer turn out differently than originally anticipated"? Sure, not too far off but not a "wit to stout".

Post the original recipe and picks of the outcome if you can...might be able to help you at that point. Not trying to offend, just trying to help, but something seems way off.

Perhaps by "stoutier" you simply mean heavier, more body, deeper in color, etc.?

 

[Rev2010]

Agreed, there's no way a witbier should be anywhere near a stout. What color did it come out to be? Is it golden/yellow like it's supposed to be? The original recipe and some pics if possible would definitely help. And yes, please detail exactly in which ways it tastes like a stout so we can get a better idea of your perception of it


Rev.

 

[kevinjo23]

Woodstone, your final sentence captured my thoughts perfectly. Calling it a stout was a bit far fetched. I will post pics soon. The color is a deep gold.

I guess my question comes down to...what makes the witbier turn out on the darker side of the spectrum? What makes it turn out lighter?

 

[kevinjo23]

 

[Rikadyn]

When you say "stouty" what do you mean?

 

[kevinjo23]

Just a fuller body, thicker. When I think of witbier, I think of a lighter more crisp taste. This brew does not have that taste to it.

 

[RCCOLA]

I guess my question comes down to...what makes the witbier turn out on the darker side of the spectrum? What makes it turn out lighter?

It's because on extract beers and a small boil, the wort caramelizes. That darkens the beer and leads to more caramel-type flavors.

To get around this you can either boil a larger volume or add most of your extract later in the boil. Do a search for "Late extract addition" or something similar.

 

[BenjaminBier]

If your kit included any specialty malts like Special B or Aromatic malt, which can be a little unpredictable for color, it's possible they contributed extra coloring and unfermentable starches to thicken the body. My LHBS has a witbier recipe that made a very similar color to yours. Let your wits be "muddled" by these darker malts and enjoy!

Belgian "Muddled Wit" from LHBS with .25# Aromatic malt and .25# flaked red wheat (only wheat the had in stock that day)

 

[jafo28]

You said in your first post it's been bottled for only a week, maybe the carbonation isn't totally there yet and this is changing the mouth feel. let it go a couple more weeks and try again.

 

[kevinjo23]

Jaf... You could have a very good point. I just tried another bottle (5 more days in the bottle), it is most definely more carbed, but still tastes darker than I had originally anticipated. The head is beautiful. I need to take another picture.

Will more time in the bottle lighten the beer?

 

[kevinjo23]

Ben, your brew looks exactly like mine did. I hope it was just as tasty as mine.

 

[powerfreak]

A lot of it has to do with using malt extract. I've found that my extract brews are usually way off in color and often in taste.

I tried to make a Newcastle clone on my last extract batch. Color is more brown porter than Newcastle light brown/amber. Taste wise, when I transferred to secondary, I thought I hit the Newcastle taste dead on. After bottling though, it's more of a nut brown. Still damn good, but not Newcastle.

Next stab will be with all-grain and I'm sure I'll be closer to the mark, both in color and taste.

 

[woodstone]

Woodstone, your final sentence captured my thoughts perfectly. Calling it a stout was a bit far fetched. I will post pics soon. The color is a deep gold.

I guess my question comes down to...what makes the witbier turn out on the darker side of the spectrum? What makes it turn out lighter?

Sorry, logged off right after I posted last night...the pic makes much more sense to me (all) now. I agree with what the others said, depends on the extract, the volume used, its quality, how long you boiled, etc.

Also sounds like you did not rack to a secondary...no issue there but you probably didn't settle out everything...might not be fully carbed in the bottle and you've got yeast in solution...you may have poured your bottled yeasties into your glass...etc. All adding to heaviness, body, and color.

You say it is very tasty...that's what counts, no?! It looks good and true to the type from where I'm sitting! Cheers and good luck with your continued brewing! Of note, take good notes on this one and attempt the same recipe again or multiple times...you'll learn a lot.

 

[BenjaminBier]

Ben, your brew looks exactly like mine did. I hope it was just as tasty as mine.

Yes, absolutely! The beer was great, super refreshing. It took longer to carb than I expected but it was delicious.

It seems like we had a similar situation. The beer was good, I even brewed it two more times, but it turned out different than what we might expect from a "Witbier".

I tried a slightly different recipe using Vienna malt instead of the Belgian specialty grains and got a much lighter and brighter beer. Both styles were great!

 

[sjbeerman]

Can you post the recipe?

 

[snazo]

i made the same brew as my first, in bottles for 2 weeks on saturday. will post results.

 

[kevinjo23]

Beerman, I'll get the recipe plus a better picture up this weekend.

 

[eastoak]

hello all, first time posting but i've been lurking for a while.
i wonder if any home brewed beer can approximate the extreme paleness of some belgian wits? i'm going to brew an all grain hoegaarden clone from a recipe i found on these boards but i'm not sure how i can get the really pale color of the original. my first 2 batches were extract hefeweizens, kind of dark, and a pinkus clone fermenting that is all grain, considerably lighter. all grain seems to result in lighter colors but i still have to wonder how the commercial brewers get such pale beer.

 

[sjbeerman]

Yes, you can get a very pale beer from AG. The Witbier was my first AG and it is a VERY pale color.

 

[azscoob]

hello all, first time posting but i've been lurking for a while.
i wonder if any home brewed beer can approximate the extreme paleness of some belgian wits? i'm going to brew an all grain hoegaarden clone from a recipe i found on these boards but i'm not sure how i can get the really pale color of the original. my first 2 batches were extract hefeweizens, kind of dark, and a pinkus clone fermenting that is all grain, considerably lighter. all grain seems to result in lighter colors but i still have to wonder how the commercial brewers get such pale beer.

They get the pale color (or any color for that matter) the same way all grain brewers do, grain selection and quantity, my Strawberry Blonde is pretty light in color, before the strawberries are added in secondary it is a bit lighter than this.

 

[eastoak]

They get the pale color (or any color for that matter) the same way all grain brewers do, grain selection and quantity, my Strawberry Blonde is pretty light in color, before the strawberries are added in secondary it is a bit lighter than this.

that is a nice looking beer but i was thinking of hoegaarden's almost milky appearance. seems like malliard reactions will darken any wort no matter the grain. anyway, i'm just wondering, not really expecting to replicate hoegaarden exactly.

 

[BenjaminBier]

hello all, first time posting but i've been lurking for a while.
i wonder if any home brewed beer can approximate the extreme paleness of some belgian wits? i'm going to brew an all grain hoegaarden clone from a recipe i found on these boards but i'm not sure how i can get the really pale color of the original. my first 2 batches were extract hefeweizens, kind of dark, and a pinkus clone fermenting that is all grain, considerably lighter. all grain seems to result in lighter colors but i still have to wonder how the commercial brewers get such pale beer.

Two options here.

The first I haven't done yet, but comes recommended in my favorite Belgian brewing book, Pierre Rajotte's "Belgian Ale".

His suggestion is to sift several ounces of white flour into the water with your specialty grains. You'd want to get some all-natural flour from your local farmer or co-op. Add an equal amount of pils or 2-row to your specialty grains to help convert these flours.

If you can mini-mash or partial mash, I would mash 50%-50% pils and white wheat malt.

Come to think of it, this might be my next recipe!

 

[eastoak]

4.50 lbs. Pilsener Malt(2-Row)
4.50 lbs. Flaked Soft White Wheat
4 oz flaked oats
4 oz acidulated malt (maybe)
1 oz styrian 5.1%
bit of coriander and orange peel

this is what i'm going with, we'll see how it goes.

 

[BenjaminBier]

4.50 lbs. Pilsener Malt(2-Row)
4.50 lbs. Flaked Soft White Wheat
4 oz flaked oats
4 oz acidulated malt (maybe)
1 oz styrian 5.1%
bit of coriander and orange peel

this is what i'm going with, we'll see how it goes.

I really like the idea of the acidulated malt for the note of sour to the Wit. I've been toying with the idea of doing a small sour mash, maybe .5 pound of pils, and adding that to the boil.

Let us know how it tastes! Acid malt would be a lot easier than making the sour mash.

 

[eastoak]

i bought a pound of acid malt but the home brew store said that a pound might be too much so i'm going with 4 oz.

 

[azscoob]

The suspended yeast in a wit or hefe will give the whitish color you are thinking of. the yeast can eventually drop out of suspension over time, the beer tastes the same, it is just clear, to combat this I sprinkle a tbsp or so of flour into the boil when I make my hefes, it gives the beer a permenant haze that doesn't drop out while sitting in the keg. I learned that trick from Biermuncher, it works great! the last beer from the keg is just as hazy as the first one.

 

[kevinjo23]

As promised...the recipe...

Specialty Grains
1 lb crushed 2-row pale malt
0.5 lb Wheat
0.5 lb Oats

Fermentables
3.3 lb Non Diastatic Unhopped Bravarian Wheat LME
2 lb Wheat DME

Hops
1 oz Willamette Bittering Hops (4.7%)
1 oz Sterling Flavoring Hops (6.0%)

Spice Pack (comprised of .5oz dried bitter orange peel, .5 oz corainder seed)

Yeast Safbrew WB-06

Instructions
Steep Specialty Grains

The Boil (~1 hour total)
After steeping the specialty grains, get water to boil. Add the LME and bittering hops.
After 40 min add the orange and coriander. After 5 min add flavoring hops. Boil for additional 10 min.

Everything else as is!

 

[kevinjo23]

The OG was 1.048 (1.045-1.049), the gravity was at 1.015 at the week 1 mark, 1.012 at the 2 week mark, then 1.008 at the 3 week mark...that is when I decided to bottle. The kit said the Final gravity should bee in the 1.011-1.013 range (~4.5%-4.75%ABV). So, my witbier is a big stronger than the kit said it would be.

I've enjoyed it!

 

[kevinjo23]

Azcoob...that picture you have of your strawberry blonde looks awesome. Does it taste like it looks?