Successful Witbier Recipe

[mloster]

4 lbs 2 oz tapioca syrup
4 lbs pale malted buckwheat
1 lb light belgian candi sugar
.25 oz magnum @ 60 min
.25 oz saaz @ 15 min
.25 styrian goldings @15 min
.6 oz crushed coriander @ 5 min
.25 oz sweet orange peel @ 5 min
.25 oz bitter orange peel @ 5 min
@ 7 days, added 1 tsp lemon zest, 1 tbsp orange zest, and 1 tsp grapefruit zest which I soaked vodka enough to cover.

I did a normal single infusion mash with the buckwheat. My OG was 1.043. This is one of the better GF beers I've made. I could have backed off on the zest a bit. I'd half it next time. My beer drinking sister said it tasted exactly like blue moon. Though it's not exactly like it as she described, it's a damn fine witbier. It's intensely orange-y but that has faded a bit with time. The hops are not noticeably present. It's a bit thin. If I were to brew again, I'd maybe add a whirlfloc tablet just to clear it up a tad. Also, I'd up the buckwheat and lower the sugar.

 

[MBruno]

looks like a great receipe! I'm going to try this for my next batch. For the malted buckwheat - never done that before. I saw a few posts talking about a 75% yeild, so I assume you used 7lbs of buckwheat to start, soaked for ~30 hrs changing water every 8 hrs, roasted at 350 (can you clarify how long you roasted?)

Let me know if I missed a step. I'm really interested in brewing this for my next batch.

 

[BBBF]

looks like a great receipe! I'm going to try this for my next batch. For the malted buckwheat - never done that before. I saw a few posts talking about a 75% yeild, so I assume you used 7lbs of buckwheat to start, soaked for ~30 hrs changing water every 8 hrs, roasted at 350 (can you clarify how long you roasted?)

Let me know if I missed a step. I'm really interested in brewing this for my next batch.

You don't want to roast the grain for a wit. You want to kiln it at a low temperature to dry it out.

 

[MBruno]

Thanks for the correction! I'm sure there's a great amount of personal touch and feel with this and I'll definitely experiment a bit - but would say 150 degrees for 4hrs work well? Longer time? High / lower temp?

 

[mloster]

Like BBBF said, I never roasted the grains. When the buckwheat was finished malting, I spread it out on foil-lined baking sheets, set my oven to the lowest possible setting 130º or so, propped the door open to the oven with a silicon oven mitt (so that air could flow in and out), and let it kiln for 12-15 hours. I stirred occasionally and had to do several batches since it did not all fit in my oven.

 

[MBruno]

gotcha. Thanks! Once I get back to SoCal I'll be doing some kilnin'

Last thing - was everything else about right?

+ Germinate for 30hrs (changing water every 8 hrs or so)
+ Start with 7lbs to get down to 4lbs

If I remember correctly, you did this BIAB style which is why you didn't use Rice Hulls right?

 

[mloster]

Yes, I used BIAB. I should have and do use rice hulls, but I didn't have them on hand at the time. Yes, I probably started with 7 lbs or so. I don't remember completely since I didn't write it down. Correct on the germination too. Once I'd soaked them for about 3 cycles of 8 hours, I let spread them out over a large surface area, like on of those underbed storage bins, put the top loosely on, and let them grow their tails for about 2 days. After that I proceded with kilned, milling, etc

 

[mloster]

Check out http://www.glutenfreecraftbeer.com/#!__malting-buckwheat

 

[BBBF]

and let them grow their tails for about 2 days. After that I proceded with kilned, milling, etc

I still like to rinse them 2-3 times a day during this process to keep any mold or bacteria from taking over. I've found it helpful to put my grain in a 5 gallon paint strainer, tie the end shut and keep it in there until I'm ready to kiln. That way I just have to hold the bag under the faucet or dunk it into a bucket to give it a quick rinse.

I also use a dehydrator to dry the grain out because I can get even lower temperatures than the oven.