Wifewit

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Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: WLP400
Yeast Starter: no
Batch Size (Gallons): 5gal
Original Gravity: 1.070
Final Gravity: 1.011
IBU: 17.1 IBU
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 3.9 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14
Tasting Notes: Fruity, yeasty, calming.

I based this initially on a pre-existing sample recipe in Beersmith and totally removed everything. Typical me.

My wife wanted a witbier last year. I made one. It was too strong for her, but she liked it. I'm trying again in hopes she'll drink this one and want more. So, we now have 4C Wheat.

Last year i used some cayenne pepper in the brew and though unnoticable, had a nice warmth to the brew which i loved. It had no heat of course, but was a nice winter warmer and was a +8%abv brew. I had only been brewing 6mo so i was still new to the game.

So, tomorrow i brew the following...

Grist
5.25 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 56.76 %
3.50 lb Golden Promise (3.0 SRM) Grain 37.84 %
0.50 lb Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 5.41 %
2tsp gypsum

30 min Protein Rest Add 8.33 qt of water at 132.1 F 122.0 F
60 min Saccrification Add 7.40 qt of water at 206.7 F 158.0 F
10 min Mash Out Add 5.55 qt of water at 199.4 F 168.0 F​

Hops
1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] (60 min) Hops 16.4 IBU

60min​

Spices
0.25 oz Camomile (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
0.75 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
0.75 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
3.00 items Cayenne Pepper Pod (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
((This is 3 pods))
2.00 items Tangerine Peel (Boil 5.0 min) Misc

Yeast
2 Pkgs Belgian Wit Ale (White Labs #WLP400) Yeast-Wheat


My plan is to ferment in primary for 2 weeks or until it's done and bottle right away. Assuming this is a success, it's hoped to be a signature recipe that my Mrs. will request often.

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think.

 

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Hrm...wife doesn't like either name.

She's trying to come up with a better name. Not going so well.

 

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Scratch it...no more teabags...substitute the skin of 2 tangerines. That is all.

sparging now!

 

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Pitched both vials of yeast. Should be quite nice. Smelled and tasted very nice. More coagulated protein than i've been used to, but otherwise looks fine.

 

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Man oh man is this one VISCIOUS fermentation! Came home to quite the mess.

 

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Looks pretty good! The only advice I have personally with my experience is that my SWMBO prefers something under 6% and looks like you'll be creeping toward 7%. Not that that's bad, but if she was worried about how quaffable they are you'd be better targeting around a 5.5% beer on your system. Because a 5.5% beer can be drank all evening long.

Although I love the idea of adding some cayenne!

 

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Looks pretty good! The only advice I have personally with my experience is that my SWMBO prefers something under 6% and looks like you'll be creeping toward 7%. Not that that's bad, but if she was worried about how quaffable they are you'd be better targeting around a 5.5% beer on your system. Because a 5.5% beer can be drank all evening long.

Although I love the idea of adding some cayenne!

I agree 100% here. Recipe was more tailored for pellet hops as i lost quite a bit from boiloff and hop usage. I'm making up for the gallon or so lost come bottling time to lower the ABV. It should knock it under the 6% mark.

I'm still fine tuning my AG setup and every brew gets better and easier. The brew before this (black IPA) went 100% on schedule and this wit wasn't so bad.

Update: This should be being bottled next week. Last check on the gravity and it was about 4 points from the initial target gravity. Had it had the intended volume, i'm sure it would have come in around 1.010-1.011 and it's at 1.015. I really can't complain; the sample tasted good with a nice fruitiness.

 

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BTW...the official name for this brew as dictated by the wife today is....

4C Wheat

Reason: Citrus, Coriander, Camomile, Cayenne.

 

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Just took a sample of this. Measured the gravity and it's just below 9brix which is where it was last week. Looks like this is ready to go, but i might give it a gentle swirl later tonight to make sure everything's good.

Took enough sample to taste and flavorwise, it's very nice. It reminds me of the strong witbier i brewed last year this time, but it's warmer. It's warmer because i can absolutely detect the cayenne. It's not hot, but it's noticeable. It's got a nice spicy flavor. Color is a little darker than i thought it'd be. Level of beer in the fermenter looks about 4gal when you take away the yeast layer. I will dilute it with the missing 1gal of water on bottling day to get the abv where it was supposed to be.

 

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Still don't know why this isn't in the wheat section, but whatever.

Anyhow, this is bottled and will be cracked two weeks from tomorrow. Went well, tasted good, nice and fruity, warm finish (the cayenne).

I washed 7 jars full of the yeast for future brews. yay!

 

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Just cracked a bottle of this so i'll post my thoughts from my Facebook as i enjoyed the brew.


"Just poured the first bottle of House Of Pants 4C Wheat. It's carbing very nicely. Color is perfect, haze is perfect, head is acceptable (still less than 1wk bottled), heavy orange nose (yay tangerine!)."

"The flavor is smooth, fruity, and balanced. It has a VERY mild warmth from the cayenne and never gets hot. Carbonation is not 100% of course, but that'll improve."

"ps - a slight cidery tang, but it's probably just the beer still being VERY green. there is nothing unpleasant here.

pps - drinking at room temperature so as not to mask any off flavors. "

 

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I'm dropping off a few bottles of this a bit early (this Saturday) for a competition, so i decided i needed to test one more bottle. The judging isn't immediate, so by the time it finally is judged, this will have conditioned fully (i hope).

I have to say, i have HIGH hopes for this brew. It's lost the cidery tang and smells fantastic! I could not be prouder (unless it wins it's category) of this recipe. It's EXACTLY what i wanted!

Since i couldn't get it into the witbier category due to wheat malt instead of raw wheat and the addition of cayenne, i'm entering this in 16E Belgian Specialty Ale. Wish me luck!

 

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Did i mention how awesome this tastes? Really good! Nice aftertaste and warms you up really nicely. SO proud!

 

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Loving the 4C! Tastes like a good wit, but has a nice warm tingle.