Wit Beer but how much Corriander and Orange

[shamfein]

hey all,

I got a question in regard to how much corriander and Orange peel i should be using on my next batch,

Its a Coopers Wheat beer, with an extra 1.5kg of unhopped wheat extract, i have 40 grams of corriander seeds and about 5 medium sized oranges and a zester, however im not sure how much is enough to get a real good hit of the orange and corriander flavour.

can anyone advise on how much they have used in past brews and how did it turn out.

cheers

 

[Hello]

Last recipe I looked at brewing said 1/2 ounce coriander and 1/2 ounce bitter orange peel. Since you're zesting fresh oranges, you will find that you will get the bright note of orange up front (good) and I recommend one large orange or whatever can get you to about 1/2 ounce. When you zest, just do a single pass as to avoid the pith. While wit calls for bitter orange peel, zesting to the pith wouldn't be bad but I would much prefer to buy bitter oranges and then zest those.

Also, you can up the coriander to 3/4 ounce if you want, but I would be careful as to not put too much in. No more than 3/4 ounce in my opinion.

Brewed a honey orange hefe that probably really qualifies as a wit if I used different yeast. I wanted a strong orange presence so I used 2 oz of sweet orange peel and zest from a medium orange. It's fermenting so I can't quite tell how it went.

 

[TimelessCynic]

I used 3/4 oz each in my last batch. In future batches i will double it. I like strong flavours and really couldn't notice them before.

Maybe subtlety is the point but i like to experiment and adding more will not ruin your beer. It may just put it out of typical ranges.

 

[OhReally]

I've done three batches of Belgian Honey Wit. Unlike other recipes, I put the orange and coriander in with my steeping grains and then steep for 45 mins (to help convert the white wheat malt, etc). Here's the amounts I've used:

Batch 1: 1 oz. crushed coriander, 1 oz. dried bitter orange peel (from the homebrew store)

Batch 2: .87 oz. crushed coriander, 1 oz. fresh blood orange zest

Batch 3: .5 oz. crushed coriander, 1 oz. dried bitter orange peel

Batch 3 is my favorite so far, and it's much more balanced than the other two because of the reduced coriander. I think for the next batch I'm gonna try a half ounce of coriander with an ounce of fresh orange zest. The fresh zest really brightens it up. I ended up having to use zest 4 oranges to get an ounce.

Hope this helps!

Cheers!

 

[Homercidal]

I've done up an ounce each. Normally it's at around .75, but honestly, I could drop the coriander to .5 and keep the orange (fresh zest) at .75 or go up to 1.0.

It's all up to your personal tastes.

 

[shamfein]

Cheers O'Raghallaigh, some good advice there.

sounds like the Coriander can be quite powerful, i just worked it out that i have a total of 1.4 ounces of coriander so maybe thats a bit much.

Ill be using plenty of orange though, might use the full 5

 

[shamfein]

Just an update, brew is bubbling away nicely, its very odd to see the orange and the coriander seeds swirling around the brew, looks like there is a storm in the fermenter.

ended up using the zest of 5 good sized oranges and 40 grams of Coriander seeds, smells unreal. Only in the fermenter 2 days, im guessing because of the fats in the orange zest oils is the reason there is no Krausen.

Looking forward to bottling in about 12 days. Xmas Eve i think

 

[OhReally]

Good to hear it's underway. What yeast are you using? It's funny to hear you don't have any krausen; I use White Labs WLP400, which is a monster (I've had to use a blowoff rig every time),

 

[shamfein]

Hey O Rathallaigh, ye i thought it strange that their was no Krausen, i used the kit yeast from Coopers which im told is a wheat beer yeast, didnt make a starter or anything just my usual sprinkle on the top and slightly stir it in.

Its definitely active though haha

 

[shamfein]

Did anyone find when making this beer that the fermentation stopped in arount 1,015? im 10 days into fermentation, and every reading im taking for the last few days has been the same.

 

[shamfein]

I just wanted to give everyone an update now that the beer has been bottled for ten weeks.

I have to say im a little disapointed in the beer, i believe i might have been expecting great things and i find its very mediocre,

the carbonation is on the low side, head retention is virtually non existent, The taste is quite sweet (FG was 1.015), a bit watery also, It is smooth but has none of the tastes assumed with regular Hefe's (no clove or banana aroma)

Alcohol is very much on the low side for me, coming in at 4%, i was shooting for 5.5% - 6% region.

I do believe i will try this again but i will change up the recipe, ill start with getting a decent yeast, either brewferm or safale wheat yeast, ill include a kg of wheat spraymalt along with the two cans and finally ill include a little bit of hops for aroma, hersbrucker or something mild.

I know its not a good homebrew as its ten weeks in the bottle and there are still 24 bottles left.. haha

Has anyone any opinions on their Coopers Wheat beer as a kit?

 

[Rui]

hello, i bottled last wednesday my wit, made from extract.
recipe:
3,5kg of wheat malt extract
45 minuts 30 grs of hops HALLERTAU HERSBRUCKER
15 minuts 20grs of hops HALLERTAU HERSBRUCKER

7 minuts of 30grs of smashed coriander
7 minuts of 30grs dry (i dried in the oven) orange peel

yeast was the brewferm blanche
batch of 20 liters

took ten days to be ready (Og-1054; Fg- 1012; ABV- 5.6%) and i let it some more days to clean up a bit in colder temperatures.
had a 5 cm high krausen since the first day untill the last - i read that its normal when you brew with wheat, long life krausens
tasted great when i bottled, looking like blue moon!!!in two weeks i will try one, now tis the hard part.......

Sample that i took before was ready


Cheking gravity one last time before bottle

 

[ArizonaDB]

Hi, I thought I would chime in because I will be brewing my second batch of witbier tomorrow and have been thinking about my coriander/orange peel additions a lot. With my first batch I went with .75oz (21g) coriander and .75oz (21g) of bitter orange peel which I steeped in hot water for 20min then added to the boil at the 5 min mark. This was 3 years ago and I'm not sure why I took that approach and didn't just add them to the boil. My notes didn't say.

Anyway, I felt that, for my taste, the orange and coriander were not apparent enough, so I plan to use 1oz (28g) of crushed coriander and 1oz (28g) of bitter orange peel in the boil at 10min mark, in the hopes that the coriander and orange will be more "up front" in this batch. Here is my recipe:

Witbier - Extract, NB kit CHANGED
Witbier (16 A)

Type: Extract
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 3.50 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
End of Boil Vol: 3.21 gal
Final Bottling Vol: 4.60 gal
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage
Date: 22 Jan 2014
Brewer:
Asst Brewer:
Equipment: Pot ( 4 Gal/15.1 L) - Extract
Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 0.0 %
Taste Rating: 30.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
8.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 1 6.7 %
8.0 oz Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 2 6.7 %
8.0 oz Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 3 6.7 %
2 lbs Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 4 26.7 %
1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.10 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 11.0 IBUs
3 lbs Wheat Dry Extract [Boil for 15 min](8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 6 40.0 %
1 lbs Extra Light Dry Extract [Boil for 15 min](3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 7 13.3 %
1.00 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 10.0 mins) Spice 8 -
1.00 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 10.0 mins) Spice 9 -
1.0 pkg SafBrew Specialty Ale (DCL/Fermentis #T-58) [23.66 ml] Yeast 10 -


Est Original Gravity: 1.049 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.7 %
Bitterness: 15.7 IBUs
Est Color: 5.7 SRM

I plan to do a 60 min mini-mash with the grains, to try to convert some of the starches in the oats and flaked wheat. I'm also doing a late addition of some of the DME to keep the color lighter. I hope some of this answered your questions. I saw that you were not too impressed with your batch, I hope you will attempt this style again. It is perfect for Summer time.

 

[shamfein]

Nice looking receipe there,

Im just curious with your yeast of choice, is that a wheat beer yeast?

 

[ArizonaDB]

Nice looking receipe there,

Im just curious with your yeast of choice, is that a wheat beer yeast?

T-58 seems to be the best dry yeast you can use to get a Belgian-y spice flavor that wits, tripels, etc. need. I found this thread where people were reporting their experiences with it, in case you are interested in using.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/safbrew-t-58-a-160245/

I live in northern Arizona and my local brew shop recently went defunct, so I have to buy everything online and it is shipped through Phoenix and I have had trouble with ordering liquid yeast that way. Apparently, liquid yeast no likey sitting in 100 degree warehouses. Go figure. :cross: T-58 seemed to be my best bet with a dry yeast for a wit. I made a Saison last month using Belle Saison yeast and it came out great, so I hope I have the same luck with this yeast. I will report back with results.

 

[shamfein]

Ah very good, i havent used that particular yeast before so im curious to see the results.

Keep me posted on how it turns out..

100 degree heat is only achievable here in Ireland if you sit in your oven!! haha