Wit - Howto Get MOAR Flavor??

[slcdawg]

I brewed a wit a few months ago and it came out fantastic...with one caveat. The flavor from the coriander and orange peel was too subtle. Great beer otherwise! I'm brewing it again this week and want to bring out more of that flavor. On the first time around I added the coriander/orange peel at 5 minutes left in the boil in a muslin bag and then removed the bag for fermentation. What should I do to bring out more flabor?

Do I want to

A). Leave them in for fermentation?
B). Do the addition earlier?
C). Do the addition later?
D). MOAR Coriander/Orange Peel?
E). Other?

Here is the recipe:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 5.70 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.20 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.047 SG
Estimated Color: 4.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 19.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 72.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
1 lbs Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 1 10.0 %
4 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) Bel (3.0 SRM) Grain 2 45.0 %
4 lbs 8.0 oz Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 3 45.0 %
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] - Boil 60.0 Hop 4 19.7 IBUs
0.75 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 mins) Spice 5 -
0.50 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 mins) Spice 6 -
0.25 oz Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 5.0 mins) Spice 7 -
1.0 pkg Belgian Wit Ale (White Labs #WLP400) [35 Yeast 8 -

Many thanks!

 

[Mojzis]

Just add more. I would bump each up to an ounce. Careful with coriander, it can be awful in a beer when too much is used.

 

[stpug]

I finished a wit a few weeks ago that came out of the primary with too light of spicing flavors for my intended profile. Since I keg, I ended up doing a 2 day steep of bitter orange peel and indian coriander in some vodka which I then tossed into a strainer bag in the keg and tied off. I left it there throughout the entire keg. I immediately got a boost of spicing upon adding and it continued to slowly build over the next several weeks. Only in the last week or two did I think I could have pulled the strainer to keep the profile where it was but I left it in to see what happened. It never got bad by any means but the last 1-2 weeks would have been better with a lighter spicing profile.

If you don't keg and you come up with too little spicing after primary then you can accomplish the same by doing the steeped spices in a strainer bag directly in the primary or in a secondary prior to bottling. Sample after 3 days and if not enough give another 3 days and sample again. When it hits the profile you want, remove your strainer bag and bottle.

 

[motorneuron]

Sorry, these questions might sound obvious, but:

*Is the coriander Indian, and are you grinding it? If you're adding whole seeds, I imagine it won't give too much flavor. And the Indian kind provides both more and better flavor in my experience.

*Is the orange peel dried? Use fresh. I'd recommend zesting a whole orange (or two) into the beer. No need for any fancy muslin bag; just let it sit in there. I guarantee it won't overdo it or make it gross. Sour/Seville/bitter oranges are better, but you can use any kind of orange, or a tangerine or a lemon, or a mix, to get a flavor you want. If you're using the peel of one or two fruits, it won't be too much.

 

[samandbekah]

Agreed with moto above...

Use a cheese grader to zest the orange and get just the peel... then "dry hop" it for a few days before bottling/kegging. I did this last time and I got that citrus punch I was looking for

 

[stpug]

My personal experience of sweet vs bitter orange peel differs from above. I actually had an orange pale ale and wit on tap at the same time. The pale ale used fresh zested sweet valencia orange peel while the wit used the traditional dried bitter orange peel. The characteristics imparted by each was drastically different. Fresh orange peel gave a very "orange peel" flavor while the dried bitter orange peel gave a very "Gran Marnier" flavor (an herbal, earthy, dark subdued orange flavor). Each has their place so pick according to your objective.

 

[slcdawg]

The coriander was Brewer's Best brand. Not sure if it is Indian or not. I put it in a ziplock and rolled with a beer bottle to "grind" it. Several threads recommended this approach.

The orange peel was dried.

Sorry, these questions might sound obvious, but:

*Is the coriander Indian, and are you grinding it? If you're adding whole seeds, I imagine it won't give too much flavor. And the Indian kind provides both more and better flavor in my experience.

*Is the orange peel dried? Use fresh. I'd recommend zesting a whole orange (or two) into the beer. No need for any fancy muslin bag; just let it sit in there. I guarantee it won't overdo it or make it gross. Sour/Seville/bitter oranges are better, but you can use any kind of orange, or a tangerine or a lemon, or a mix, to get a flavor you want. If you're using the peel of one or two fruits, it won't be too much.

 

[slcdawg]

I might up the amounts a bit and leave it in the FV, and see what happens.

 

[Mojzis]

I agree with all of the above except to not use a bag to put the peel and coriander in. If using plate or home made counter-flow chillers be careful with the orange peel. I made the mistake of not finding a solution to keeping the peel from clogging my chiller and spent the next 20 minutes trying to remove the peels wedged deep inside the coil.

Just my two cents.

 

[slcdawg]

Alright, going to brew this tomorrow. I plan to up the Coriander to 1.0 oz (from 0.75 oz), boil for 10 minutes and remove from fermentor. I will also up the Orange Peel to 1.0 oz and, boil for 5 min and leave in the fermentor.

Sound good?