Wit with my wheat?

[ajwillys]

Hey guys,
I'm planning on making a wit and for various reasons, cannot make it to the LHBS. I do, however, always keep lots of ingredients 'in stock' at home. So, here's my thing, I'll be using Wyeast Belgian Witbier yeast, Saaz hops, coriander, and bitter orange peel.

What I need help on is my grain bill. I have very little flaked wheat! 0.75 lbs to be exact. I have plenty of wheat malt, German pilsner malt and ordinary two-row. I also have flaked oats and flaked barley (as well as several other specialties).

I can run to the grocery and get raw wheat but I hear its hard to crack and requires a cereal mash. For the same reason, I can't go to the LHBS, I don't want to be doing decoctions or separate mashes...

Anyway, here's what I'm thinking:

Amount Item Type % or IBU
4.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 43.24 %
4.00 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 43.24 %
0.75 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 8.11 %
0.50 lb Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 5.41 %
0.75 oz Saaz [5.80 %] (60 min) Hops 15.8 IBU
0.25 oz Saaz [5.80 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.25 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
0.25 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
1.05 tbsp PH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Belgian Witbier (Wyeast Labs #3944) Yeast-Wheat

How do you think this will turn out? Will it be at all close to a genuine wit? I realize the grain bill is probably closer to a wheat than a wit but I'm not sure how much of a difference in 'spicy wheat' flavor I'll lose from using mostly malted wheat instead of flaked.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

Looks good to me. There's no rules saying you HAVE to use flaked wheat in a wit. Generally, I like to use 50/50 wheat/pils. I'll usually play with my wheat ratios a bit and use some white wheat and some flaked. I'd drop the oats, and if it were me, I'd drop your wheat down to 3.25lbs so it makes it a 50/50 ratio of wheat/pils. Or you could up your pils if you have more.

 

[ajwillys]

Thanks for replying. The reason I used the oats is because I saw several recipes that used it, including JZ's and Randy Mosher's. They, of course, used a lot more flaked wheat though.

Do you know what the flavor contribution differences are between wheat malt and flaked wheat? I've heard that, pound for pound, flaked wheat was 'wheatier' than malted wheat. This is the reason I went with a higher ratio of overall wheat to pils... I think it was on JZ's podcast.

Since I last posted the recipe, I've modified it a bit. The dried orange peel is now orange zest from two oranges and I've added two bags of chamomile tea. This is hard for me because normally I toil over a recipe for a month (at least), but this time, I'm just throwing it together at the last minute.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

Flaked wheat mainly just helps head retention. It can also lighten up the color a bit compared to malted wheat. I have noticed a slightly wheatier taste in those recipes where I used more flaked, but it wasn't enough to make a huge difference.

I'll have to look into the oats. I've never used them in a wheat. I like my wheats to be dry and a bit thin in body. Oats would up the body and sweeten it up a bit.

 

[passedpawn]

I've made a similar wit with malted wheat only. Toss a teaspoon of kitchen flour (wheat) in the boil, maybe 5 minutes from the end. Leaves a perfect haze. Trust me, I've done this and it works marvelously.

I used fresh oranges (right off the tree) and Saaz too. Funny.

 

[ajwillys]

Thanks so much for the advice. I think I'm going to leave it as is with the exception of the oats. I'm going to spend some time thinking about that tonight and reviewing my books and will decide before brewing tomorrow.

 

[passedpawn]

Oats can significantly increase the mouthfeel of a beer. I would never put them in a beer that was meant to be a refreshing crisp dry-finishing beer.

You might read up on the BJCP guidelines for a Wit if you care about styles.

 

[ajwillys]

Yeah, the BJCP is one of the things I always reference when I'm formulating a recipe. Here's what they had to say about Witbier and oats:

Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium body, often having a smoothness and light creaminess from unmalted wheat and the occasional oats.
...
Ingredients: .... In some versions, up to 5-10% raw oats may be used.

I actually haven't seen a sing recipe from what I would consider a 'trusted' source that didn't contain oats. Last night, I read back over Brewing Classic Styles and Radical Brewing in the wit sections and I've decided the oats are staying.

 

[passedpawn]

Yeah, the BJCP is one of the things I always reference when I'm formulating a recipe. Here's what they had to say about Witbier and oats:


I actually haven't seen a sing recipe from what I would consider a 'trusted' source that didn't contain oats. Last night, I read back over Brewing Classic Styles and Radical Brewing in the wit sections and I've decided the oats are staying.

Yea, I looked at that too last night, and was surprised to see the reference to a creaminess in a wit. Oh well, I guess I was wrong.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

Wow...interesting. I think my house Wit is perfect as is, but I'll have to experiment with oats to see what I think.

 

[passedpawn]

I've used oats in stouts to make them creamy... it works. No flavor addition as far as I could tell. Might show up in a smaller beer (i.e, wit).

 

[ajwillys]

Yeah, from what I'm gathering it adds creaminess and a slight sweetness. I've always thought of wits as somewhat creamy, so I suppose it works. Initially, I never would have guessed that oats would fit in a wit as I've only ever used them in stouts also.

In Brewing Classic Styles under the "Keys to Brewing Witbier" section, it says this:

Along with its light sweetness, zesty citrus, and low herbal character, witbier has a wonderfully soft, smooth, creamy feel to it. The key to that wonderful mouthfeel is a liberal dose of wheat and oats, which add a rich, luscious character to the beer.

It's funny I started this thread because I was concerned about using malted wheat instead of flaked and it turned into a really good discussion about oats. That's why I love HBT.

BTW, heating my water as we speak. As soon as I get off work (at noon), I will be out there brewing this thing.