Witbier Brew Competition Recipe

[amiller]

Hey all! I'm getting set to put together a Witbier for an upcoming local brew competition. Best beer entered is permitted to brew a 7bbl batch at a local brewery which is then sold across the province, so needless to say, I want to get this right!

Style is limited to BJCP 24A.

Here's what I have so far:

Type: All Grain (75% efficiency, BIAB)
Yeast: WLP400
Batch Size: 5.5 Gallons
Original Gravity: 1.049
Final Gravity: 1.012
Boil Time: 60 minutes
IBU: 15.7
Color: 3.5 SRM
Primary: 14 Days at 71F
Secondary: 7 Days at 71F

Recipe:
5.25lbs - Pilsner (Belgian or German)
4lbs - Flaked Wheat
0.75lbs - Flaked Oats
0.5lbs - Rice Hulls
1oz Hallertau 4.5%AA, 60 min
2oz Fresh Orange Peel, no pith 5 min
1oz crushed coriander, 5 min
0.75oz Hallertau 4.5%, 0 min

60 min Mash at 151F
10 min Mashout at 170F
Sparge at 170F

Open to any suggestions, I haven't brewed this recipe before, simply brainstorming and looking for ideas/suggestions! I've been considering adding grains of paradise or making it a lavender orange witbier with some lavender buds, but I've never used these before and simply have no idea about the quantities to balance the flavors..

 

[dmtaylor]

Recipe looks pretty good. I might suggest using less coriander, maybe just 0.5-0.75 oz to prevent it from coming on too strong (that's how much I use in mine, which won a medal). Grains of paradise are good but again use sparingly. Lavender can also be good but again, use it very sparingly. My general suggestion anytime using herbs and spices is to do research to figure out how much you think you should use... and then use only about 1/3 to 1/2 as much, because the human mind has this terrible tendency to try to overuse herbs and spices every dang time, guaranteed. Lavender can be offensive if too much is used. I haven't done it but I would be very careful with it. If I had to guess, I'd start with just 1/8 ounce or something like that. You can always add more at the end of fermentation... but once you've added too much, it's impossible to subtract it. That's my stance on herbs.

Cheers and good luck!

 

[amiller]

Thanks! Going to lessen the coriander like you suggested. Getting this one brewed this weekend, should give me some time to brew a backup batch just in case this one goes terrible wrong..