wit beer

Share recipes here and discuss recipes posted in the recipe database.

Moderator: Post Moderators

Post Reply
dksucharda
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2008 2:18 pm

wit beer

Post by dksucharda »

I am getting ready to brew a 5 gallon batchof belgium with beer. I found a good recipe on the recipator cite I am interested in. But it calls for 2 oz of oarnge peel and 2 oz of corrinder seed. This is about twice as much as any oter recipe I find. Any one with experience making this style and can comment on the amount of spice would be appreciated. I have had some wit beer with an oarnge character, and I kind of like it. Especially for a light summer beer.
-D-
User avatar
brahn
Site Admin
Posts: 1799
Joined: Wed May 31, 2006 5:12 pm
Location: Tustin, CA
Contact:

Post by brahn »

I don't have a lot of experience brewing with spices, but that sounds like WAY too much for a 5 gallon batch. I'd think about using 1/2 oz of each and then adjusting from there on future batches.
User avatar
maltbarley
Posts: 2408
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2005 9:31 am
Location: Orange, CA

Post by maltbarley »

I agree, that's way too much. I'm guessing that with 2 ounces of coriander, that's not going to be the easy drinking summer beer you want.
User avatar
bwarbiany
Posts: 2290
Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2007 10:49 pm
Location: Mission Viejo, CA

Post by bwarbiany »

Way too much. I recently brewed a wit with about 1/2 oz of coriander and 2 oz of orange peel (1 oz sweet, 1 oz bitter). The spices are overpowering.

I think you'll be okay with 1/2 oz coriander, but may even want to go a little lower than that. Orange peel should definitely be less than an ounce, probably about 1/2 oz as well.
Brad
User avatar
Rezzin
Posts: 1154
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 7:00 pm
Location: Orange, CA
Contact:

Post by Rezzin »

I agree, I brewed a belgian pale a while back that used orange zest and .25 oz of crushed coriander and I felt the spice was just about right. 2oz seems way over the top.
Image New Brew Club, Free Photo hosting, Yeast Library, Forum
User avatar
brew captain
Posts: 1158
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2005 8:41 am

Post by brew captain »

If that is fresh, not dried, orange/tangerine/grapefruit peel then 2 oz is about right. Use only .5 oz of the corriander and grind it just before you use it. You can also add chamomile flowers or other edible flowers like nasturtiums (I grow both in my garden, but no flowers right now).

Remember that you can always add more spice in secondary if you want more spice flavor...

Oh, by the way, if you are not using any unmalted wheat in your grist then consider adding some flaked oats (5%) to give your beer some "whiteness". I read from Jamil that he has added a tbsp of wheat flour to the boil for the same effect.

Post up your recipe if you want some feedback!

Cheers!
dksucharda
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2008 2:18 pm

Post by dksucharda »

Just brewed it last night. I ended up using .75 oz of sweet dried oarnge peel and crushed corrinder. The recipe also called for 1 oz of elderberry flowers but I did not like the smell of them so I only used a half oz.

One unexpected event occurred using flaked wheat and oats. The recipe called for a pound of each with a half pound of pilsner. Well I put all these in a grain bag just like I always do, however I was concerned about the liquid in my boil kettle getting to the pilner malt being surrounded by so much flaked oats and wheat. Anyway at the end of my 160 degree one hour "infusion" I pulled my grain bag and it was like a 5 pound bag of wet oatmeal with dripping slimy solution falling from the bag into my wort. This was very different from using normal grains. but I guess I am not suprised now that I think about it. Basically I am putting oatmeal flakes in my beer.

One last thing, in my primary fermentor, there appears to be a lot :!: of "trub" in the bottom, way more that any I have had in the past. I believe this mostly is residual particulate from the flaked grains as I have never had this in the past. (This is my first time using flaked grains).

Anyway in the end I hit my final gravity. the wort tasted good, and there is sugar and yeast, so one way or another I will have beer of some sort. Let me know what you think of me experiences and please give feedback.
Thanks
-D- :wink:
User avatar
bwarbiany
Posts: 2290
Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2007 10:49 pm
Location: Mission Viejo, CA

Post by bwarbiany »

Don't worry about the high amount of trub. Just be careful when you're racking to your bottling bucket to leave that behind after fermentation.
Brad
Post Reply