Witbier

25 March 2007 @ early evening | Comments (3)

I’ve tasted many one-dimensional (U.S. made) witbiers that are little better than a hazy Corona. A truly excellent witbier boasts a delicate balance of citrus, spice, sweet and sour that results in a complex, yet refreshingly crisp wheat ale.

Recipe

• Style: Witbier
• Type: All grain
• Batch size: 6 gal
• Color: 3 SRM
• Bitterness: 14 IBU
• OG: 1.052
• FG: 1.014
• BU/GU: 0.27
• Mash: Single decoction (122°F/154°F/168°F)
• Efficiency: 82%
• Boil: 90 min
• ABV: 5.0%
• Yeast: Belgian Wit Ale (WLP400)
• Grain:
  • 6 lb Belgian pilsner malt
  • 4 lb Flaked wheat
  • 0.25 lb Rolled oats
  • 0.3 lb Grapefruit blossom honey (about 3/8 cup)
• Hops:
  • 1 oz Tettnanger (pellet, 60 min)
  • 0.5 oz Czech Saaz (whole, 20 min)
• Unfermentables
  • Citrus zest (4 oranges, 1 grapefruit, 1 lemon)
  • 0.25 oz chamomile tea (whole flowers)
  • 1 tsp ground coriander

Process

When you’re using a gravity system with rubbermaid coolers, hitting all your temperatures through a single decoction mash can take a bit of effort. It’s really not that much more difficult than single infusion, aside from the stirring, but it gets quite a bad rap. The trick is having ready a bit of boiling and cool water, in the event you decoct too much or too little and need to adjust. A good rule of thumb at 1.2 qts/lb is 40% of your mash, about the consistency of a bowl of oatmeal.

The yeast, wheat and coriander will do most of the work to provide a mildly spicy backbone, but the recipe called for something to give the beer a nice orange-like fruitiness. A trip down to the farmers market yielded a TON of organic herbs and produce to choose from. The final ingredients included some organic citrus fruit and dried chamomile flowers, grown in Fallbrook, CA. If this beer turns out even 1/2 as good as it smelled at flameout, this is going to be one damn good witbier.

It’ll ferment in primary for 10-14 days at 65F, then settle out in secondary for a short while before I crash and keg it. I also plan to experiment with lactic acid after secondary is complete, to see if any slight lactic sourness compliments the flavor profile.

Result

This beer was definitely a hit among the ladies. Out of the three beers served (witbier, schwarzbier and pilsner), this keg blew first.

However, it became clear upon first taste that the extra time spent in secondary had mellowed the yeast character, resulting in a beer balanced too heavily toward citrus/herb/spice. Witbier should be served young, preferably well under a month, so next time I’ll forgo secondary.

Lessons

• Dried orange peel is nice, but there is no substitute for fresh fruit.
• Taste everything through every stage of the beer. It’s nice to see how all elements combine into the final result.
• Kegging is way, way better than bottling. Seriously.