Big Brew 2011

This recipe is based on a witbier recipe from Jean-Francois Gravel, brewer at Dieu du Ciel! in Montreal. The recipe is found in “Brewing with Wheat: The ‘Wit’ and ‘Weizen’ of World Wheat Beer Styles” (http://shop.beertown.org/brewers/product.asp?s_id=0&prod_name=Brewing+with+Wheat&pf_id=3100_498&dept_id=3101) by Stan Hieronymus.  Gravel likes a coriander “punch” in his witbiers, so he uses an amount determined through trial and error to find the level of punch he’s looking for in his witbiers. In “Brewing with Wheat,” Gravel reminds us that the coriander “provides the citrusy aroma and flavor to wit, while orange peel lends a balancing herbal bitterness.” He also says he uses less coriander if he plans on adding other spices to the beer; which brings us to why the AHA chose this style for Big Brew 2011.

Charlie Papazian suggested we have a beer style to which homebrewers could add local, seasonal adjuncts such as flowers, herbs, spices, or fruit.  The witbier style lends itself to this type of personalization, and we encourage you to consider adding your own local flare to this beer.

For a 5.3 gallon (20 L) yield for a 60 minute boil

O.G.: 1.053

F.G.: 1.013

IBU: 13

SRM: 4.5

Fermentables

5 lb (2.3 kg) 2-Row Pale Malt (50%), 3 SRM

2 lb (0.91 kg) Wheat Malt (20%), 2 SRM

3 lb (1.4 kg) Flaked Soft White Wheat (30%), 2 SRM

Hops

0.7 oz (20 g) Mt. Hood whole hop, (6.5% AA), @ 60 minutes

Extras

1.0 to 1.5 oz (28 to 43 g) fresh orange zest (1 or 2 oranges), added at 5 minutes left in boil

0.5 to 6.25 oz (14 to 184 g) fresh crushed/ground coriander seeds, added at 5 minutes left

Local Flower:

Local Herb:

Local Spice:

Local Fruit:

Yeast

Two (2) packages Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier; or two (2) packages White Labs WLP400 Belgian Wit Ale yeast, or make an appropriate size yeast starter

Directions for All-Grain Recipe

Multi-Step Mash: Mash in using 1.6 qt/lb (3.1 L/kg) at 124° F (51° C) for 15 minutes.  Slowly raise the mash temperature to 145° F (63° C) for 30 minutes, then raise to 154° F (68° C) for 15 minutes, and finally mash out at 169° to 172° F (76° to 78° C) water.

Single Step Mash: For single step, hold at 145° F (63° C) for 45 to 60 minutes. Sparge with very hot water, 176° to 180° F (80° to 82° C) to raise the mash temp to 158° to 169° F (70° to 76° C).  Then run the sparge with 169° to 172° F (76° to 78° C) water until the end.

Collect enough runoff to end up with 5.3 gallons (20 L) after a 60-minute boil (approximately 6.25 gallons, or 23.7 L). Bring to a boil and add the hops. Boil for 55 minutes and add the orange zest, crushed coriander, and other extra ingredients. Boil for 5 more minutes and then turn off the heat. Next, chill to 70° F (21° C), transfer to a fermenter, pitch the yeast and aerate well.  Continue fermenting at 73° F (23° C) for 5 to 6 days.  Rack to secondary and drop the temperature to 50° F (10° C) for 24 hours. Then drop the temperature to 32° F (0° C) and lager for 10 to 15 days.  Rack to keg, or if you are bottling, add the bottling sugar and then bottle as you normally would.

Carbonation

Force carbonate at 2.0 – 2.5 volumes of CO₂ 

—OR—

Bottle condition using 2.7 – 4.0 oz weight (77-113 g) corn sugar

¹ The all-grain recipes assume 75% efficiency unless otherwise stated.  Adjust the grain bill to match your system.