uncle john's wit (belgian wit)
brewed: 23/09/14
pitched: 23/09/14
kegged: 30/09/14
subsequent batch info: n/a
ingredients:
2.2kg muntons pilsner
2.1kg torrefied wheat
90gm joe white munich
30gm tettnang (pellets, 4.5 aa%, 60 mins)
12gm mandarin zest (5 mins)
7gm crushed indian coriander (5 mins)
0.5 teaspoon yeast nutrient
11.5gm mangrove jack's belgian ale yeast
process:
batch size: 21L
steps: 2
mash: 66C for 90 mins, 76C mash out for 10 mins
boil: 90 mins
chill method: plate
ferment temp: 25C
d-rest: 32C
chilled: 2C
estimated OG: 1.044
actual OG: 1.042
estimated FG: 1.006
actual FG: 1.004
%abv: 5.1
ibu: 15
brewing notes:
17/09/14 - i got some amazing mandarins from my uncle john's farm this weekend so i decided why not use them in a belgian wit beer. commonly you are supposed to use certain kinds of oranges but i've been told that mandarins are a pretty good substitute. next week, the brew day begins! it'll be an interesting one as i have NO idea how much zest or coriander to add. i've been browsing recipes and forums and asking Martin for help but lots of people suggest different things so who cares! excited.
23/09/14 - very interesting brew day today. my first time using so much wheat and i think it really played with my efficiency a lot. i was 4 points under gravity pre-boil which is rare for my system. accordingly, i did an emergency impromptu mash out step and gained back the 4 points, only to still lose 2 points post-boil. oh well.
i have also started making 21 litre batches and not 20; mainly so i can have a full keg load once it's finished and i can still check the gravity while it's fermenting. this COULD have been the issue with my efficiency, but for some reason, i think it's the wheat. i'll have to check with another simple pale ale recipe (the fletcher pale ale 2.0 which will be the next one i make). i'm still excited for this beer. the mandarins smelled amazing, and the coriander just looked cool going into the boil.
27/10/14 - have decided to add some more mandarin zest post-ferment. i'll do this during the week by adding some zest to a small amount of water, boiling it, letting it cool slightly, then dumping it all in in a hop sock.
tasting notes:
29/09/14 - wow! so i didn't know what to expect when i tested this one today and i'm stupidly impressed! it has attenuated from 1.042 down to 1.004 which means it'll be very dry (good for me!) and also sport a 5.1% abv. this is right where i wanted it so i've started to chill it, and although i want the yeast to remain suspended, am going to try and transfer it to a keg tonight or tomorrow. very excited.
05/10/14 - had a small test and it's still not ready. don't think it will be ready for another 2 to 3 weeks. still nice and cloudy and yeasty but this should no doubt settle out soon. when i do a taste test in future i'll make sure i move the keg a bit to make sure it's yeasty and cloudy.
27/10/14 - have been tasting this one over the past week and a bit and it's not bad. not the best, but that's due to a lot of factors. it needs a different wit beer yeast (as this one is no doubt a saison yeast and it's dried out too much. it needs more mandarin and more coriander (i still might add more to the keg). apart from that i'm pretty happy with it. it's a nice taste up front, but then is quite dry in finish. it's turned around to be a surprisingly enjoyable wit beer.
brew day / beer pictures:
pitched: 23/09/14
kegged: 30/09/14
subsequent batch info: n/a
ingredients:
2.2kg muntons pilsner
2.1kg torrefied wheat
90gm joe white munich
30gm tettnang (pellets, 4.5 aa%, 60 mins)
12gm mandarin zest (5 mins)
7gm crushed indian coriander (5 mins)
0.5 teaspoon yeast nutrient
11.5gm mangrove jack's belgian ale yeast
process:
batch size: 21L
steps: 2
mash: 66C for 90 mins, 76C mash out for 10 mins
boil: 90 mins
chill method: plate
ferment temp: 25C
d-rest: 32C
chilled: 2C
estimated OG: 1.044
actual OG: 1.042
estimated FG: 1.006
actual FG: 1.004
%abv: 5.1
ibu: 15
brewing notes:
17/09/14 - i got some amazing mandarins from my uncle john's farm this weekend so i decided why not use them in a belgian wit beer. commonly you are supposed to use certain kinds of oranges but i've been told that mandarins are a pretty good substitute. next week, the brew day begins! it'll be an interesting one as i have NO idea how much zest or coriander to add. i've been browsing recipes and forums and asking Martin for help but lots of people suggest different things so who cares! excited.
23/09/14 - very interesting brew day today. my first time using so much wheat and i think it really played with my efficiency a lot. i was 4 points under gravity pre-boil which is rare for my system. accordingly, i did an emergency impromptu mash out step and gained back the 4 points, only to still lose 2 points post-boil. oh well.
i have also started making 21 litre batches and not 20; mainly so i can have a full keg load once it's finished and i can still check the gravity while it's fermenting. this COULD have been the issue with my efficiency, but for some reason, i think it's the wheat. i'll have to check with another simple pale ale recipe (the fletcher pale ale 2.0 which will be the next one i make). i'm still excited for this beer. the mandarins smelled amazing, and the coriander just looked cool going into the boil.
27/10/14 - have decided to add some more mandarin zest post-ferment. i'll do this during the week by adding some zest to a small amount of water, boiling it, letting it cool slightly, then dumping it all in in a hop sock.
tasting notes:
29/09/14 - wow! so i didn't know what to expect when i tested this one today and i'm stupidly impressed! it has attenuated from 1.042 down to 1.004 which means it'll be very dry (good for me!) and also sport a 5.1% abv. this is right where i wanted it so i've started to chill it, and although i want the yeast to remain suspended, am going to try and transfer it to a keg tonight or tomorrow. very excited.
05/10/14 - had a small test and it's still not ready. don't think it will be ready for another 2 to 3 weeks. still nice and cloudy and yeasty but this should no doubt settle out soon. when i do a taste test in future i'll make sure i move the keg a bit to make sure it's yeasty and cloudy.
27/10/14 - have been tasting this one over the past week and a bit and it's not bad. not the best, but that's due to a lot of factors. it needs a different wit beer yeast (as this one is no doubt a saison yeast and it's dried out too much. it needs more mandarin and more coriander (i still might add more to the keg). apart from that i'm pretty happy with it. it's a nice taste up front, but then is quite dry in finish. it's turned around to be a surprisingly enjoyable wit beer.
brew day / beer pictures: