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| Witbier |
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 Belgian wit (white) beers are very pale, turbid beers with a balanced spiced character and a crisp “zing.” These traits make for an appealing and refreshing beer, but each of these characters also makes it potentially hard to replicate at home.
To get a somewhat stable haze, you can use up to 10% unmalted wheat in the grist. Don’t add Irish moss when boiling your wort.
The typical spices in a witbier are coriander and bitter orange peel. Getting the spice level right can be tricky because spices differ in their intensity. Use about 20% less than you think you’ll need in the boil, and correct the spice level — if needed — by adding spices (or an alcohol extract of the spices) in the bottling bucket or keg. The “zing” in a historical witbier may have come partly from contaminating lactic acid bacteria or wild yeast (esp. Brettanomyces). Modern homebrewed examples can be accentuated by a bit of lactic acid.
White Labs and Wyeast sell various strains of witbier yeast, each with noticeably different flavor and aroma profiles. Wit fans should try them all and pick their favorite.
Pierre, South Dakota Witbier
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.053 FG = 1.012
IBU = 18 SRM = 5 ABV = 5.2%
Ingredients
6.0 lbs. (2.7 kg) Briess Pilsen malt
3.0 lbs. (1.4 kg) Briess red wheat malt
1.0 lbs. (0.45 kg) flaked wheat
0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg) flaked oats
0.33 lbs. (0.15 kg) flaked barley
5 AAU Styrian Goldings hops
(60 min)
(1.0 oz./28 g of 5% alpha acids)
0.33 oz. (9.4 g) bitter orange peel
0.25 oz. (7.1 g) coriander
up to 1.0 oz. (29 mL) 88% lactic acid
(to taste before bottling or kegging)
up to 1.5 tsp. vinegar (optional)
Wyeast 3463 (Forbidden Fruit) yeast
(2 qt./~2 L yeast starter)
1.0 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
Mash at 152 °F (67 °C). Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops at times specified. Add spices at end of boil and let steep 15 minutes before cooling. Ferment at 74 °F (23 °C). Add acid, vinegar and touch-up spices, if desired, in keg or secondary fermenter.
Extract option:
Replace all grains with 1.33 lbs. (0.60 kg) Briess dried malt extract, 4.0 lbs. (1.8 kg) Coopers Wheat liquid malt extract, 2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) wheat malt and 1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) flaked wheat. Steep malt and flakes for 45 minutes in 1.1 gallons (4.3 L) at 150 °F (66 °C). Add water to “grain tea” to make 3 gallons (11 L), add dried malt extract and boil for 60 minutes. Add liquid malt extract at end of boil and let steep for 15 minutes before cooling. Review all-grain instructions for other info.
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