--

Cherry Witbier

5 gallons, extract and specialty grain; OG = 1.043

Ingredients:

• 1/3 lb. flaked wheat
• 1/3 lb. flaked barley
• 1/3 lb. flaked oats
• 0.5 lb. cara-pils
• 3 lbs. unhopped weizen extract syrup (about half wheat, half barley)
• 2 lbs. unhopped extra-light dry malt extract
• 1 oz. Saaz hop pellets (4% alpha acid), 0.5 oz. for 45 min., 0.5 oz. for 15 min.)
• Belgian witbier yeast culture (such as Wyeast 3944)
• 2 lbs. sweet cherries
• 7/8 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

In 3 gals. cold water, steep wheat, barley, oats, and cara-pils. Raise gradually to about 170° F and remove grains. Add extracts to kettle. Bring to a boil, add 0.5 oz. hops. Boil 30 minutes, add 0.5 oz.hops, boil 15 more minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Top off in primary fermenter to 5.25 gals. and, when cooled to 70° F or so, pitch yeast.

Ferment at 65° F for seven to 10 days, then rack onto cherries in your secondary fermenter. Condition on fruit 10 to 14 days, rack to another fermenter to clarify a little (three or four days), then bottle, priming with corn sugar. Age four to six weeks in a cool corner (50° to 55° F).

Alternatives and Notes:

All-grain brewers should mash 3.5 lbs. pale malt, 3.5 lbs. wheat malt, 0.5 lb. cara-pils, and 4 oz. each flaked wheat and flaked oats, in 11 qts. of water at 151° to 153° F for 90 minutes. Sparge with 17 qts. at 169° F. Follow the recipe, except boil long enough to reduce to 5.25 gals.

Yeast: This is a brew that requires a special yeast. The Wyeast culture 3944 is ideal, and I also like to try to use recultured "classic" yeasts, such as Hoegaarden and Blanche de Bruges, whenever possible. I don't recommend using dry yeast.

Fruit: Naturally, the whole idea here is that you can tailor any recipe to your own tastes, so please don't feel limited to cherries. Raspberries, strawberries, mangos, peaches, anything you like might work well. The method I've outlined here and elsewhere for using fresh fruit is the best for my brewing system. Other possibilities include steeping the fruit in the cooling wort for 15 minutes or so and then putting the fruit (in a mesh bag) into the primary; adding fruit juice or flavoring essence to the secondary; and adding fruit essence with priming sugar, or a fruit-flavored liqueur instead of priming sugar, when you bottle.

Spices: The "original" witbiers have a combination of fruit (bitter orange) and spices, usually coriander. My recipe above does not call for spices, but it could. What spices go well with cherries? They'd probably need to be of the pungent/peppery variety, such as cardamom, black pepper, or grains of paradise. Try what you like.

Send YOUR favorite recipe to: Recipe Exchange, 5053 Main Street, Suite A, Manchester Center, Vermont 05255 OR e-mail it to:edit@byo.com, Subject: Recipe Submissions. If we publish it, we'll send you a cool BYO gift!