Wit-A-Palooza, Second Act

[Gravity Thrills]

OK,Freon, the second leg of the BeerTools Wit-A-Palooza tour is locked in for next week. The recipe "Gravity's Wit" is posted in the database, and here's the skinny:

Batch Size: 6.5 gallons (Boil Volume: 8 gallons)
Grist:
4.5 pounds Belgian Pils
0.5 pounds Acidulated Malt
4 pounds Flaked hard Red Winter Wheat
1 pounds Oats Flaked
0.5 pounds rice hulls (to aid in runoff)
1 ounces Saaz
1.75 ounces coriander
7/8 ounce crushed bitter orange peel

In kettle:
1 ounce Saaz boiled 60 min.
"Handful" (1/2 cup) wheat flour 20 min.
0.25 ounce coriander 5 min.
1/8 ounce crushed bitter orange peel 5 min

Yeast: Wyeast Witbier

Mash schedule:
-20 minute protein rest at 122 in 2.5 gallons of water.
-add (up to) 2.5 QUARTS (1 quart at a time, stirred in well and temp checked) 200F water to bring up to conversion temp @152F. Hold for 90 minutes.

I'm dying to brew this. An out of town wedding this weekend will keep me at bay yet another week. Aargh!

Any comments, suggestions, or ritual incantations I should add to the mix?

Cheers,
Jim

[Freon12]

I don't know what to say. I'm stunned.

I will question however, the use of (yuk) wheat flour. I think this is a mistake and will give a sandy taste effect.
I also think my spice rates are yet conservative and topped out at the right level in equal amounts.
The protien rest due to oats is good and I mashed with slightly more water, but no matter.

I used no hulls and had no problem with runoff due to a standard grind with non-flaked wheat and recirculated until very clear eventhough it will be a cloudy brew. Flaked may be a problem in that amount. (where do you get red flaked wheat?)

A few drops of lactic acid will improve this guy greatly as a match to the acid malt as my tartness could(should) have been better.

I think we're on to something!
And it's wit fest now. Ozzy bought it out.

Steve

Bye the bye, The wit has been consumed. I am still Jonesing for more after a week. What was that stuff?

[Gravity Thrills]

Thanks for the insights, Steve. I have been back and forth on a few of these points, but that's the battle plan of the moment.

The flour is one of those commonalities from a couple of the trad Belgian farmhaouse recipes, according to Mssrs. Jackson and Mosher, and a recent All About Beer style column, so I figured if ya cant beat 'em, Belge'em. It also makes some sense to me in that it should put back some of the cloudiness that the protein rest will rob teh beer of. The short rest is another hedge against too much haze lost.

[Very wierd to be finally pulling for the chill haze instead of doing battle with it, huh?]

My starting mash water volume will actually be 10.5 quarts - I forgot the half-quart to account for the rice hulls. By the time add hot liquor to get up to starch conversion temp the mash thickness should be my normal 1 gallon/3 pounds. It's convenient that the protein rest favors a thick mash and the starch rest likes it thin -- further proof that the Maker is a beer lover, no?

I may well regret a lack of orange flavor in the finished beer, but that's what second attempts are for. And, judging by how fast you managed to go through your batch, this one may well be revisited soon.

I can't compete with biting the head off a bat, but I am willing to drink the head off a bass (ale) or three.

Cheers,
Jim

[dartedplus]

I finally got my yeast (WLP400) so if I can I will be brewing this weekend (maybe) or next (most likely) I like the idea of tossing in the wheat flour. I haven't totally formulated the recipe yet, but probably will later today when Zach takes a nap (was 6 months on Weds) I like it when he naps, i can get stuff done. Anyhow, as soon as I get my recip[e done, I'll post it for feedback. In my last batch of wit, I took the coriander,orange peel and cumin, and simmered it in a cup of water and then strained it and added it to the boil with 3 minutes left. I got plenty of flavor from that with a small amount of stuff.
Do you think the acid malt makes it better and how much would you recommend, as I do have some on hand.
Ed

[Gravity Thrills]

I have never used acidulated malt in any beer before, so this is a grand experiment for me. I based the 0.5 lb amount on the fact that I have seen recipes for pilsners calling for up to 4 ounces - to acidify the mash in the absence of any dark grains but not really to be a perceptable part of the flavor profile. So, after back-n-forths with Freon on this site, doubling that amount to get some lactic character seemed like a reasonable measure.

Several American wit interpretations don't have the tartness of some of the Belgian offerings of of teh late great Celis White. I like that part of the flavor profile, so figured I'd give it a bash.

Cheers,
Jim

[dartedplus]

i guess thats why we fiddle with these recipes so much, we need to see what works for us