Hoegarden white/wit beer

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Gday Brewers

A Christmas request to Brew wheat bier for that hot sweltering (in Aus) belly laiden time of year where santa that big Fat Bas@#rd breaks into your house via the Chimney (he'd be stuffed at my place no chimney) and drinks all your beer!

The more I think of it the better an idea it sounds an easy drinking refreshing beer.

Been doing a bit of perusal around the web's and looking at other hoegarden beers from on here to get a sorta idea of how to go about this Belgian wheat beer.

Looks like most are 50/50 ale to wheat malt most actually favouring ale a tad over the wheat. Then I see plenty adding flaked oats and flaked wheat to the grist around 5-10%. I'm thinking going 50/50 on ale to wheat then 5%~ rolled oats and flaked barley. I do see some substituting raw unmalted wheat from store for flaked wheat. I think all this is for haze contribution.

Hops
I'm seeing East Kent Goldings for boil
Sazz late in boil like 10minutes.

I'm thinking of magnum / mittlefruh

Spices
I'm seeing from 3g half Oz coriander (cracked or uncracked) roasted or unroasted and sweat orange peel.
Some recipies up this to 10g per batch of each and all i see are boiling 5 to go.
Thinking of just seating orange for that orange thing.
Oh and also references to chamomile half ounce at 5 to go as well.

Water I'm seeing light on and ballanced.

Now yeast I'm seeing WLP 400
I'm looking for a dried option Safebrew WB06.

Anyhow brewers I'll get a recipie together shortly but thought I'd throw it out there on this brew. I'm a rookie when it comes to the white beer I've.brewed the coriander wheat long time back extract and I remember it was nice. I've done a lemongrass ginger honey one and last year I went all out with strawberries after some idiot in Aus put pins in an and dropped the price.

Anyhow what's your tried and trusted?
How heavy handed light have you gone with the spices.
Let me know I'm 'll ears
Cheers!
 
I decided to homebrew because RIS and wit beers were becoming less and less popular. The pastry stout marketing extravaganza has definitely helped create more stouts, but good fresh wits are getting harder to find year by year.

The recipe I'm using is here - https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/629964/gwyn.

I was pretty happy with the last one, but I still get too much yeast character for the other drinkers (the wife being the main culprit). I've talked to other brewers on increasing/decreasing the yeast character. We all mention the obvious levers like pitch rate and ferm temp, but that hasn't helped. One person will complain about not enough yeast character but they'll ferment warmer than me and have a lower pitch rate. The next will have the opposite experience.

I'm guessing it's maybe more to do with wort makeup and/or yeast heath.

Or maybe it's remembering drinking the fresh ones in Belgium while on holiday that means I'll never be happy with mine.
 
I decided to homebrew because RIS and wit beers were becoming less and less popular. The pastry stout marketing extravaganza has definitely helped create more stouts, but good fresh wits are getting harder to find year by year.

The recipe I'm using is here - https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/629964/gwyn.

I was pretty happy with the last one, but I still get too much yeast character for the other drinkers (the wife being the main culprit). I've talked to other brewers on increasing/decreasing the yeast character. We all mention the obvious levers like pitch rate and ferm temp, but that hasn't helped. One person will complain about not enough yeast character but they'll ferment warmer than me and have a lower pitch rate. The next will have the opposite experience.

I'm guessing it's maybe more to do with wort makeup and/or yeast heath.

Or maybe it's remembering drinking the fresh ones in Belgium while on holiday that means I'll never be happy with mine.
I see you used cane sugar there Mark to thin out body?

Ever tried or herd of anyone using lemon myrtle in a wheat beer. I've got one growing out front just a young plant I bought it just for brewing I recon them flavours would meld nicely in the wheat beer style?

Thanks for the recipie for perusal Mark much appreciated. See you used pilsner instead of ale there too.
 
I was just copying recipes at the start, but yep, thin out the body. I like the wit bone dry. One of the few beers I step mash.

I think natives for the spicing sounds like a great idea. And something the Belgian brewers would approve.

Pilsner was again more about copying recipes and as I don't keep malt on hand it doesn't matter to me whether it's pilsner or ale. I expect the difference is little to none.
 
I was just copying recipes at the start, but yep, thin out the body. I like the wit bone dry. One of the few beers I step mash.

I think natives for the spicing sounds like a great idea. And something the Belgian brewers would approve.

Pilsner was again more about copying recipes and as I don't keep malt on hand it doesn't matter to me whether it's pilsner or ale. I expect the difference is little to none.
True true well maybe I'll add a handful of leaves at 5mins. From Wikipedia
  • The citral chemotype is more prevalent and is cultivated in Australia for flavouring and essential oil. Citral as an isolate in steam distilled lemon myrtle oil is typically 90–98%, and oil yield 1–3% from fresh leaf. It is the highest natural source of citral.

How much to add is the tricky part maybe I could add the myrtle and half any orange peel cobtribution so as not to over cloud it.

Ah I'm starting to look forward to brewing this one now.:)
 
You may want a protein rest with the raw wheat. Or if it's mainly just for complexity put the extraction down a bit.
Thankyou didn't think of that will probably duck down the health food shop here they'll sell raw wheat grain for cooking. Should probably just mash this in at protine temp 55c for 15 Then dough in the malted grist raise temp to beta 62ish for 20-30 Then up it 66 then straight up to dextrin 70 to Finnish.
 
Went a gathering ingredients today. One stop was the health food show where I found they stock barley grain with husk on but didn't see a price on it dam. But wheat malt was $3.50/kg win! Also I see flaked rye, steel cut oats, rolled oats, corn, yes some tasty options I'll ben returning too for sure.
20191116_161036.jpg
got the corriander from another health food store HBS didn't stock any nor the sweet orange peel looks like I'm zesting an orange.
And as you see in pic below I got some of the real deal you know for edumacation beer brewing purposes:p. I'm hoping mine comes out fresher Belgium is a long way from Aus!
20191116_122132.jpg
 
Brewed this up today.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/908853/lemon-myrtle-witbier
But I think it may be a dumper:eek:!!!
Im thinking the amount of gluten in there from all that raw wheat gumed up the element and has scorched the wort.
I had this in a beer earlier this year on one of my first electric brews the wort had a burnt flavour to it and while today's one isn't as bad it's def there dam it!

About 30minutes in I noticed the boil wasn't as vigorous so I scraped the mash spoon across the element and yep there was a gum build up on it. I kept doing this periodical nursing it to flame out but as you see here below in this post brew element pic the damage had already been done:oops:.
20191117_161142.jpg

And this is after I gave it a touch up with wire brush funny that supplementary element isn't gummed at all but I do run this at 40%

Most brews I do get a bit of build up on the element bit never any burning.

I recon if I get another Power watt meter I could run it and second element at 50% and it should stop that scorching.

So it looks like this will probably me a dumped but if by some miracle it comes out the other end of fermentation without that burnt flavour I suppose we will see.

If and when I brew V2 I think I'll drop the amount of raw wheat and just for 50/50 pils malted wheat and let the lemon myrtle and orange corriander play their supporting roll.

On that not gee that mix I threw in at 5 smelt heavenly
20191117_164952.jpg

Ah well such is life boys and girls such is life ;)!
 
I've only had scorch issues like that using a heavy rye malt grain bill. Melted my element clean through basically. After my issue I went to a ulwd element and no more problem since. My guess is your element and you've most likely gotten lucky on other boils not scorching more. My thoughts... You need an element with a lot more surface area to avoid this. It's why you see coil, rolled, and ripple elements.
 
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I'd ferment it out. You might be surprised how little actually scorched. When I was putting my system together I went back and forth between RIMS and HERMS. RIMS eventually won out due to cost and simplicity so I have the risk of scorching beer in my RIMS tube. I've scorched the bottom of a pan while still doing propane and it had no ill effects on the beer. Good luck with it!
 
I've only had scorch issues like that using a heavy rye malt grain bill. Melted my element clean through basically. After my issue I went to a ulwd element and no more problem since. My guess is your element and you've most likely gotten lucky on other boils not scorching more. My thoughts... You need an element with a lot more surface area to avoid this. It's why you see coil, rolled, and ripple elements.
You melted your element right through wowzerz. It's beers like these i have to be careful I'm thinking of getting a second Power Whatt Meter this'll drop the wattage to the element and hopefully reduce the scorching.

@Noseybear fingers crossed
I'm not to confident on this one gee I hope I'm wrong on this one though:p.

Bloody wheat bier fragile things...
 
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Ok a recap on previous brew it turned out a dumper. Wort scorched early on in boil and ruined the beer its slug feed currently in garden.

Also I've changed recipe to
1.8kg pils
1.8kg malted wheat
.5 rolled oats
Everything else recipie wise stayed the same.
I've removed the heavy raw wheat addition.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/908853/lemon-myrtle-witbier


I ordered another power watt meter to reduce heat to main element and hopefully stop scorching second time through.
I set the main element at 70% and second element at 40% .
and happily I can report that no scorching has been done to elements.
Heres a pic of my hosed out kettle you beauty no scortch I'm a happy little brewer!
20191206_200321.jpg


Wort come in at 1.044 a point short of target I smacked my 21lt mark dead on and got a starter of wheat yeast going in chamber all is well in my brew house now phew I was nervous boys and girls:)!
 
Just thought I'd do a recap on this brew turned out bloody good still could do with some improvements for example I dont know where that lemon myrtle went but it did have a lemony cirtussy thing. Yeah it kicked before new years so it went quick and was well received Christmas day.

Was going to start a thread on how your Christmas beers went but will just put the question out here.

My ginger ninger just made it to Christmas but didnt see any action on the day...
But both beers in brewed for Christmas are kicked.

Howd your chrissy beers fair ?
 
My Vanilla Porter got run over by the guests. I think I had 2 or 3 glasses out of the whole Keg and it was my favorite beer of the year. That's a great feeling of course and I'm certainly not complaining, but maybe next year I accidentally insert a shorter liquid tube in the Xmas Keg. Probably end up with coal in my stocking. :oops:
 
My Vanilla Porter got run over by the guests. I think I had 2 or 3 glasses out of the whole Keg and it was my favorite beer of the year. That's a great feeling of course and I'm certainly not complaining, but maybe next year I accidentally insert a shorter liquid tube in the Xmas Keg. Probably end up with coal in my stocking. :oops:
Awesome stuff magary yes it's a great feeling when people are digging you brew.

I've stopped giving a s#$t if people like my beer now I warn them before hand so I don't have to waste any (you know the commercial horse piss drinkers who dont like the taste of a bit of malt and hops...) rant done:rolleyes:.
 
Funny this.....
No brewing for me for a while as all equipment (which isn't mucg anyway) is packed up, But.....
I just picked up 2 cases of Hoegaarden at our local supermarket. Close to the expiry date, but I don't mind that at all.
They are now cheaper than the local lager. At 35 U$ cents per bottle, you won't hear me complaining :)
 

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