# Hoegaarden Experts Help Me Please!



## mje1980 (12/2/05)

After drinking hoegaarden on tap recently, i am very keen to brew this. Anybody got a recipe for this beer. I belive it is just hoegaarden white, not grand cru etc. Also, can torrified wheat be used as flaked wheat??, and also, how much coriander etc, and how do i use it in the recipe. Any info would be greatly appreciated.


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## AndrewQLD (12/2/05)

Here's a wit I brew on a regular basis, This is a single infusion mash that seems to work quite well and I get good extraction. It is a fairly simple and easy to do recipe that gives a good aproximation of the wit style. One of my Favorite beers.

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Wit
Brewer: Andrew Clark
Asst Brewer: 
Style: Witbier
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (47.0) 

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 21.50 L 
Boil Size: 27.11 L
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 8.0 EBC
Estimated IBU: 19.5 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU 
300.00 gm Rice Hulls (0.0 EBC) Adjunct 5.8 % 
2300.00 gm Pale Malt (2 Row) Bel (6.0 EBC) Grain 44.2 % 
2300.00 gm Wheat, Flaked (3.0 EBC) Grain 44.2 % 
300.00 gm Acid Malt (3.5 EBC) Grain 5.8 % 
35.00 gm Goldings, [5.30%] (60 min) Hops 19.5 IBU 
15.00 gm Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 
15.00 gm Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 
1 Pkgs Belgian Wit Ale (White Labs #WLP400) [CulYeast-Wheat 


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 5200.00 gm
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temp Step Time 
Mash In Add 13.56 L of water at 73.8 C 65.6 C 75 min 
Mash Out Add 8.68 L of water at 94.5 C 75.6 C 10 min 


Notes:
------


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## Jovial_Monk (12/2/05)

I would use spelt grains as the raw wheat. Add all the strike liquor to the wheat, stir around a bit, then add the 40% barley malt. This way the raw wheat is pregeltinised.

Don't forget the coriander and orange peel at 15 min.

Kit brewers can make something like it with a can of Morgans Golden Sheaf wheat beer kit and a can of Coopers or Morgans Wheat malt extract. Use a liquid Wit yeast and the coriander and orange peel, etc

Jovial Monk


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## morry (12/2/05)

According to Michael Jackson, Hoegaarden is 50% Pils, 45% Unmalted wheat and 5% Oats. Im yet to brew this yet, but I reckon itd be very nice. 

Dont forget the coriander and orange peel.


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## Gulf Brewery (12/2/05)

Jovial_Monk said:


> I would use spelt grains as the raw wheat.


 JM

What does the spelt give you flavour wise compared to standard raw wheat?

I have a Belgian Wit in the fermenter at the moment. I used 
2.00 kg. Wheat Malt
2.125 kg. Raw Wheat
0.75 kg. Pilsner
30g coriander seed - crushed @ 10
40g xinhui orange peel @ 20
hersbrucker for 22IBU

I did a lactic mash for 2 days on 500g of the pils malt and it was (just) sour when I mashed in. 
This will probably be kegged on monday and I will start drinking it while it is fresh. 

Cheers
Pedro


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## roach (12/2/05)

looking forward to having a taster of that one Pedro. This style is on my to do list this year.


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## Weizguy (12/2/05)

mje1980 said:


> ...Also, can torrified wheat be used as flaked wheat??


mje,
Torrefied wheat is puffed wheat. not quite the same as wheat flakes. Try wheat flakes, they're only a bit scary (haha). Torrefied is for English ales and bitters. Wheat beers should use raw or malted wheat (or wheat DME). :lol: 



mje1980 said:


> and also, how much coriander etc, and how do i use it in the recipe.


Amount of coriander and peel is up to you. The peel, I understand, is to enhance the bitterness. The bitter orange curacao peel was intended to offset the lack of bittering hops, which could only be purchased from the Germans at exorbitant prices. I peel the rind off a Valencia with a potato peeler and add it 15 min before flameout (in a hop-bag).
The coriander was used instead of flavour/aroma hops, which could only...etc, as above. I use up to 45 g, which I have crushed/ pulverisd in a Ziploc bag with a meat mallet (true).



mje1980 said:


> Any info would be greatly appreciated.


This was very much a compromise beer, with local herbs/ spices to replace the expensive hops, and raw wheat to replace the fermentables from malt, which the Germans also had a stranglehold on.
This is the Belgian philosophy of experimentation with ingredients, and of 'making do" with what's available and cheap.
Experiment & enjoy!
BTW, the original Hoegaarden has 5% oats, as Morry said. And it has a sour mash, so U might wanna grab some acidulated malt.
Grand Cru is all malt, I hear, and has no wheat. Must have been a luxury beer at the time, eh?
Plan to put one together soon, too. Sour mash (about 250g) is in the freezer in a Ziploc. Other half already went into my Berliner weisse.
L8R
Seth out
:chug:


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## Gulf Brewery (13/2/05)

Weizguy said:


> And it has a sour mash, so U might wanna grab some acidulated malt.


Weizguy

I think we need a bit of clarification here. Acidulated malt will help you adjust the pH of your mash. It doesn't provide sourness to your beer (probably will if you use 3 kg out of a 5 kg grist) and can be used in any style of beer where you need to adjust pH, not just wits. There is a bit of info on the Weyermann web site.

If you want to add sourness to your beer, then do a sour mash of some malt and add it to your mash.

Cheers
Pedro


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## mje1980 (13/2/05)

Let me ask a stupid question. If i brew a beer with 45% unmalted wheat, how can that contribute to the beer in terms of maltose etc??, if its unmalted, and i only use 50% pils, wouldnt the pils be the only malt to contribute the sugars???. 


Also, where can i get, and what is unmalted wheat??.


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## Gulf Brewery (13/2/05)

Hey mje

Easy one first - unmalted wheat = raw wheat. I buy it from the health food shop, but any food grade wheat will be fine. 

The raw wheat still contains starches and these can be converted to sugars by the enzymes in pils and wheat malt. I usually allow for a very low efficiency rate when I do a beer with so much raw wheat.

The raw wheat lets you have a very light bodied beer and it doesn't matter about starch haze in a Wit beer - the more the better.


Cheers
Pedro


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## Jovial_Monk (13/2/05)

Why spelt?

Having done a little bit of baking with spelt flour, and having brewed a wit with spelt grains I know that spelt has more flavor than modern wheat. All spelt is grown organically.

In addition spelt has a husk which, though small in comparison to the husk on barley, certainly does help with the sparge. When I sparged the wit it was as easy as an all barley malt sparge.

Jovial Monk


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## Gulf Brewery (13/2/05)

Jovial_Monk said:


> I know that spelt has more flavor than modern wheat.


 JM

OK, maybe it has more flavour, but for a Belgian Wit, according to the BJCP style guidelines the beer "Can have a low wheat flavor". It doesn't have to for this style and add too much spelt and you will be out ot style. The main flavours you are looking for is the "orange-citrusy fruitiness".

Pedro


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## Jovial_Monk (13/2/05)

Even so, you get a tasty beer and no sparge problems.

JM


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## Snow (14/2/05)

Ok - I'm planning on doing a wit next week with 50% pils, 45% raw wheat and 5% oats. In researching this, I've come across numerous texts that thoroughly recommend a protein rest at 50C for 45 mins before the sacc. rest at 66C. 

Question 1: do I need to gelatinise the wheat before mashing in? If so, how is this done? None of the references mention pre-mash gelatinisation, so I'm doubtful this is necessary.

Question2: How long should I hold the mash at 66C before conversion is complete? (I don't have an iodine test kit). I assume 30 mins should do the trick?

Thanks in advance for any advice!  

Cheers - Snow.


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## Asher (14/2/05)

Snow,

The starch gelatinization temperature range for wheat is between 52 and 64C. So as long as its well crushed no pre-gelatinization is needed.

Id mash for at least 1 hour to be on the safe side as the diastic power of the malt is being streatched due to such a large % of wheat being present. 

Good luck & happy sparging

Asher for now


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## mje1980 (17/2/05)

Would it make a difference if used malted wheat instead of unmalted???


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## GMK (17/2/05)

i have lined up some spelt flaked wheat from a mate - it is supposed to add a more nutty flavour than just raw wheat.
I also have some Granary Malted wheat flakes that i will use as well as soft white wheat flakes.
i will use 45% wheat, 5% oats, 50 % Pils, maybe a handfull of vienna and or carahell.

Will use the orange peel, coriander maybe a little ground cinamon and ground cloves.
Will use Styrian Goldings hops.

Will let u know how the Barossa Wit comes out.


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## Gulf Brewery (17/2/05)

mje1980 said:


> Would it make a difference if used malted wheat instead of unmalted???
> [post="45501"][/post]​



Hi mje

Yes, it does make a difference, but for your 1st one, I would just use malted wheat. Raw wheat does help with a dry, starchy flavour (thats how I percieve it), but there are no hassles in doing it with malted grains. Also, the body may be a bit more than that of a beer done with raw wheat.

Cheers
Pedro


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## NRB (10/3/05)

How did it turn out Pedro?


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## Gulf Brewery (10/3/05)

NRB said:


> How did it turn out Pedro?
> [post="48618"][/post]​



NRB

I was a bit dissappointed with this one. The body was light like it should be, but it lacked that dry tartness that it needs on the finish. I dropped the coriander and orange peel back to 30g, but I think I may up it in the next one. I don't think my lactic mash was acidic enough - they are always tough to get "just right" on brew day.

Pint Of Lager has a bottle and I sure she will provide an independent judgement after she opens it. 

Cheers
Pedro


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