Belgian Wit - Too Much Citrus

[sean83]

Hi,

I recently put down a Belgian Wit which called for the zest of a sour orange and 30g coriander seeds. I Shredded the zest and crushed the the seeds and added these with 5 mins left in the boil. I know chill as well, but I left the majority of seeds and all of the zest in the boil kettle.

I have just tasted it as it has been cold crashed and force carbed in a keg. It is quite nice but there is just a slight over citrus orange taste tot he beer. Not terrible but more than I hoped for. I was wondering if like hop bitterness and aroma will this citrus taste subside over time?

Cheers Sean

 

[pmastello]

Where did the zest come from and how much did you put in there?
From your post, it looks like you had the zest of only 1 orange? Was it fresh or a dried peel?

While not exactly the same as your situation, I have a Wit on tap at the moment. I added the fresh zest of 10 oranges (Valencia, Blood orange, Saville and a grapefruit) All up about 70g. I also added only 10g of coriander that I ground before adding. And personally I think the coriander addition is too high. Its great when cold, but after it warms a bit, the coriander sticks out. Its getting better with age though.

So looking at your recipe, are you sure its the excess citrus, not excess Coriander? While different, it can sometimes be very difficult to differentiate aromas. Try to smell coriander seeds side by side with your beer.

 

[Jace89]

The flavors will subdue over time, but these beers are best enjoyed when they are fresh. But if it's to citrusy right now a little bit of time should balance it out.
How many liters was this brew? 30g of coriander seeds seems like a lot if it was around 20/25ltr range, I recently used 10grs with 4 blood oranges in my wit and found the citrus to be just enough.

 

[RdeVjun]

Wow, that is a lot of Coriander, it may be what the trouble is, although we don't know how much citrus zest/ peel you used or if it is 23L.
FWIW, the Lime Wit recipe that qualified for the Nats recently (on hbdu) used <10g Coriander and about the same fresh zest. I haven't see the judges feedback but based on the past few batches I've made it is easy to overdo the spices, don't forget they're supposed to be subtle and that the yeast character is important too.
You may find it subdues though, but brewing it again won't hurt- I think it will become a house specialty at my place!

 

[seamad]

Like the others it is most likely to be too much coriander if you have a standard 21 l batch. I now use 7.5 g for a batch . To me if you can have a wit and taste the spices its too much, i prefer a subtle background note.

 

[lukasfab]

Wow, that is a lot of Coriander, it may be what the trouble is, although we don't know how much citrus zest/ peel you used or if it is 23L.
FWIW, the Lime Wit recipe that qualified for the Nats recently (on hbdu) used <10g Coriander and about the same fresh zest. I haven't see the judges feedback but based on the past few batches I've made it is easy to overdo the spices, don't forget they're supposed to be subtle and that the yeast character is important too.
You may find it subdues though, but brewing it again won't hurt- I think it will become a house specialty at my place!

recipe?

 

[RdeVjun]

recipe?

Apologies, perils of mobile & links... Anyway, this is the original recipe, but now with the wheat malt dropped by about a quarter and replaced with raw wheat:

Details:
Name: Limegaarden 4
Size: 17.0 litres
Style: Witbier
OG: 1.050, FG:1.012, Alc:4.9, IBU:15.6
(Alc method: by Volume; IBU method: Tinseth)

Fermentables:
Name amount units pppg lov %
Wheat Malt 1.60 kg 1.039 1.7 44.3%
Weyermann Premium Pilsner 1.21 kg 1.039 1.7 33.6%
Wheat (Flaked) 0.60 kg 1.034 2.0 16.6%
German Acid Malt 0.20 kg 1.034 2.0 5.5%

Hops:
Name amount units Alpha Min IBU
Saaz (FWH) 39.00 g 2.2 90.0 15.6

Spice:
8g Coriander, crushed, add at Flameout
8g Lime Zest, fresh, add at Flameout

No- Chilled

Yeast: Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier

Its a great hot weather- refresher, quick and simple to make, will have a keg of this on most of the time. :icon_cheers:

 

[WeaselEstateBrewery]

I had a similar issue, I brewed a hefe and blended them about 50/50 and it is now really nice.

 

[sean83]

Hey,

Thanks for all the replies, yes I only used the zest of one orange and retasting again today it is definitely the coriander coming through. But as stated when it is cooled down it is fine just when it warms up. I had a feeling 30g was going overboard but I guess you live and learn. The actual beer and mouth feel is what I was going for and the taste when cool isnt too bad either - I guess it will be a summer quencher when it gets a bit hot here.

The recipe was as follows:

1.5 kg German Pils
1 kg Wheat
1 kg Raw (unmalted) Wheat
500g Rolled oats

I mashed everything at 66 degrees in a BIAB for 20 mins then brought the temp up for 20 mins to 75 degrees.

The zest of one sour orange was used and 30g indian coriander crushed at flameout. Orange was fresh.

Cheers Sean

 

[sink cut]

I recently made a wit too


49% pils
49% raw wheat
2% acid malt
peel from 2 oranges
12 gms coriander
10 kafier lime leaves
51 Liters at 1044 -W1214

I found at 12 gms in 51 liters the corriander was too much, although it is melowing after a month in the Keg.