Coriander Seeds

[nabs478]

G'day,

I have tried to brew two witbiers. First got infected. Second one was ok, but had some fermentation issues, and was good enough to take to a party, but hardly the type of fine ale I like to think I can brew.

Before I brewed either of them I read about the amount of coriander and orange peel to use. I found that in the first infected brew I couldnt taste any coriander seed. The second I doubled the dose and still it was barely detecable at all before I boiled 4 times the amount I put in the first batch and dropped that in too. So I used effectively 6 times the amount in the second batch that I tried after reading and getting an idea from recipe books, and it still wasnt really enough. The flavour derived from it was kind of herb like, but not the spciy-corainder seed flavour you get when you bite a seed. The amount I used was about 450g in 160L the second time.

I have tasted a few wits, and some dont really have an overt coriander seed taste, its more of a blend of flavours and a bit more subtle. But one in particular, wicked elf witbier, has a quite strong coriander seed flavour which I really like, and whcih I am trying to get into my beer.

In both batches I either put the seeds through a blender or a food processor, but neither was really effective at powdering the seeds. Both left them mainly kind of split in half and with a few, but obvisouly not enough, really nice smelling fine particles.

I am hoping that someone has either experienced this issue and can help me out, or explain a better method for pulverising the coriander seeds into a fine powder?

Thanks,

Pip

 

[gap]

G'day,

I have tried to brew two witbiers. First got infected. Second one was ok, but had some fermentation issues, and was good enough to take to a party, but hardly the type of fine ale I like to think I can brew.

I am hoping that someone has either experienced this issue and can help me out, or explain a better method for pulverising the coriander seeds into a fine powder?

Thanks,

Pip

The coriander should be part of the flavour profile. It should not jump out at you.
It should along with the orange peel provide a citrus background to the phenloics from
the liquid Belgian Wit yeast.

i think you are expecting to much from the coriander.

 

[AndrewQLD]

I use up to 35g per 23 lt brew, added in the last 5 minutes of the boil, this gives a fairly assertive corriander presence.
How long did you boil the corriander for?

Andrew

 

[Steve]

or explain a better method for pulverising the coriander seeds into a fine powder?

Thanks,

Pip

I use either mortar and pescle or a coffee grinder for grinding seeds for cooking.
Cheers
Steve

 

[LethalCorpse]

If they're fairly fresh, they shouldn't need to be finely powdered - I cracked mine in the mortar and pestle, and the flavour I got from them was very strong - I'll use less next time. What I did, though, was in a separate pot, brought a litre of water and some LDME to the boil and boiled them for five minutes in that, so that I could strain my hops but keep the coriander and orange peel in the fermenter. Worked very well.

 

[etbandit]

Pip,

Try using indian corriander. They're the fat round ones that are larger than the others, and have a stronger aroma. Almost a spicy lemony smell when crushed.

I use 50g blender crushed in 26L batch and 150g of orange zest (no pith) ~5 oranges, and dried mandarin peel.
Gives quite a strong coriander aroman and taste, but I kinda like it that way.

 

[Screwtop]

15g of fresh seeds crushed in the mortar and pestle for 23L added to the boil 10 min before flameout. Gives a lemony citrus flavour but a tad too much, next time 10g.

Screwy

 

[nabs478]

Thanks for the tips guys.

Think I will go buy a coffee grinder.

 

[Weizguy]

I don't think that you need a coffee grinder.

I put Health Food store-bought coriander seed in a thick name-brand ziplock bag and smack with a meat mallet until all the seeds are cracked. Easy enough, but takes a bit of patience.

 

[sinkas]

LAso a lot of the coriander you find in shops, is as old as the hills and lost alot of its punch, so try and get some fresh stuff, from somone like herbies in sydney, or grow your own, and let it go to seed.

 

[Pennywise]

I am hoping that someone has either experienced this issue and can help me out, or explain a better method for pulverising the coriander seeds into a fine powder?

Thanks,

Pip

Personally I ues ground corriander seed, which you buy as a powder, masterfoods brand I think. I have only just bottled a wheatie with actual seeds a week ago so can't comment on difference, but I used less than 5g of the powder and noticed it. It was IMHO a really good balance with the 20g orange peel and a pinch of ground cummin seed :icon_drool2: . mmmm I think it's time to test that new wheatie, just to see how it's going of course

 

[WitWonder]

I'd also suggest having a listen to Jamil's show about Witbier. I want to master the Witbier and found his show quite useful (yet to put anything into practice just yet though!).

 

[Stuster]

And I'd suggest having a look at the Style of the Week thread on witbiers which has the accumulated knowledge of hundreds of batches as well as a few links to other info on the style. Linky.

 

[Effect]

Hey mate,

I love wit beers as well...

If you want to get more out of your corriander I would personally dry roast them for a bit (which will liven them up a bit and make it easier to crush) them wake in a bag and smash em with a rolling pin...

I have a mortar and pestle and would use that - wouldn't use the coffee grinder though (waste of money if u only use it for corriander when you can get the same effect using house hold items).

Good luck!~

 

[redbeard]

I just put the coriander thru my mill to crack it open / in half. A lot of the flavour / aroma depends on how old / stored the seeds are. Obviously fresh is best and needs less. Initially I put them in a freezer bag & crushed them with a coopers bottle rolling over them Now the mill is ok & less effort ;-)

What yeast you using ?

cheers

 

[edoeven]

has anyone used fresh coriander leaves, instead of the seeds? results?

 

[Tony]

Ahhhhhhh Coriander seeds........

I went to the trouble of growing my own!

Months groomingflowering plants and keeping the seed heads dry during the Newcastle June Floods last year

Hung the seeded flower heads in the garage for a couple of months, waiting for the federal police to raid the place.......... it looked really sus when you opened the garage doors!

Spend about 2 hours removing the seeds and ended up with a jam jar full of the most increadibly smelling coriander seeds.

Was planning a wit with them.

Opened the jar in the garage one night to have a sniff and when pitting the lid back on i dropped the jar.

Result:

well you can imagine the mess and all the tiny shards ofglass mixed in with the seed.

It all went in the bin and i was not happy.

Thinking about having another go at growing then this year. Maybe a Wit is not out of reach

cheers

 

[beersatan]

I think the better the ingredients you use in your beer - the better the beer. For me, fresh is best. I grow coriander for kitchen use and have just started fermenting my first hoey clone thing based on Gurmpy's recipe and so experimenting with how much to use.
For cooking at least, the seeds definitely hold their flavour a lot longer than ground up stuff and if you've got one of those indian spice shops or something similar in your neighbourhood you can get 50-100g plus for dollar or 2. Supermarkets will have it too for a few cents more.

Sorry to divert a bit but what are the best yeasts to use with this style?

 

[Stuster]

Sorry to divert a bit but what are the best yeasts to use with this style?

The best yeasts would have to be the liquid yeasts from either Wyeast or White Labs. Both have witbier yeasts.

 

[beersatan]

The best yeasts would have to be the liquid yeasts from either Wyeast or White Labs. Both have witbier yeasts.

Thanks. I'm not a big fan of the banana flavour so I might have to mail order and try a WY3333. My locals only seem to have Fermentis dry yeast...