First foray into Belgians! (Beer that is!)

[blissiictrl]

Hey guys, working on a mini BIAB for a local competition involving wheat beers - I've elected to do a 16A - Witbier

Comp Wheat (working title, haha)

Style: Witbier
OG: 1.047
FG: 1.012
ABV: 4.56 %
IBU's: 15.37
Color: 3.8 SRM
Batch Size: 12 L
Preboil OG: 1.040
Boil Time: 90 min

Grain Bill:
Pilsner (2 Row) 1250g
Wheat 1250g
Oats 350.00g
Honey 300g (some mix of clover and orange blossom, probably slightly more OB for citrus notes)

Hops
30.00 g 15.37 Hallertau Aroma 20 mins 4.00

Yeasts
Amount Name Laboratory / ID
2 act pkgs Belgian Witbier Wyeast Labs 3944

Additions
20g Ginger Root 3 days Primary
50 g Honey, Orange Blossom some as part of yeast starter and some in at pitch
5g Coriander Seed 15 mins Boil
20g Orange Zest 15 mins Boil

Fermentation Steps
Name Days / Temp
Primary 7 days @ 16.0°C
Secondary 14 days @ 17.0°C
Bottle/Keg 14 days @ 19.0°C

Honest critique or comments appreciated! Plan is to have it cold in the fridge for several days prior to comp

 

[RdeVjun]

Could be interesting, Belgian Wit with some citrus peel (usually lime in mine) and coriander is what I am more accustomed to, but ginger and honey could jazz it up. With this style be prepared to rebrew and fine tune the proportions, also bear in mind that shelf life is limited, three months is probably the best outcome.
In terms of the recipe, are you planning to use raw or malted wheat? A bit of both won't hurt.

 

[blissiictrl]

Could be interesting, Belgian Wit with some citrus peel (usually lime in mine) and coriander is what I am more accustomed to, but ginger and honey could jazz it up. With this style be prepared to rebrew and fine tune the proportions, also bear in mind that shelf life is limited, three months is probably the best outcome.
In terms of the recipe, are you planning to use raw or malted wheat? A bit of both won't hurt.

I was thinking unmalted as most Belgian styles use soft winter wheat but ultimately it's whatever I can get.

I was thinking orange ginger and honey as a mild summery, almost Thai sort of style. Basic plan is to brew a 5 litre tester this upcoming week funds permitting, and go from there, the benefit is using both clover and orange blossom honey will give a sort of spiced orange taste. I'm iffy on the honey levels and am pretty new at AG, this will be my second batch so I'm curious, but then you only get the recipe right by trial and error hey!

 

[blissiictrl]

Oh and also was debating a switch from coriander seed to cumin seed, I'm not a huge coriander fan and don't want that typical bad coriander hammy or celery taste and smell from getting crap stuff

 

[mje1980]

Use the Indian coriander seeds. No ham or celery taste or aroma. Most Asian grocery shops will have them

 

[mje1980]

But honestly with ginger and clove you won't notice the coriander seeds