White Rabbit: White Ale Recipe (first Partial Attempt)

[haysie]

Its fair to say, the brewer or even the hanger on........... can bang on about a product, how different it is yada yada, then get all uptight and respond on every clone thread available. Yet never offering any real substance behind the post`s, a holy grail of witbier ffs. how boring.
White Rabbit is new, its expensive and doesnt appeal outside a clique niche audience IMO. Its in lots of pubs/motels and only time will tell if it really sells.
My suspicions are this beer is marketed very well compared to some other Aussie micro`s, has a huge financial backing. YES the brewery is way more impressive than the beer.
A brewery that doesnt, cant,wont make a bright beer aint worth their 2 bob.

 

[Josh]

A brewery that doesnt, cant,wont make a bright beer aint worth their 2 bob.

I seriously thought earlier in this thread you were just taking the piss. But now I know you are.

 

[Impy]

I missed tasting this at the showcase last night. Had intended to because it was on tap (unless I didn't look close enough and it was only the dark on tap?)

I've only tried it bottled. I like it - it's not wow in your face beer but subtle and that's not always a bad thing. I think there's a difference between subtle and bland.

As to the recipe - the oats really stand out. What are the instructions you have? What kind of oats are you intending to use?

for yeast, I'd just culture some from the bottles of a six pack you've drunk.

From the research I did the oats seemed to be a prominent theme in white beer recipes. Not a huge qty, but just enough to give it a smooth mouth feel and a little better head retention.

I just used rolled oats which seemed to be what was recommended. The mini mash worked really well, it was foaming up nicely when I turned the heat up for the hops schedule (And I worked out I need a bigger pot).

I have tried culturing the yeast from the bottles but all my attempts have been unsuccessful.

One thing I think I would change is to use a tin of pilsner malt or something lighter. I see now what people were talking about when they said the wheat malts we get here are darker due to the wheat/barley combination.

Other than that I think it worked out pretty well, the smell was absolutely great when it went into the fermenter (very citrus and slight peppery). I put it in last Wednesday night (OG: 1.050) and the citrus aroma is settling out a bit now. I thought since it was an ale it would be fermenting like crazy but it's been going fairly steady from about 18hrs after closing the lid.

 

[Impy]

Witbier gets its haze from proteins in unmalted wheat, not low floccing yeast.


If you can't find bitter orange peel, you can make a Wit using zest of sweet oranges. I make a Wit not close to White Rabbit White. I like an almost spritzy zest character in my Wits. I use about 300g of orange, lemon, lime and grapefruit zest in a 20-23L batch.

For your clone, you could try some chamomile in your spice additions also. A lot of commercial Witbiers us chamomile. Most of the best homebrewed versions I've tried have had chamomile in them. Not sure if this would steer you closer or further from a WRWA clone though.

Jebus! 300g? That would be quite spritzy!

I couldn't find "bitter orange peel" in the dried pre-packaged form anywhere so I just used a zest of an orange (28g-ish total) and I tried peeling a little deeper than recommended for zesting for cooking so I got some more of the white pith which apparently gives it a bit more of a bitter kick. The The lightly crushed coriander seeds I added gave it an amazing aroma in the mini-mash, it'll be interesting to see if those peppery flavours develop during the ferment.

 

[Impy]

Here's an update:

The fermenter has slowed right down and I think it'll be ready to take a gravity reading in the next couple of days. It's got one hell of a krausen layer on top (I guess the oats helped with that) Just to confirm.. I should just leave the krausen alone shouldn't I?

I don't have a secondary to rack to so i'll be bottling right from the primary. I'm guessing that since the white beer style is cloudy that racking to a secondary is a redundant step?

Thanks guys, this forum has been a massive help!

 

[Dazza_devil]

I'm guessing that since the white beer style is cloudy that racking to a secondary is a redundant step?

There are numerous reasons why people rack to secondary, I personally have only been doing it for bulk priming which I can highly recommend.

 

[Impy]

Hi guys, quick question.

I just bottled this brew on Saturday. It's been sitting on 1.010 (from 1.050) for about 5 days so I'm sure it was finished. I'm using the plastic beer bottles from brewcraft and primed the bottles with carb-drops (2 per 750ml)

Now my first batch (asahi clone) hasn't carbed up very well and has a distinct Acetaldehyde taste (sour apple) which is slowly dying down but hasn't carbed up really, so i don't really have experience with carbonation in plastic bottles.

I noticed that 24hrs after priming and bottling the white beer, the bottles are all rock hard. Is this normal? Am I heading towards bottle bombs? and should I let some gas out of the bottles (I can unscrew the lids till gas comes out but doesn't break the seal around the lid)

 

[Impy]

Well.. I let the bottles go and they seem to be carbing up super fast!!

I've tried a couple of bottles already and they are really nice.. The recipe on the day was ever so slightly different to my OP, but overall I think I absolutely nailed this "white rabbit: white ale clone" attempt.

As far as I can tell, without a side by side comparison.. I think the taste is spot on! YUM!!

 

[Yob]

Hi guys, quick question.

I'm using the plastic beer bottles from brewcraft and primed the bottles with carb-drops (2 per 750ml)

I noticed that 24hrs after priming and bottling the white beer, the bottles are all rock hard. Is this normal? Am I heading towards bottle bombs? and should I let some gas out of the bottles (I can unscrew the lids till gas comes out but doesn't break the seal around the lid)

you shouldnt get bombs with PET especially with a 1008 reading (what yeast did you use?),

Leave at least 2 weeks and then check, if its carbed too much for your tastes then you may want to let a little out... alot of people find that 2 drops is VERY carbed but for myself, I dont worry as I usually decant a bottle to a Jug, then to the glass, by the time all this transferring has happened I quite like the level of Carbing...

good luck and hope it comes out awesome for you

:icon_cheers:

 

[Impy]

you shouldnt get bombs with PET especially with a 1008 reading (what yeast did you use?),

Leave at least 2 weeks and then check, if its carbed too much for your tastes then you may want to let a little out... alot of people find that 2 drops is VERY carbed but for myself, I dont worry as I usually decant a bottle to a Jug, then to the glass, by the time all this transferring has happened I quite like the level of Carbing...

good luck and hope it comes out awesome for you

:icon_cheers:

I used a Belgian Ale Yeast WLP550 for the peppery/citrus character it has (seems to have worked too!).

If they carb up too much I might see about bulk priming for my next batch.

 

[db_dave]

Sorry to rehash this topic - how did the beer turn out after a bit of aging?
what was your final recipe? I have a mate who can't get enough white rabbit white ale and we've been trying to work a recipe out.

 

[brzt6060]

I might have to give white rabbit another chance, I tired it once about two years ago at the Trustee in Perth. I had one sip of my pint and ordered another beer. Tasted like off deli meat and tomato sauce...

 

[Three Sheets]

White Rabbit White Ale is at the opposite end of my taste spectrum. Terrible really, but that's what makes beer making so much fun. I can make what 's nice for me!