Beer Forum

I've been drinking my APA now for a few days now and loving it (even though 2 weeks bottle conditioning is officially over today). I think it's official that I'm hooked. I picked up a kit to brew a Belgian Wit sometime this weekend. I do a partial boil and I was thinking about doing the late extract addition that was discussed at least in the early days of the Session. (I'm slowly working my way up through the archives listening to 2 or 3 shows a day.) I just wanted to be clear on when to add the extract and everything. My procedure according to the kit (with some modifications) is going to be

Steep .5 lbs Wheat Malt at near boiling for 60 minutes. (Kit says 30-60)
Remove grains, add extract bring to boil. (Extract is 3 lbs Light, 3 lbs Wheat LME)
At Boil add 1 oz hallertauer hop pellets
At 50 minutes boiling, add 1 oz bitter orange peel and 1 tsp lightly crushed corriander.
Boil total of 60 minutes.

I was thinking about holding off on the LME until the last 15 minutes. How's that sound?

Also I am planning on brewing a big summer beer next weekend (Like DFH Midas Touch or Avery Salvation, high alcohol, a little sweet honey flavor and a touch of fruit). Should I just save my 6.5 gal carboy for that one and put the Wit into my 5 gal? Or should I rack initially into the 6.5 and transfer the wit next weekend to the 5 when fermentation has settled a little?


Sorry about being long winded...It's kinda my style. Also anyone in the Denver area that wants to try my APA and give me some pointers I would appreaciate it.

Sounds like you're off to a great start. I think you may want to save the 6.5 gal carboy for the bigger beer. I'm not a fan of transferring beer to other containers while it's still fermenting.

As for your wit I think you've got the right idea. Add maybe half or a little less of your extract at the beginning and add the rest with about 10 minutes to go. Actually if it were me I'd probably push the spices and orange additions to less than 10 minutes to go. But I'm not a pro with wit beers so maybe get more advice on that one. You may even consider adding a bit of 2-row or any other base malt to convert the wheat. Just a thought.

You are on the way-

I am not really liking these directions, though they will work in a Witbier, but ONLY in a Witbier. Let me explain WHY they work ONLY in a Witbier.

First, some background.
Wheat malt contains starches that need to be converted to sugar so that the yeast can eat them. If you were to keep the temperature of the grains & water to about 150F instead of just below boiling, then the enzymes in the wheat will activate and convert all of the starches into sugars. Wheat malt has plenty of DIastatic Power (ie, enough enzymes) to convert itself plus a bunch of extra adjuncts if necessary. No additional base malt is required.

Now, this is essentially doing what is called a mini-mash or partial mash. However, those instructions say to steep the grains at "near boiling". Above about 160F, the enzymes denature (cooking an egg denatures the proteins -- exact same process) and they are unable to convert sugars. You will be left with starch in your wort. Additionally, above 168F (coupled with a low pH evironment), the water will extract harsh tasting tannins from teh grain husks. In EVERY other beer, both of these are bad things. But, this is a witbier, which is characterized by a slight, white starch haze. Also, you are steeping WHEAT, which HAS NO HUSK, so you can't extract any of the harsh tannins.

So, those intructions do the right thing for a Witbier, but they can mislead you into ruining subsequent batches if you were to follow those directions on a different beer. You would be better off if you treat this as any other mini-mash. Steep your grains at 155F (use a thermometer) for about an hour using about a quart and a half per lb of grain (which is pretty thick like oatmeal), After an hour, strain out the wort, and rinse the grains again with some more (another 2 qts or so per lb) 165F water to get more of the sugars out. Proceed with your boil as with extract. At the end of your boil (the last 5 mins or so) add a tablespoon of regular old wheat flour to reintroduce the haze.

Hope this makes some sense out of the subtle differences- I realize it can get confusing especially when you are first learning to brew.

Thanks a lot for that BDawg. I been researching a lot about mini mash and have yet to find a more succinct explanation. Even the minimash achive wasn't as helpful. Unfortunately, I had already brewed this batch. I think it's fair to say I'll brew this one again though since I'm a big fan of wits. I'm pretty curious on this batch because I kinda had to guess on my end temps as the tip of my thermometer broke off in my boil. I did actually get to use the rule of thumb thought. I poured through a grain bag to strain out the glass (hopefully). Eh a little glass never hurt anyone. I think as long as all the glass is out it'll be fine.

You're on the right track man. Keep listening to te shows. Buy How to Brew by John Palmer. Older edition also free online. Just google it. Good for quick questions. I still do that sometimes, even though I have the book. Heh Heh. Next buy Brewing Classic Styles by John Plamer and Jamil Zanisheff. You'll thank me later. Brew on Brother! Next thing you know you'll be teaching us.