Comments on: Belgian Wit Recipes – White Beer Styles

By: Charles

Charles — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:39:49 +0000

I made one like this but with a bit of crystal and oat malt (500g of each) and I probably was over 1 oz on the orange peel and corriander; best beer I’ve ever tasted, drinking a glass of it right now. I’m planning another batch this weekend but following the recipe for Brad’s Belgian Wit much more closely.

By: Brad Smith

Brad Smith — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:03:47 +0000

I would start by using buckwheat in smaller quantities – it can have a strong effect on the beer. I would not recommend replacing all of the wheat with Buckwheat.

By: Nick

Nick — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:57:39 +0000

Hi
I’m keen to try out your recipe as a starting point for this style though what I actually wanted to do was make a Belgian buckwheat beer, in the style of the fabulous Sara.
Do you have an idea whether I should switch all of the wheat for buckwheat and should it be malted/toasted whatnot
Thanks

By: Matt Crecelius

Matt Crecelius — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:45:27 +0000

I just brewed one on Memorial Day.
5lbs pale malt
5lbs flaked wheat
1lb rice hulls – this wasn’t enough for me and had a stuck sparge
1oz Goldings for 60
1oz Saaz for 15
2oz bitter orange peel for 15
2oz coriander for 15
Belgian Wit Wyeast

Turned out great!

By: All grain brewer

All grain brewer — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:34:27 +0000

GG: Try using a protein rest when using unmalted wheat. I’ve successfully mashed with unmalted wheat using a protein rest (~125-132F) for about 20 minutes without the use of rice hulls. No stuck mash, and the beers turn out great.

By: Brad Smith

Brad Smith — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:24:16 +0000

Thanks!
I think you will really enjoy it!
Brad

By: GG

GG — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:16:21 +0000

I just kegged my first Belgian Wit tonight, using this recipe. I did a lot of research to try to get as close to Celis White as possible and all my research agrees very closely with this recipe. I have a print out from an old Homebrew Digest (1992-ish) where a couple of guys had talked to Pierre Celis about a homebrew clone. They spoke to him a couple of times and the recipe they came up with is very, very close to Brad’s.

There is one small change I made to jive more with my Homebrew Digest recipe: I added a pound of flaked oats. Celis seemed to hint that this was a component. One other thing I’d recommend from my personal experience (and from other Celis clone research) is to use some rice hulls (which I forgot to do). This will greatly help prevent a stuck sparge, which I got over and over again. Flaked oats + flaked wheat = glue. I’ve read that using 1/2 to a full pound of rice hulls will do the trick. Adds no flavor, just helps loosen up the mash during sparging.

Thanks for the details, Brad. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

GG
Chicago, USA

By: bigdave3124

bigdave3124 — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:24:25 +0000

Thanks for the reply, Brad. I think this might be my next beer.

By: Brad Smith

Brad Smith — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 02:47:44 +0000

Hi,
Yes – terrified should be torrified. Personally I use flaked wheat which is very easy to work with and provides the unmalted character needed.

I also generally use Belgian malt as a base for wit as it gives an authentic feel. The unmalted wheat provides plenty of body.

You might want to give my recipe a try above – it is easy to make and gives a great tasting beer.

By: bigdave3124

bigdave3124 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:39:47 +0000

I’m thinking I might want to try a Wit. I really don’t like the bananna/clove tastes in Bavarian Weissbier, but I think this might be something I would enjoy. I tried a beer at a beer tasting that one friend said tasted like a Wit.

Now a question or two. You write “If you substitute flaked or terrified malt, you can perform a single infusion mash easily, while still preserving the distinctive flavor of unmalted wheat.” Now I think “terrified” should read “torrified”, but even so, I’m not really sure you mean “malt” because you later say “all grain brewers should avoid using malted wheat as it will not result in the authentic wit flavor.” But maybe not?

In any case, you do want full conversion of the starches, right? I was thinking of using some of the new 6-row malt as a base. Comments?

By: BrewMoreBlack

BrewMoreBlack — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:15:28 +0000

Brad’s Belgian Wit recipe is AWESOME. Wife’s favorite.