Friday, April 24, 2009

Belgian Wit

I continually forget to take good notes during the brewing process, which I'm told is crucial to making consistently good beer. Perhaps this time it was due to the fact that I had my first significant failure in a while.

The Recipe

Belgian Wit
4.50 lbs UK 2-row
4.50 lbs Flaked Wheat
1.0 oz Kent Goldings Hops Pellets (boil 60 mins)
.75 oz Coriander (crush and boil 5 mins)
.75 oz Bitter Orange Peel (boil 5 mins)
Belgian Wit Yeast - WLP 400

I made a yeast starter on Friday night, using 1/2 cup of DME and a couple of the Kent Goldings pellets. It's recommended to start the yeast several days before brewing, but I was unable to due to time constraints.

The first real step was to pre-heat the cooler to prevent temperature loss when adding the grain and that mash water. I boiled about one and a half gallons of water and used that to preheat. When I added the mash water and then the grain, that's when I ran into my problem. I did a good job of adding the grain slowly and stirring properly, but I still had a stuck sparge. I think I made a few serious mistakes.

First, I ran the flaked wheat through the grain mill. I've read in some places that this is recommended, but I think this added a lot of "dust" to the mash tun which helped it get stuck. Second, I didn't drain the mash tun of the first amount of water before I added the second. I think this disturbed the grain bed and again helped contribute to a stuck sparge. And finally, I turned the ball valve too far. I've since learned that doing so creates a "suction effect" which is another cause of a stuck sparge.

The end result was the entire thing had to be thrown out. I couldn't salvage the stuck sparge, even by blowing on the tube. Luckily, the screw up came long before I added any of the other ingredients, which meant all I had to re-purchase was the grain. I was determined to get this right, so I did exactly that a few days later and added some rice hulls as well to prevent a second stuck sparge.

The second attempt went very smoothly. The temperature of the grain bed was perfect for the first part of the mash schedule. I messed up a bit on the second stage by adding water that wasn't as hot as it should've been. So, I didn't give the grain a proper enzyme rest, but I don't think that will affect the beer too badly.

The hour long boil went without incident. I added the coriander in orange peel in the same grain bag during the last 5 minutes, and added pre-hydrated irish moss within the last minute. But, this is a Belgian Wit which is going to end up cloudy anyways.

My yeast starter had been working for four days by this point, so it should have been good and ready. After cooling the wort (which I think I did a really good job of this time, using 35 lbs of ice) I pitched the yeast, and the air lock was bubbling along the next morning.

I failed to take a really accurate gravity reading, because there was so much foam at the top of the wort. But I believe it was about 1.36, which is 2 off from the target. I think this was because I added too much water afterwards.

I let the beer sit in the primary fermenter for five days, and then transfered it to the secondary. When I took the cover off of the primary, I thought there was a bit of a strange smell. Almost like sulfur. I have an awful sense of smell though, and I could be wrong. But there was a lot of yeast at the top of the beer. I don't think I've ever transfered to a secondary after just 5 days, which might be why I've never seen it like this. I racked from the bottom of the fermenter, avoided grabbing the yeast floating at the top and the trub from the bottom. The beer in the secondary is still pretty cloudy, but again... it's a Belgian Wit.

It should be ready to bottle in a few days, and I'm hoping it turns out well. I'm thinking of taking another day this weekend and brewing up another summer beer.