Brewed up 10 gallons (4 cases) of a Bavarian Witbier. I missed some of my target gravities but not by too much, it still turned out pretty tasty. We were all drinking some yesterday and I got some decent compliments. My rule of thumb is, If I wont drink it, then no one else will drink it either. So whether I miss my target gravities or not, It's all a matter of whether I drink the product in the end or not. In this case, we are. Here's the recipe:
2 lbs Rice Hulls
9 lbs Pilsner 2-row
6 lbs White Wheat Malt
5 lbs Flaked Wheat
1 oz Cascade hops 60 minutes
1 oz Cascade hops 5 minutes
1 oz Coriander seed 15 minutes
1 oz Bitter Orange Peel 15 minutes
2 pkgs Belgian Wit Ale Yeast WLP400
This style beer calls for an Original Gravity of 1.044 - 1.052. I ended up at 1.042. If i was paying attention, I could have just boiled longer and hit my target. As you can see, I wasn't off by much, so it only minimally affects flavor. In fact, it makes it just a little bit sweeter, leaving more fermentable sugars in the beer. Like I said, I'm enjoying it.
Wheat beers utilize yeasts that are very high in sedimentation. I probably lost close to a gallon of beer in yeast alone. As is typical with wheat beers, I did not ferment in a secondary because unfiltered beer is how these are typically served, resulting in a cloudy, hazy lemon color beer. As a result of high yeast sedimentation, the shelf life for Wheat beers, this one included, is about 4 weeks. Carbonation is very high compared to ales. I'm not sure why the carbonation is set high. It could have something to do with the shelf life, force carbing fast and then drinking fast, or what not. Anyway, here it is.
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