Cheap'n'Easy Light Wit (Hoegaarden-ish)
Cheap'n'Easy Light Wit (Hoegaarden-ish)
A few have been asking about light Wit beers lately, and specifically Hoegaarden-like ones. Other people may be interested in scoring some brownie points with other halves (who commonly like Hoegaarden).
It's not authentic as such, as a few cost corners are cut and the mashing process is simplified. But this is the closest i have come in terms of colour and thickness, and i believe the taste is similar but better (more citrus without the need to pollute your glass with lemon slices, which would also kill your head!)
A few points:
-The use of oranges rather than Curacao peel is for cost and convenience, and IMO imparts plenty of orange
-Coriander seeds, for those who haven't used them before, are cheaply available at most Indian cash'n'carries/supermarkets for about £1 for 100g. I put these in a glass and use a hand blender to crush them. A food processor or pestle and mortar would also work.
-Pils malt would be more authentic than lager but i have tried both and in this beer i honestly believe there is no difference. As lager malt is cheaper i have used that, but feel free to swap it out
-The steeped Bobek is optional, but that is my secret ingredient for adding lemon/citrus aroma and flavour without sullying the glass with lemon slices.
-For wheat beers, liquid yeasts are usually recommended. I do not believe that this style of beer has much yeast character though, so IMO WB-06 is fine - and cheap, as is the challenge!)
So , the recipe:
For 23l
2000g lager malt
2000g flaked (unmalted) wheat
1000g wheat malt
500g porridge oats
30g Saaz - full boil
2 oranges (standard oranges!) - 15 minutes
10g crushed coriander seeds - 15 minutes
20g Bobek - flameout steep
Yeast: WB-06
I mash this at 67 ish, as i believe it should be slightly thick and sweet
The oranges are added at T-15 mins, but then also fished out and added to the fermenter.
I ferment at about 20c and bottle straight from the fermenter. FG should be about 1010. It will be cloudy, but of course that is what we want! 120g of dex used to prime.
The total spend is about £7.50, or 18p a pint.
It's not authentic as such, as a few cost corners are cut and the mashing process is simplified. But this is the closest i have come in terms of colour and thickness, and i believe the taste is similar but better (more citrus without the need to pollute your glass with lemon slices, which would also kill your head!)
A few points:
-The use of oranges rather than Curacao peel is for cost and convenience, and IMO imparts plenty of orange
-Coriander seeds, for those who haven't used them before, are cheaply available at most Indian cash'n'carries/supermarkets for about £1 for 100g. I put these in a glass and use a hand blender to crush them. A food processor or pestle and mortar would also work.
-Pils malt would be more authentic than lager but i have tried both and in this beer i honestly believe there is no difference. As lager malt is cheaper i have used that, but feel free to swap it out
-The steeped Bobek is optional, but that is my secret ingredient for adding lemon/citrus aroma and flavour without sullying the glass with lemon slices.
-For wheat beers, liquid yeasts are usually recommended. I do not believe that this style of beer has much yeast character though, so IMO WB-06 is fine - and cheap, as is the challenge!)
So , the recipe:
For 23l
2000g lager malt
2000g flaked (unmalted) wheat
1000g wheat malt
500g porridge oats
30g Saaz - full boil
2 oranges (standard oranges!) - 15 minutes
10g crushed coriander seeds - 15 minutes
20g Bobek - flameout steep
Yeast: WB-06
I mash this at 67 ish, as i believe it should be slightly thick and sweet
The oranges are added at T-15 mins, but then also fished out and added to the fermenter.
I ferment at about 20c and bottle straight from the fermenter. FG should be about 1010. It will be cloudy, but of course that is what we want! 120g of dex used to prime.
The total spend is about £7.50, or 18p a pint.
Re: Cheap'n'Easy Light Wit (Hoegaarden-ish)
sounds good dave-o, and thanks for sharing. I assume as with german-style wheat beers, this can be drank within a week or so?
Re: Cheap'n'Easy Light Wit (Hoegaarden-ish)
Brilliant, thanks Dave-o. Exactly what I've been looking for so I'll make this in a few weeks.
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Re: Cheap'n'Easy Light Wit (Hoegaarden-ish)
a Tempting recipe / style
Re: Cheap'n'Easy Light Wit (Hoegaarden-ish)
dave-o, do you reckon I can substitute some of the flaked wheat for more wheat malt succesfully?
Also, would I still be aiming for 50mg/l CaCO3 or less for total alkalinity for this beer?
Also, would I still be aiming for 50mg/l CaCO3 or less for total alkalinity for this beer?
Re: Cheap'n'Easy Light Wit (Hoegaarden-ish)
Scotty Mc wrote:dave-o, do you reckon I can substitute some of the flaked wheat for more wheat malt succesfully?
It depends what you mean "successfully". Yes it'll make a wheat beer, but it won't have the light/thickness that this recipe is designed to produce.
Re: Cheap'n'Easy Light Wit (Hoegaarden-ish)
Thanks for posting this! Just ordering the ingredients and will give it a try sometime in January.
Out of interest, what was the OG? Also, do you need Irish moss with this sort of beer, or is the cloudiness in wheat-beers actually the cold-break gunk that Irish moss helps remove? Would I be OK to force carbonate this in a corny rather than priming? (apologies if these are daft questions, I've only done a couple of AG brews, so am still abit of a noob lol).
Also, 60minute boil, or 90?
Out of interest, what was the OG? Also, do you need Irish moss with this sort of beer, or is the cloudiness in wheat-beers actually the cold-break gunk that Irish moss helps remove? Would I be OK to force carbonate this in a corny rather than priming? (apologies if these are daft questions, I've only done a couple of AG brews, so am still abit of a noob lol).
Also, 60minute boil, or 90?
Re: Cheap'n'Easy Light Wit (Hoegaarden-ish)
1.048JammyMatt wrote: Out of interest, what was the OG?
No, and i'd recommend not using it.JammyMatt wrote: Also, do you need Irish moss with this sort of beer
90 for me, just cos it's what i always do. 60'd probably be OK.JammyMatt wrote: Also, 60minute boil, or 90?
Re: Cheap'n'Easy Light Wit (Hoegaarden-ish)
Brilliant, will brew this up as soon as my ingredients arrive in the new year. thanks!
Re: Cheap'n'Easy Light Wit (Hoegaarden-ish)
Out of interest, where did you get the unmalted flaked wheat from? My sister has been unable to drink for the last 9 months for reproductive reasons and always liked a Hoegaarden. A celebration homebrew would be a fine way to welcome her new twins!
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Re: Cheap'n'Easy Light Wit (Hoegaarden-ish)
Also try your local Health food shops as its will be a lot cheaper than paying the postage.chivelegs wrote:Out of interest, where did you get the unmalted flaked wheat from?
Re: Cheap'n'Easy Light Wit (Hoegaarden-ish)
Ta. I'll have to brave the miseries of the local hardline healthfood shop. Funny, everyone who works or shops in there looks like they could keel over at any time. On the other hand, I had to go in to get my sister some old-wives-tale pregnancy goop a while back and noticed a huge range of obscure herbs and spices. Time to peruse Radical Brewing again I feel.
Re: Cheap'n'Easy Light Wit (Hoegaarden-ish)
This recipe is exactly what i am after for my first AG!
I'd like to have a go at this using the BIAB method...anyone else done this?
Any tips on how much water i should be starting out with to get 23l of wort?
Cheers for the great post!
Chris
I'd like to have a go at this using the BIAB method...anyone else done this?
Any tips on how much water i should be starting out with to get 23l of wort?
Cheers for the great post!
Chris