My very first post for whatever you call this (a log of my brew-ramblings) was for a Belgian-style Witbier I brewed called Hermine. Hermine turned out pretty damn tasty, and the contribution by the Wyeast 3463 Forbidden Fruit was amazing. It will pretty much be the only yeast I use in witbiers from now on. A few weeks later, I posted about another wheat beer, called Grodziskie, a traditional Polish beer that used pretty much only Oak-Smoked Wheat. Now, you may be wondering, "who the hell cares?" It is relevant, I swear! I decided that it might be fun and interesting to blend these two beers together, so to speak. A nice, smoked witbier. So, that's what I did. Again, chose the use the Forbidden Fruit yeast for this batch. I am really looking forward to seeing how the tart, slightly acidic character from the yeast plays with the light smoke from the Oak-Smoked Wheat. The Grist was simple, 90% and 10% Oats. Also, I decided to add a bit of Gypsum to the water for this beer, just to harden it up a bit to try and accentuate the dry character. My local water is very very very soft. Despite this, I typically avoid salt additions to alter the water chemistry. I am a minimalist at heart. But, I thought I would try it, just to see. After Salt additions, my water read as:
Calcium: 54.15 ppm | Sulfate: 109.38 ppm |
Magnesium: 7.39 ppm | Chloride: 57.40 ppm |
Sodium: 49.17 ppm | Bicarbonate: 52.50 ppm |
PH: 7.40 |
Enough of this bullshit, let's see the damn recipe!
Recipe Specifications -------------------------- Batch Size (fermenter): 6.00 gal Bottling Volume: 5.75 gal Estimated OG: 1.035 SG Estimated Color: 2.8 SRM Estimated IBU: 16.0 IBUs Ingredients: ------------ Amt Name Type # %/IBU 4 lbs 14.1 oz Oak-Smoked Wheat (2.4 SRM) Grain 1 60.9 % 1 lbs 14.1 oz Wheat, Torrified (1.7 SRM) Grain 2 23.5 % 12.0 oz Oats, Flaked (Briess) (1.4 SRM) Grain 3 9.4 % 1.00 oz Crystal [4.20 %] - First Wort 60.0 min Hop 4 16.0 IBUs 8.0 oz Dextrose (Briess) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 5 6.2 % 1.1 pkg Forbidden Fruit (Wyeast Labs #3463) [124 Yeast 6 - Mash Schedule: Witbier Mash Total Grain Weight: 8 lbs 0.2 oz ---------------------------- Name Description Step Temperat Step Time Protein Rest Add 9.04 qt of water at 134.2 F 126.0 F 30 min Sacchar Add 9.00 qt of water at 173.5 F 148.0 F 45 min Mash Out Decoct 6.37 qt of mash and boil it 168.0 F 15 min July 17, 2014: Brew day I undershot my estimated efficiency a bit, which is why I added 8oz of dextrose. The beer is projected to finish around 1.007, which is right where I like it to be. I know dextrose in a wit isn't traditional, but to hell with it. Pitched a 1.5L starter Wyeast 3463 at 65F. I will ramp up the temperature to 72F in 24 hours, and then to 75F 24 hours after that, and ride the 75F for the rest of fermentation. I am really liking this Oak-Smoked Wheat the more I use it. It has such a distinct smoke character to it. It's definitely present, but not so overpowering. I do not have anything crazy planned for this beer beyond Primary Fermentation, but who knows, maybe I'll rack a few gallons onto some Nectarines or something.