# 🍺 Top-down Brew: Witbier

Original Gravity

Enter the desired original gravity as specific gravity (1.0XX) or degrees plato (°P).

Style specification: 1.044 to 1.052; 11 to 12.9 °P

Target volume

Enter the desired volume at the end of the boil. The volume units can be either liters, gallons, or US barrels.

Measurement Units
Metric US US Barrels

Select the preferred unit of measurement for the inputs and outputs. Metric uses liters, grams, and kilograms. US uses gallons, ounces, and pounds. US Barrels (31 gallons = 1 barrel) is in barrels, pounds, and ounces.

Mash Efficiency

Enter the anticipated mash efficiency percentage. If this is not known, try the following values based on the sparge method: Steeping (50%), No-sparge or brew-in-a-bag (65 to 75%), Batch sparge (80%), or Continuous (fly) sparge (85 to 90%).

Grains

Enter the name, fermentable %, Lovibond, and yield (SG or percent) with comma separations.

Continental pilsner malt should be the base. Unmalted wheat or flaked wheat should be about 1/4 of the grist. If malted wheat is used, beer-analytics.com suggests higher amounts, such as 29 to 47%. Oats can range from 5 to 10%. Small amounts of Munich malt (3 to 5%) are optional.

- Brew United's grain database
- BYO magazine grain and adjunct resource

Sugars

Enter the name, fermentable %, Lovibond, and yield (SG or percent) with comma separations. The grain and sugar percentages must add to 100%.

Sugar is not commonly used.

- BYO magazine sugar resource

Bitterness

Enter the desired bitterness in international bittering units (IBUs).

Bitterness specifications: 8 to 20 IBU; Average BU/GU ratio: .32

Hops

Enter the hop name, IBU %, AA %, and boil minutes with comma separations.

The recommended hops are the standard noble European hops, such as Saaz, Hallertau, Tettnanger, and Hersbrucker. Similar hops might be substituted. Most recipes call for a single bittering dose.

- Brew United hop database
- BYO magazine's hop resources

Late Boil Additions

Enter late boil additions like spices with the name and dosage (grams/liter), with a comma separation.

Possible late boil spices are citrus zest, coriander, and chamomile. Use restraint. The suggested doses are from Zainasheff's Blanch Oreiller recipe: 2.25 g/l of fresh citrus zest, .6 g/l crushed coriander, and .05 g/l dried chamomile flowers. These are added five minutes before the end of the boil.

Dry Hops

Enter dry hops with name and dosage (grams/liter), with a comma separation.

Dry hops are not recommended for this style.

Yeast
Ale Lager

Select the yeast type, ale or lager.

There are several style-specific yeasts, such as Wyeast 3944, White Labs WLP400, and Mangrove Jack M21 (dry). Other Belgian yeasts might also work.

← Click here when the data entry is done.

## Results

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## Notes

BJCP Description of Witbier characteristic ingredients: "Unmalted wheat (30-60%), the remainder low color barley malt. Some versions use up to 5-10% raw oats or other unmalted cereal grains. Traditionally uses coriander seed and dried Curaçao orange peel. Other secret spices are rumored to be used in some versions, as are sweet orange peels. Mild fruity-spicy Belgian ale yeast."

Wheat and oats can be gummy, raising the risk of a stuck sparge. Consider using rice hulls for more husk matter and a slow sparge rate. Step mashes and cereal mashes are also strategies for dificult mashes. Flaked wheat and flaked oats, in contrast, can simply be added to the mash.

The source recipes suggest about 45 to 50% unmalted wheat, but the beer-analytics.com analyses suggest a lower amount (25%). However, the malted wheat proportion from beer-analytics.com is about 50%.

Creative brewers who want to push the style boundaries can try other grains (rye, rice, millet, buckwheat) and spices (cumin, lemon grass, rose hips, heather tips, grains of paradise, cardamom, and hibiscus). Hotter spices (pepper, ginger, etc.) in small amounts could also be explored.

Mosher (2004, p. 206) describes orange peel as "universal" spices for this style. He prefers fresh orange peel zest over curacao - bitter orange peel. In particular, he prefers Seville oranges. He also recommends coriander from Indian grocery stores over the standard grocery store coriander. The third recommended spice is chamomile.

## Sources

Beer-analytics.com witbier analysis

Burnsed, J. (2011, July-August). Witbier: The style that got a second chance. Brew Your Own, 36 - 43.

Klemp, K.F. (2012, May). Belgian witbier. All About Beer, 33 (2), 80 - 81.

Mosher, R. (2004). Radical brewing: Recipes, tales, and world-altering meditations in a glass. Brewers Publications

Strong, G. (2021, March-April). Witbier: A hazy shade of summer. Brew Your Own, 24 - 28.

Zainasheff, J. (2007, July-August). Witbier: The cloudy beer with the silver lining. Brew Your Own, 19 - 22.

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