Imperial Wit Recipe - Feedback please!

[HighlandRanger]

Planning on brewing this Saturday and thought I would get some feedback on it first. I might even do a double batch. Looking for something good for the Summer!

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Title: Imperial Wit

Brew Method: Partial Mash
Style Name: Belgian Specialty Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 7.5 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.078
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.106
Final Gravity: 1.021
ABV (standard): 11.16%
IBU (tinseth): 13.95
SRM (morey): 10.93

FERMENTABLES:
5.5 lb - Liquid Malt Extract - Wheat (33.3%)
3.5 lb - Dry Malt Extract - Extra Light (21.2%)
3 lb - Honey (18.2%)
1.5 lb - Belgian - Aromatic (9.1%)
1.5 lb - United Kingdom - Munich (9.1%)
1.5 lb - Torrified Wheat (9.1%)

HOPS:
1.25 oz - Saaz, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.5, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 11.76
0.5 oz - Willamette, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.5, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 2.19

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
0.5 oz - Orange Peel - Bitter, Time: 10 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
0.75 oz - Coriander, Time: 10 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
2 g - Grains of Paradise, Time: 2 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Orange Peel - Bitter, Time: 2 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
0.75 oz - Coriander, Time: 2 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil

YEAST:
Wyeast - Belgian Witbier 3944

 

[HighlandRanger]

Anyone? Thoughts?

 

[Rockn_M]

That'll help you relax by the pool on hot days!

 

[PastorofMuppets]

you sure you want 18% honey?
so also seem to have very low amounts for orange peel and a bit much on coriander.

This might be interesting beer. please reply to this thread after brewing so we can all see how it turned out.

 

[stpug]

This would not be a "summer" beer to me unless I lived in Alaska or Greenland . When I think of an "Imperial" anything, I don't think of it as a summer beer (unless maybe you said "Imperial Mild" )

On paper, it strikes me more as a spiced tripel. The munich and torrified wheat will need to be mashed and you'll likely need some 2row/6row since the munich might not have the extra enzymes to convert the (unmalted) torrified wheat. The spicing looks heavy but may be necessary to compete with the big malty alcohol beer this will turn into.

It's hard to comment on because it's so big and bold. I say brew it and decide what it is afterwards

 

[sweetcell]

if you can swap out ingredients: use wheat extract only if you really want this to be a wheat beer. what extract not 100% wheat, it's most likely 50% and 50% 2-row. so by using 33.3% wheat extract, you'll only have 16.7% actual wheat in there... hardly enough to make a witbier. that's general pale ale territory.

that's a lot of honey. i'd consider adding half to the boil, and the other half once primary fermentation has peaked.

you'll need to mash those grains.

i would increase the IBUs a bit. 13 IBUs for a 1.106-->1.021 beer is low, you're going to have a really sweet beer.

speaking of 1.106-->1.021 (AKA a beer with a target of over 11% ABV), you'll be making a big starter and aerating the heck outta this beer (preferably with pure o2), right? 80% attenuation on a beer that big is a huge task. mrmalty.com estimates that you need 4 packs with no starter, assuming those packs are 1 days old. in the more likely scenario that they're a month old, you'll want 5 packs. alternately, you'll want to make a 5.2 liter starter with 2 packs. making a beer that big takes more effort... maybe back it down a bit?

 

[HighlandRanger]

Thanks for the input. I'm no stranger to big beers. I usually make Wee-Heavys. My signature beer is a 12% Wee-Heavy and a 10% Heather Ale.

I wanted the honey to dry it out a bit, but you are right... perhaps I'll drop it back and add more Wheat extract. I was planning on doing a mini-mash with the grains, so yeah, maybe add some 2-row? Or maybe loose it all together and up the wheat extract?

I'll consider dialing back the spice. But wonder if it won't be too much considering the beast that this is going to be?

 

[Hopinista]

Lol that looks perfect for summer, if you want to be unconscious and dehydrated by the pool

 

[HighlandRanger]

Haha... I wasn't thinking laying in the hot summer sun and pounding back a 6 pack of these... more like hanging out on the deck in the evening with my beautiful wife and enjoying the warm evening breeze.

 

[HighlandRanger]

Ok.. revised a bit.

Title: Imperial Wit

Brew Method: Partial Mash
Style Name: Belgian Specialty Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 7.5 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.070
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.106
Final Gravity: 1.021
ABV (standard): 11.16%
IBU (tinseth): 22.65
SRM (morey): 9.33

FERMENTABLES:
10 lb - Liquid Malt Extract - Wheat (58.8%)
1.5 lb - Honey (8.8%)

MASHED Grains for 60mins
1 lb - Belgian - Aromatic (5.9%)
1 lb - Torrified Wheat (5.9%)
2 lb - American - Wheat (11.8%)

1.5 lb - Honey - (added to primary) (8.8%)

HOPS:
2 oz - Saaz, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.5, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 20.29
0.5 oz - Willamette, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.5, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 2.36

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
0.5 oz - Orange Peel - Bitter, Time: 10 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
0.75 oz - Coriander, Time: 10 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
2 g - Grains of Paradise, Time: 2 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Orange Peel - Bitter, Time: 2 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
0.75 oz - Coriander, Time: 2 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil

YEAST:
Wyeast - Belgian Witbier 3944
Starter: Yes
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (custom): 80%
Flocculation: Med-Low
Optimum Temp: 62 - 75 F
Fermentation Temp: 68 F
Pitch Rate: 1.25 (M cells / ml / deg P)

 

[HighlandRanger]

Ok... bought the ingredients... so here is the final iteration...

Title: Imperial Wit

Brew Method: Partial Mash
Style Name: Belgian Specialty Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 7.5 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.070
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.107
Final Gravity: 1.021
ABV (standard): 11.2%
IBU (tinseth): 28.38
SRM (morey): 9.49

FERMENTABLES:
10 lb - Liquid Malt Extract - Wheat (58.8%)
1.5 lb - Honey (Orange Blossom) (8.8%)

MASHED
1 lb - Belgian - Aromatic (5.9%)
0.35 lb - Torrified Wheat (2.1%)
2 lb - American - White Wheat (11.8%)

1.5 lb - Honey (Orange Blossom) - (primary) (8.8%)
0.65 lb - Flaked Wheat (3.8%)

HOPS:
3 oz - Saaz, Type: Pellet, AA: 3, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 26.02
0.5 oz - Willamette, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.5, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 2.36

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
0.5 oz - Orange Peel - Bitter, Time: 10 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Coriander, Time: 10 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
2 g - Grains of Paradise, Time: 2 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Orange Peel - Bitter, Time: 2 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Coriander, Time: 2 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil

YEAST:
Wyeast - Forbidden Fruit 3463
Starter: Yes
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (custom): 80%
Flocculation: Low
Optimum Temp: 63 - 76 F
Fermentation Temp: 68 F
Pitch Rate: 1.25 (M cells / ml / deg P)

 

[PastorofMuppets]

cool. this is obvisoly going to be a humongous beer.

Please please take pics of the brew day and keep this thread updated.
I promise someone in the future will find the info valuable, plus I want to see the final beer in glass.

pitch enough yeast bro and use Oxygen if you can.

 

[sweetcell]

can't wait to hear how this beer turns out!

 

[Rockn_M]

please please take pics of the brew day and keep this thread updated.
I promise someone in the future will find the info valuable, plus i want to see the final beer in glass.

Pitch enough yeast bro and use oxygen if you can.

+1

 

[TimmyWit]

This looks like a fun brew. The biggest concern, as others have mentioned is taking care of that yeast. I would start off nice and low with the temp and gradually raise it. Like Sweetcell said, it would be a good idea to add some of that honey to your secondary.

I tried a Golden Strong with some stepped-up dregs from a bottle of Hoegaarden Grand Cru (supposedly 3463). I aerated it and got it up to 75F to encourage fermentation to finish. It was a 10% brew that came out tasting and smelling like a fart (ok maybe just smelling, never actually ate a fart). It may have mellowed out if I had bottle conditioned it but I had it on tap and ended up dumping it.

That said, you will get a lot of character from the yeast. The large spice additions may muddy that character. Then again, it might help mask it if your beer has that funky fart aroma going on.

Also, you may end up coaxing it down to <1.021 with the right yeast treatment especially considering you have ~10% honey. At this point, you may be pushing over the yeasts recommended tolerance (12% according to Wyeast). It might be safer to dial it back just a bit to account for attenuating more than expected.

Looking forward to hearing how this turns out. :rockin:

 

[HighlandRanger]

Alright, I will be sure to keep everyone updated, with pics.

Getting the starter going right now.

1lb of wheat DME, yeast nutrient and the yeast in a 2L Erlenmeyer flask on a homemade stirplate. Should be good to go by Saturday.

 

[sweetcell]

1lb of wheat DME, yeast nutrient and the yeast in a 2L Erlenmeyer flask on a homemade stirplate.

1 lb for a 2L starter seems like too much. You want about half that much... or, better yet, keep the same amount of Dme and double the size or the starter.

 

[HighlandRanger]

I meant 1/2 lb.

 

[HighlandRanger]

Brew underway. Grains mashed, fermentables added, moving to boil.

 

[syd138]

3lbs of honey is a lot.. it is really going to give a strong alcohol bite to it.

Also, you don't need to add the orange peel and coriander and different times. Just throw it all in 5-10 minutes at the end.

 

[HighlandRanger]

Added 1/2 the honey now... will add other half in secondary.

I made a mistake on my starting water and added 1 gal more than I planned. Ended up with starting gravity of 1.081 and 6.5 gal in fermentor. Once 1.5lbs honey is added to secondary it will bring up the original to an average starting gravity of 1.090.

Anticipated ABV will be ~9 to 9.5%

Tasted wort before going into fermentor. Can taste orange, slight spiciness and bitter/sweetness. Really tasty.

 

[HighlandRanger]

Interesting... it fermented out to a FG of 1.021 in just over 24hrs. Was fermenting at right around 68 degrees. I have never had anything ferment that quickly. I tasted it and it doesn't taste off... quite good actually. I'll let it set for awhile to settle out and transfer to secondary and add the remaining honey.

 

[TimmyWit]

My guess is 1.021 isn't the FG as it will likely keep fermenting. If it was me, I would leave that extra honey out. It looks like you'll have a really big beer without it especially if it drops to a lower gravity than expected. But, if you're going to add it, I don't see any reason not to add it now while that yeast is ready to chomp away at it. The yeast can only get less healthy if you wait. I wouldn't bother transferring either. Just be sure to consider pasteurizing the honey if you add it. There are some good techniques for pasteurizing here:

http://byo.com/stories/item/322-brewing-with-honey

 

[sweetcell]

i wouldn't bother pasteurizing the honey especially if you're going to add it after most of the fermentation has already occurred. anything bad that might be in the honey won't do well in the high alcohol and low pH environment of the beer. pasteurizing - aka heating - honey is best avoided when not needed, since you'll lose aromatics, and in this case it's clearly not needed.

that BYO article is from 2002. back then, conventional wisdom was to heat or boil honey before making mead... since then we've learned that doing so is detrimental to the final fermented product.

 

[Hopinista]

I've never heated honey in any of my meads, and that's using pounds of honey. I doubt your one pound will give you an issue