Opinions / Help with Witbier

[planecrazy29]

I recently brewed a Brewer's Best Witbier kit. It included 1oz bitter orange and 1 oz coriander seed. I crushed the coriander with a rolling pin per the instructions and added it and the orange to the boil with 15 minutes left. When I added it to the fermentor I left the hops, orange and coriander in the trub to settle out. I added it to the secondary after a week, and bottled after a week in the secondary. FG was 1.009 consistently and was checked for 3 days before bottling.

So, now after 2 weeks in the bottle I crack one and try it. First, it's WAY over carbed. It has an amazing head, but too much really. And it lasts forever.... That's an annoyance, but the real issue is the flavor. The orange and corriander smack you in the face. Way too strong. The question is do you guys think that these flavors will subside as the beer ages? I'm hoping so. I do realize that this is still a pretty young beer, and I'm not giving up on it. Just looking for a little reassurance. Thanks.

 

[tektonjp]

I find one ounce of coriander seems to be standard in most recipes, yet I find it to be overpowering, like you say. I think the thread on Blue Moon Clones came to same conclusion. Less than half that seems to give more than enough spice.
Aging does soften spices in beer. Pop one a week and compare.
You'll get great head retention from the wheat. Enjoy it.

 

[dbreienrk1]

Well, the orange smack in the face might be a result of the over carbonation. I bottle condition and this is the hardest aspect of home brewing in my opinion. I over carbonated the s$it out of my pumpkin ale and it smelled delicious but it wouldn't stop foaming. Balance is what most brewers try to achieve. I'm guessing your imbalance in regards to orange is because of your over carbonation.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

Agreed with the carb adding to the "smack" of orange. Spices settle out and meld with time.

If the bottles being over-carbed is an issue, crack a few open in the sink. Let them bubble over if they gush at all. If not, just let the first set of violent CO2 fizz out, then re-cap. If they gush out, have a topper-bottle; pour one bottle gently into the others to top them off, then cap. I did this with a stout that was a gusher. Off flavors/oxidation is a risk you say? Scored 43 points at the National Organic competition, perfect carbonation.

In my conclusion; give it some time to settle, and test a few bottles (4-6) by re-capping and checking for carbonation levels 5-7 days later.

 

[AdamPag]

how much priming sugar did you use? 1oz each is too much, adjust to .5oz each and dont boil, add after flame out instead next time, it should soften the smack

 

[planecrazy29]

5 oz of priming sugar for a 5 gallon batch. The one I checked last night after I posted did gusher a bit, so I'm about ready to throw in the towel on this batch. I'll throw them in the beer fridge for a couple weeks and decide.

In addition to the amounts of spice being too much, did leaving them in the fermenting wort make it worse?

 

[arcadiaacres]

I'm very VERY early on in this hobby, but I've brewed, bottled and tasted 2-3 of the Brewers Best kits, including the witbeir. Without anything to really compare it to (other than commercial beers), it seems like the beers I've opened are over-carbonated. Not enough to gush upon opening, but enough that they taste almost foamy when I take a sip.

I'm going to re-think using the entire package of priming sugar that came with the kits (added to bottling bucket prior to bottling) and see if I can get the "texture" of the beer to smooth out some. Anyone else have this issue?

 

[AdamPag]

5oz to 5gal is the kits standard, however isnt necessarily the correct ppv of co2 for the styles of beer. Ive never had a gusher, but the next question is what temperature are you drinking the beer at and how long was it refrigerated?

 

[GASoline71]

I used 1oz of crushed corriander in the last Witbier (Blue Moon clone) I did for my girlfriend and it came out perfect. I also used 5 oranges and orange zest in the fermenter, and not in the boil. I also carbed my beer in a keg, and not in bottles.

No punch in the face from orange or corriander.

Gary

 

[Evorgrah]

I brewed that exact kit. Fermented for 2 weeks. Bottled. Tried one each week after bottling. It definitely took a good 3 weeks to taste great. 4 would be better. Give them some more time in the bottles.