Belgian Witbier - no flaked wheat

[dylanphelan]

Hi,

I want to brew a Belgian Wit this weekend. Never done one before.

I've looked at a number of recipes that call for flaked wheat, but I can't get any.

I have white wheat malt.

Will I be ok without the flaked wheat? Should I used some instant oats or similar?

thanks!

 

[motorneuron]

Randy Mosher's Radical Brewing has a suggestion for two different ways to brew a witbier: you either use about 35% unmalted (flaked) wheat along with a complicated cereal mash, or about 50% malted wheat. Either way, I think, you also use about 10% instant oats (but I don't have the recipe in front of me right now). Bottom line is that yes, you can use malted wheat, but then you should use more of it, and you should also use about 10% oats.

I brewed the 50% malted wheat version recently and was happy with it, though I think it would have been better with unmalted wheat.

 

[tre9er]

use oats in the wheat's place. I've used oats in pale ales and it's fine, too. Adds to head retention....I think, and is silky

 

[CityOChampBrew]

I typically use 50/50 with malted barley and malted wheat for the recipe and then add a lb of flaked oats(thus ruining the 50/50 ratio but you get the point)

 

[LLBeanJ]

Not a big deal using malted wheat instead of flaked. One of my favorite commercial wits, Avery White Rascal, uses only 2-row and pale wheat.

http://averybrewing.com/brewery/recipes-for-homebrewers/