Wheat a la Begium
This spiced ale has one of the odder ingredient lists thusfar. Malt was straightforward enough with 4.75# of Pilsner, 4.5# of wheat malt, and 4 oz of Munich. This one actually called for rice hulls to keep the mash manageable. We used a three stage mash with a 15 minute protein rest, an addition of boiling water to get to a 150s mash temperature, and then one more addition at the end to reach mash out temp. An ounce of hallertauer at sixty minutes is simple enough but the five minute additions were more interesting. We tossed in 1.5 oz of fresh orange zest, 0.4 oz ground coriander, and a gram of dried chamomile from cutting open herbal tea bags. Gravity at the end of a ninety minute boil was 1.053; fermentation was with WLP 400 Belgian wit yeast.
The wit looks great with wonderful, wheaty head retention. The coriander is strongly present in the aroma along with hints of citrus. The flavor is similar except I find the sweet orange taste is a bit more forward. Bitterness is very close to none. I think the chamomile comes through in the finish and the aftertaste but that could be only because I know it’s there. I really like the alternate take on a wheat beer. It’s crystal clear as opposed to the cloudiness of a hefe and much more delicately spiced.