-- First, it's a
type of wheat beer. As with most wheat beers, the relatively high protein
content leads to haze, giving the beer a light golden color and hence its
name. Traditional recipes describe the grist as around 54% malted barley, 41%
unmalted wheat, and 5% unmalted oats, though considerable variation was surely
present.
--
Original gravity is usually around 11-12 degrees P (1.044-1.048), and it is
lightly hopped (<20 IBU) with low-alpha hops, generally Styrian Goldings,
Saaz, or Kent Goldings.
--
Hops are far from the only flavoring, though. In a practice harking back to
before the days when beer was universally hopped, Witbier is spiced, usually
with coriander and the peels of both sweet and bitter oranges and frequently
with at least one more "secret spice" known only to the brewer and
the brewer's herb merchant.
-- Historical
evidence suggests that these beers were once intensely sour, and although
modern examples tend to be dry, few are more than lightly tart. The lightness
of body from the wheat and a firm tartness from the hops, bitter orange, and
yeast offset perfectly the smoothness of the oats and the sweetness of the
sweet orange, making this among the most refreshing of beer styles.
-- Hops.
This is not a hoppy style, but it uses hops to dry the flavor by balancing
malt sweetness. The principal addition, then, should be for bittering. If late
hopping is done it should be with a hop that accents spicy notes, such as Saaz,
rather than one emphasizing the floral, such as Cascade.
--
Spices. One of the most difficult things to do in the Wit style is to get the
spicing right. A Wit with no spices is no Wit at all, but one in which the
spices (especially sweet orange) are overdone tastes cloying and heavy,
lacking the deft touch that's a primary characteristic of the style.
Especially when brewing commercial-sized batches, it is a good idea to start
with a smaller scale prototype batch, keeping in mind that spice scaling is
decidedly nonlinear. In scaling up it would be wise to err on the side of
caution and have a batch that's at least salable, if not as assertive as
desired.
--
A good starting point for bitter orange is around 0.75 oz in a 5-gal batch
(and no more than 4.5 oz/bbl in larger volumes), perhaps a little more for the
sweet.
--
The other traditional spice is coriander, which should be ground freshly
before use. A good starting point for this spice is also 0.75 oz in a 5-gal
batch. You will develop your own "trademark" Wit flavor by balancing
these three spices.
-- You
may want to experiment with some other spices as well, preferably at levels so
far in the background that the spice can't be individually identified. Good
candidates include cumin, cardamom, anise, and black pepper. All spices should
be added at the knockout of the boil or in the last 15 min before knockout to
try to retain as many of the aromatics as possible.
-- Sour-flavor
contributors. One other significant flavor should not be overlooked --
tartness, or sourness. The fashion for very sour white beers has passed, and
neither customers nor judges are likely to welcome its return, but a little
sourness agreeably dries the flavor and seems to boost the contribution of the
orange and the hops. At least some of the souring effect can be achieved
through judicious additions of food-grade 88% lactic acid, though to some
palates the result seems less pleasingly complex than the result of a good
lactic infection. In a 5-gal pilot batch, 10 mL is a good starting point,
adjusting to taste. By the time you reach 25 mL, the beer will definitely be
sour.
--
Jackson describes the fermentation procedure at De Kluis as a week of primary
fermentation at 18-24 degrees C (64-75 degrees F), followed by three to four
weeks of warm conditioning at 12-15 degrees C (53-59 degrees F) (7). It is
then dosed with glucose and a different yeast and left to condition for 10
days at 25 degrees C (77 degrees F). As with many Belgian styles, carbonation
should be decidedly on the "spritzy" side.
