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PostPosted: Friday Jul 13, 2007 11:50 am
by Adzmax
Some notes on my second batch -

I used the 3944 Belgian Witbier Yeast (Wyeast) in the second and noted a much more cloudy appearance in the beer, very similar to the real thing. In my first batch I simply used a dry yeast and it was crystal clear.

Both batches have had a slightly bitter (unpleasant) aftertaste. I am begining to wonder if this is to do with the Orange used. A lot of recipes I read call for dried orange peel, not fresh.

I'll be playing with this some more over the next couple of weeks. I'm goign to pick up a G&G frsh wort kit, some Curacao and Sweet (dried) orange peel and use the last packet of 3944.

Will let you know how I go :)

PS - Must say my second attempt was MUCH nicer, go the 3944 and watch that peel huh :)

PostPosted: Friday Jul 13, 2007 10:42 pm
by ben.d
I got some coriander seeds whole(masterfoods) from coles,
so i'm wondering do you have to use the whole jar 18grams
in the hoegarden clone? and if so can you just throw the whole lot straight
from the jar or do you have to crush up the coriander seeds first?

i will be adding 2 orange rinds and manderin rind, plus 25grams saaz hops
to the wheat dry malt in the brewpot.

benjamin

PostPosted: Saturday Jul 14, 2007 8:47 am
by Adzmax
I aim for about 10-15 grams, well at least I will this time. I thouth 30g may be too much so I'm playing with the quantity.

Crush them up in a mortar and pastal if you have one, otherwise try a plastic bag and a rolling pin :)

Sounds good, I'll be sure to add more hops this time also!

PostPosted: Monday Jul 16, 2007 11:23 am
by Brewski
Danzar and co,
I was looking to give your recipe a shot, and was looking for some clarification.

Was the "250g dry wheat malt", a dried wheat malt extract, or the grain itself?

Also, you say you put fuggles in instead of syrian goldings, if I could get my hands on styrian goldings would they be preferable?

Cheers,

PostPosted: Monday Jul 16, 2007 11:27 am
by James L
i got my mate to buy some torrefied wheat from the local HBS, and it looks like rolled oats, except that they're wheat... I went to the same HBS on saturday ,and they had torrefied wheat there, but this time it was wheat that looked like unpopped pop corn (with the white stuff coming out of the husks). Has anyone used the ones that look like rolled oats or the unpopped popcorn? because I see that alot of people have used puffed wheat... do you think that there will be an overly big difference when it comes to steeping and removing the unmalted wheat? Should i chop the wheat up a little to make a greater surface area? or should i just leave it?

James

PostPosted: Monday Jul 16, 2007 12:03 pm
by Adzmax
I'm going to use styrian goldings myself in the fresh wort kit I have.

The 250g dry wheat malt is extract.

With regards to the torrefied wheat, it's all much the much. I'd say they've just been puffed then rolled. I don't see there being much difference. I've used the ones that look like popcorn, they are just sanitarium wheaties.

With your steeping, use a spoon or tongs and move the wheat around to make sure it's all nice and wet and bob it up and down a few times to make sure. You'll find that they will absorb a considerable amount of water. I wouldn't bother chopping it up.

The thing with this recipe is I've done it twice now and each time I've changed it to try and get a bit closer. It's a good starting point but just see how you go.

I still think that adding the peel to the boil is just too much. I did it for too long the first time and it wasn't so good. Less the second time and it's better. This time I'm going to add them to just boiled water and cover/soak for 20mins as per the Grape and Grain advise. Will be interesting to see the difference.

PostPosted: Monday Jul 23, 2007 10:52 am
by James L
Finally got round to making it after about 3 weeks of slowly collecting the ingredients from various locations,

The only thing i noticed was, it looks quite dark for a hoegaarden.

I followed the updated instructions given by pixelboy, and used the exact ingredients.

does it eventually go lighter?

I suppose aslong as it tastes similar

Apart from that.... it smells bloody fantastic.

Keep up the good work

James

PostPosted: Saturday Jul 28, 2007 7:55 am
by Danzar
Hi peoples. I've been offline for ages and will gradually come back into the forum.

On your colour, you can't replicate the white, lemony colour of the real Hoegaarden unless you're doing an all grain. Has something to do with the base malts - not sure exactly.

A note on coriander - do not hesitate to go for 30, even 40 grams. It won't make a huge difference but the Hoegaarden does have a strong coriander flavour and I'm finding that 14g is not getting me there.

A note on orange - using fresh oranges will give you an odd taste. You really do need to use either bitter orange (purchased from grain and grape) or mandarin peel. The dried bitter orange is not as strong and goes well in a 10-15 minute boil.

And yes, use the 3944 (or White Labs equivalent) if at all possible. Just make some starters as liquid yeast is expensive.

Good luck!

Good luck!

PostPosted: Wednesday Aug 01, 2007 6:10 am
by Fidelio
I'm suprised you guys use wheat malt in a Hoegaarden replica; there are none of this in Hoegaarden. Use 50/50 barley malt and unmalted wheat. Give the wheat a slight boil and a protein rest at 50 C for 20 mins before mashing toghether with the malt.

PostPosted: Wednesday Aug 01, 2007 12:51 pm
by pixelboy
Interesting Fidelio....

WOOT... Seville oranges are in season.. :D

To celebrate im going to have another go at this great beer to a slightly modified recipie..

1. Thomas Coopers Brewmaster Selection WHEAT BEER
2. Coopers Light Malt Extract 1.5kg
3. Rind from 2 Seville Oranges (dried overnight in paper towel)
4. 30gms Corriander Seeds Crushed
5. 500g torrefied wheat (Sanitarium Puffed Wheat - Steeped for 30min @ ~50c, mashed then added to the boil)
6. 20gms SAAZ for 30mins
7. 20gms SAAZ for 5mins
8. SafAle K-97 Yeast

Ill let you know how I go :)

PostPosted: Sunday Aug 12, 2007 12:36 am
by nt
Just bought some Seville - very difficult to find.

Is there a difference b/w rind and zest?

I need to use the color skin (not the white layer) right? and left it to dry.

PostPosted: Sunday Aug 12, 2007 4:57 pm
by Adzmax
Yep that's right, it's basically the outside of the skin without the white pith.

PostPosted: Thursday Aug 30, 2007 1:26 pm
by James L
I think i'm starting to agree with Fidelio...

In order to create the white/lemon colour, there is no reason why you cant use extra light liquid malt and the unmalted wheat... If you use this with the rest of the ingredients, i reckon you'd end up with something pretty close to the real thing.

I'm going to make a little brew on the weekend to test this theory.

12L
1.7kg Extra Light liquid Malt
500g torrefied wheat
7g golding (60mins)
7g golding (15mins)
10 Fuggles (5mins)
15g corriander (cracked)
5-10g dried bitter orange peel.
3944 wit yeast.

16.3IBUs
4.3 SRMs (a little high)

I'll tell you how it turns out...

PostPosted: Thursday Aug 30, 2007 1:28 pm
by Adzmax
Ace, looking forward to hearing you tasting results too! :)

PostPosted: Friday Sep 14, 2007 8:45 pm
by Kevnlis
Tasted a version similar to this from the fermentor tonight after 5 days and it is excellent! I originally set out to brew a golden ale, but ended up with a hybrid which I think will come up quite nicel after a few weeks in the bottle.

Watch my website for tasting notes on this brew. I have called it "Brewiser Wheat #1" because it was a partial using the wheat kit and I have quite a few of them :oops:

PostPosted: Wednesday Oct 03, 2007 3:08 pm
by James L
Made the hoegaarden that i suggested a couple of posts ago, had a taste while bottling, and it tastes pretty darn close to the real thing. The colour is much much lighter. Its pretty much a cloudy lager... i think its about as good as i'm going to get using extract.

The orange and coriander are not overpowering...

I cant wait to have a bottle in a few weeks time..

PostPosted: Friday Oct 19, 2007 1:02 pm
by collapoo
i have this brewing now and have a lot of sediment. I don't have second vessal for racking. Will i be able to get away with bottling from the primary? The sediment is right up to the line of the tap.

PostPosted: Friday Oct 19, 2007 1:20 pm
by rwh
Probably. Just let the first bit of beer out into a glass, which should clear out any sediment, then bottle after that.

PostPosted: Monday Oct 22, 2007 1:06 pm
by Danzar
collapoo wrote:i have this brewing now and have a lot of sediment. I don't have second vessal for racking. Will i be able to get away with bottling from the primary? The sediment is right up to the line of the tap.

How much torrefied wheat did you use?

PostPosted: Tuesday Oct 23, 2007 12:08 pm
by collapoo
500g, which i strained through a stocking. I bit the bullet and bought a second fermentor, yipee!!! So it has been racked which I am very glad I did because the sludge at the bottom of the primary did not look very attractive. So i'm very excited now I can rack, and up production of beer as well!!