Witbier with Chamomile

Make a 1 L yeast starter a couple of days beforehand using the liquid yeast. Put the finished yeast starter in the fridge a few hours before brewing to let the yeast settle the the bottom. This way it's easy to decant the liquid off the top and retain the yeast before pitching.

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Gently crush the coriander with the back of a heavy spoon to expose the inside of the seeds, which gives it a fairly strong, spicy character versus whole seeds. If you have fresh chamomile, use it, otherwise, use chamomile teabags. Many chamomile teas have additional herbs and spices so only use types with just chamomile flowers. Cut open the bags and toss the flowers into the boil for the last five minutes.

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Mill the grains (including the flaked grains, but excluding the rice hulls). Mix the rice hulls into the grain post milling. Mash at 122 °F (50 °C) for 15 minutes then raise the temperature over the next 15 minutes to 154 °F (68 °C). Hold for 60. Raise the temperature to mash out at 168 °F (76 °C). Sparge slowly with 170 °F (77 °C) water.

Bring to a boil, add the bittering hops, and boil for 60 minutes. Add the spices with 5 minutes left. Do not bother with Irish moss or other kettle finings. Chill the wort rapidly to 68 °F (20 °C), let the break material settle, rack to the fermenter and aerate thoroughly. Pitch yeast.

Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). Bottle or keg per normal.

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Result: a smooth beer with light spicy notes. The composition started out very cloudy, but has since settled into a very nice pale straw color. Goes great with an orange slice, it brings out more of the spice character.