Belgian Wit

Step by Step

Mill the grains (including the flaked grains, but excluding the rice hulls). Mix the rice hulls into the grain post milling and dough-in targeting a mash of around 1.5 quarts of water to one pound of grain (a liquor-to-grist ratio of about 3:1 by weight) and a temperature of 122 °F (50 °C). Hold the mash at 122 °F (50 °C) for 15 minutes then raise the temperature over the next 15 minutes to 154 °F (68 °C). Hold until conversion is complete, about 60 to 90 minutes. Raise the temperature to mash out at 168 °F (76 °C). Sparge slowly with 170 °F (77 °C) water, collecting wort until the pre-boil kettle volume is around 6.5 gallons (25 L) and the gravity is 1.039 (9.7 °P).

The total wort boil time is 90 minutes, which helps reduce the SMM present in the lightly-kilned Pilsner malt and results in less DMS in the beer. Add the bittering hops with 60 minutes remaining and the spices with five minutes left in the boil. 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 ten grams of properly rehydrated dry yeast or use two liquid yeast packages. Alternatively make a 2 qt. (2 L) starter using one package of liquid yeast. Begin fermentation at 68 °F (20 °C) slowly raising temperature to 72 °F (22 °C) by the last one-third of fermentation. When finished, carbonate the beer to approximately 2.5 to 3 volumes of CO2.