Fool's Wit

This is my very first all grain beer recipe! I was looking for a good, refreshing summer beer. I do like Belgian wit beer, but what is out there is always a tad too sweet for my likings, and is also not very well hopped. Lost Coast Brewing has a wit style inspired beer with west coast hops infusion called 'Great White', but they have also added some spices, which I think is somewhat degrading the overall character. So here is my take on the topic:

GRAIN BILL: 12lbs total (I wanted it to be strong, too!), out of which 3 lbs Rahr White Wheat Malt, 3 lbs German Pilsener Malt, and 6 lbs Rahr Two Row Malt. Making it 25% Wheat and 75% Barley. I didn't wanted the wheat to dominate, just a little hint of sweetness, so left it at 25%, and added the Pilsener Malt to enhance the maltiness.

Grain bill ready for brewing

MASH-IN: 1 hr at 153F, Mash-out 10 min at 165F, lautering for 15min with 165F water. Resulted in 1.5gls of wort. Specific gravity: Unknown (still don't have that refractometer!)

Mash in the kettle getting happy

HOP SCHEDULE: Nothing compares with a solid German Hallertau hops base load. So that's what went in: 60min 1oz German Hallertau, 30min 1oz German Hallertau, 10min 1oz Mt Rainier. Total of 60minute cooking time. The Mt Rainier is a new Cascade hop derivative with medium high alpha but  also has a nice floral bitterness. I thought Chinook or Cascade would probably overdo it in terms of bitterness, so there.   

Hop pellets ready to go

YEAST: Wyeast Belgian Wit. Filled up to 6 gallons (23 liters) with Los Gatos Mountains Spring Water. I only do single stage fermentation (little scared of spoiling the nice beer from contamination when transferring to secondary stage..). Fermenting took place in the basement at ambient temperatures (about 68-76F). That's about the range indicated for this yeast strain. No dry hopping on this one, so after 3 weeks it went into the bottles for bottle fermenting. I could tell I had a really nice one already when bottling! 

TASTE NOTES: First try 1 week after bottling, still a little young. After 2 weeks it was perfect: Pale yellow color, some diffused haziness. Beautiful floral nose (I start to love Mt Rainier!). Head: I'm amazed this beer developed a nice and dense foam without any dextrin tricks played. Taste notes: Initially very light but lots of flavor as it develops. Nice and gentle hops bitterness. Sweetness of wheat is there, but just a hint, as intended. Subtle fruity undertones, but not as overwhelming as on a Hefeweizen, for example. The maltiness is present but not as much as I expected. Next time I should probably use more German Pilsener malt. Alcohol: Not sure, somewhere between 4.5-5.5% I assume. Should have been a little stronger based on the grain bill, but I guess I didn't lauter as aggressive on this one. Still fine! Finishes off tart and citrusy. Makes you yearn for more! Perfect for a warm and sunny summer afternoon. Had this glass below after a bike ride in our mountains. Man, that was perfect!

CHEERS!

Fool's Wit!