This was one of the beers served by the Urban Knaves of Grain, in the hospitality suite at the 2001 AHA Conference in Los Angeles.  The corny keg was driven cross-country (Chicago to LA) in the trunk of a club member's car; we were worried when we unloaded the keg, because it was very warm, almost hot.  But the beer held up amazingly well, with no significant ill effects from the journey.  In fact, the small amount remaining in the keg was still quite enjoyable, even after the keg had made the return trip to Chicago!

While this beer is unmistakably a Wit style-wise, it's a slightly unorthodox recipe, in that it does not use a Belgian yeast strain, and includes white pepper and lemon peel, in addition to the traditional coriander and orange peel.  Just enough pepper is used to give it a little "tingle", without being obvious.

A portion of the spices are added near the end of the boil, with the rest being added to the secondary, as a "spice tea" (pour a little boiling water over the spices, allow to cool, then add to secondary).  I often use this approach when making spiced beers, as it allows the spice levels to be "tweaked" after primary fermentation (which can blow a lot of spice aromas out along with the CO₂).

• 1 lb 14 oz unmalted wheat
• 1 lb 10 oz unmalted oats
• 6 lbs Pilsner malt
• 12 oz Cara-Pils
• 1 oz Mt Hood pellets, 3.7% AA (boil 60 minutes)
• 1.5 oz dried orange peel (boil 10 minutes)
• 0.8 oz ground coriander (boil 5 minutes)
• White Labs WLP008 (East Coast Ale)
• 0.4 oz dried lemon peel (spice "tea" added to secondary)
• 0.25 oz ground coriander (spice "tea", added to secondary)
• 0.15 oz white pepper (spice "tea", added to secondary)

Crush wheat and oats, and simmer with enough water to give a porridge-like consistency.   Stir frequently to prevent scorching.  Allow adjuncts to cool to approximately 135F, and add to the malt at mash-in.

Mash-in at 130F for a protein rest, 25 minutes. Beta amylase rest at 146F for 50 minutes, then raise to 154F, and hold until iodine test is negative.  Sparge with enough water at 170F to yield approximately 6 gallons of wort.  Liberal use of rice hulls in the lauter tun is strongly recommended, to prevent a stuck sparge (mix the rice hulls into the mash prior to starting the runoff).

Total boil time 60 minutes.

Ferment at 68F.

OG = 1.057, FG = 1.011

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Code: WT3

(Posted to Web November 18, 2001)