Multi-Award Winning Witbier All Grain Recipe Formulation

[@inambaguum]

Brewed a very slightly modified version of your personal recipe and man it was good. Fastest we've kicked a keg ever. Looking forward to trying out some of your other recipes. Keep 'em coming!

[@mattsawdy9747]

Hey Matt, really appreciate your channel and hard work

[@MeanBrews]

Thanks!

[@luizcampos1600]

Matt thank you for your great work ... top on my channels list. My beers improved a lot.

[@MeanBrews]

Great to hear!

[@pedroreis9352]

Thanks for this video! This is gold! An awesome style for sure. Hope to brew this next month after my lagers. Really appreciate this! Keep up the great content

[@pedroreis9352]

I was looking at your award winning recipe and it's the same as Martin from the homebrew challenge right?

[@MeanBrews]

yes! he brewed a version of my recipe

[@pedroreis9352]

@@MeanBrews Very cool! I met you through martin's shoutout in a video. I can't exactly say which one but big favor he did to me. Both of you are really good for youtube's brewing ccommunity. Keep going

[@pedroreis9352]

@@MeanBrews One question I got about the red wheat malt. It seems to be a special version of briess. I cant find it in another european malster, only the classic white wheat malt. Do you think it's really important and I should pay extra for it or just go with normal wheat malt?

[@MeanBrews]

@@pedroreis9352 I've used white wheat with success in this recipe. the red wheat is more about appearance than flavor.

[@emonstermark699]

+1 on the chamomile. I won a local competition in 2019, and based on the judging notes, I think that's what set mine apart from the others.

[@MeanBrews]

chamomile I think is Celis secret ingredient.

[@TheAlchemistsBrewery]

I've recently made a Witbier. 50% pilsner, 50% white wheat malt. Weyermann. I've put some orange peel tincture in it. It doesn't show. The yeast, Mangrove Jack's Wit was wonderul, fermented in 4 days at 22°C. The beer is incredibly delicate, honey-like, low phenols, nice estery citrus aroma. I absolutely love it! I like it more than the German Weizen.

[@MeanBrews]

Mangrove Jacks is the best wit yeast.

[@曾國棟-h2l]

非常感謝! Great video, Thank you!

[@MeanBrews]

別客氣

[@barrycranston5122]

Thanks you, it is not a style that I have been happy with regarding my attempts. This is a great help.

[@pavelr3416]

Ушёл молоть солод и ставить чан) Мой любимый рецепт) Thanks!

[@mattriggi6117]

Another great video! Thank you for sharing. I'd love to see your process for bottling

I brewed this recipe and it was awesome! Then brewed another batch with different peels, great again. Have you tried St.Bernardus Wit? I recently tried it and found to be really nice and a somewhat different than this recipe or Hoegaarden. Trying to make a similar recipe to that, looking for a way to get that sweet honey note.

[@MeanBrews]

yep tried them all! Glad you liked the recipe. Its very good.

[@pabloroman2536]

Hi. Thanks for the video. Have you tried using just unmalted raw wheat? I can't find flaked wheat and also I've read adding malted wheat makes you lose something important.

[@MeanBrews]

You can use puffed wheat but raw wheat will require a cereal mash if used

[@goodolarchie]

This is going to end up one of the best series/playlists for homebrewers when it's all said and done, Matt. I love this style, it's what got me into craft beer at a naive age when macro lager was swill and IPAs were way too bitter. I've never gotten a 45 but I've gotten a few 40's and BoS medals for my recipe which is very similar to yours with the addition of a Ferulic Acid rest if I'm going all out. The full on vg4-clove ends up balancing the citrus and fruit from the spices, stands out on the table. Never considered adding Munich I either, I'll have to try that next time.

[@MeanBrews]

Thank you for your comments! I only added Munich after doing more research in the past couple years. I know it's a little bit it adds a hint of sweetness that goes nicely with the style.

[@goodolarchie]

@@MeanBrews Another little secret tip to try - gently toast the coriander in a pan or skillet. They'll dance and start to smell like froot loops. I do it for half the coriander in the batch (about 25-30 seeds) and leave the rest raw. You get the most amazing fruity, floral character.

[@petargeneralic3254]

Hello from Croatia!!! Great video, I enjoyed watching it and learned a lot of things that helped me in brewing excellent Witbier. I just have one question. How much yeast (gram/liter) should be added in the beer to be properly carbonized and to get additional character from the yeast? Thank you very much for the answer.

[@MeanBrews]

Not sure. I just sprinkled some in each bottle

[@bradhelgason8613]

Love how educational these videos are and I can’t wait to try this recipe out. Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I have a question related to the spice additions. It’s mentioned when to add them, but I’m not sure when they should be taken out. Are they to be discarded after the boil or do you recommend transferring the spices with the wort into the fermenter? I’m also curious to know which spices (if any) you’ve found a longer contact time with the fermenting beer to benefit the overall flavor.

[@MeanBrews]

I try hard not to transfer the spices into the fermenter but almost always at least one chamomile flower makes it across. I don't sweat it and leave it in. The only spices I've used in secondary with success are the so called warming spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice etc. These go well with a cider, cyser, or a stout.

[@pedroreis9352]

@@MeanBrews Do you add the spices inside muslin bags? Or just drop them in the wort?

[@gavrgavrilik5189]

Hello, maybe it could be good to put dextrose in bottles for carbonisation? not to keg. Could be more yeast on beer.

[@MeanBrews]

yes this would work

[@gavrgavrilik5189]

@@MeanBrews I will try to use, Honey for carbonisation. It could be even better.

[@Rangemaster1975]

Hey! Love the videos and the work you do. One question on this one. The recipe seems to have multiple versions as in the one on the video doesn't match the one in the description and neither match the one from Brewfather. There seems to be alterations on the grain bill, 10 min hop addition etc. Is there a story behind all this?

[@MeanBrews]

I'll have to look into it.

[@djt02]

For competition purposes, does the addition of chamomile make it a SHV beer or at this low dosage does it just augment what is acceptable in the flavor/aroma profile?

[@MeanBrews]

Not sure you could pass this off as shv with chamomile but you can try. Refer to bjcp guidelines

[@renato7118]

Thanks for sharing !!!

[@MeanBrews]

My pleasure!!

[@MNgreg24]

What's the FG for this beer (Award Winning Version)? Also I'm assuming it's normal for bulk fermentation to be done in a day. It was going nuts and slowed down after 1.5 days.

[@MeanBrews]

You should get mid to high '7 0s attenuation with an FG around 1.012. Yes it should ferment like crazy very quickly if you do this at room temperature or higher

[@pavelr3416]

I did it yesterday) There was some changes in spices, waiting for taste. Thanks for sharing!

[@MeanBrews]

Awesome! tell me how it turns out.

[@pavelr3416]

@@MeanBrews No problem! But i'll repeat this recipe, because of my chiller - he is broken. And yeast pitched at 28 celcius. I think that i'll fix chiller this month.

[@pavelr3416]

@@MeanBrews can you explain your fermentation time plz? How long fermentation goes? And is it possible to carbonate with primer? (PS: Fixed my chiller, will brew again this or next week)

[@MeanBrews]

@@pavelr3416 this ferments rather quickly. Fermentation is on its own timeline, some yeast are quick and some are slow, just watch for signs of fermentation slowing down, or monitor the gravity periodically (can be hard on the homebrew scale)

[@pavelr3416]

I did it again) for the first time there was 1048 OG and 1046 for the second time. First time I haven't use seed and for the second - no seeds and no orange peel. But beer is veeery perfect! Wit is one of my most lovely style. Added recipe to favorites) that was my 8th and 9th brews. Ps - sry for my English, I'm not a native. Hello from Russia)

[@steepski]

Have never heard of paradise seeds and couldn’t find much on Google. Is this a Special kind of peppercorn?

[@MeanBrews]

also known as grains of paradise. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aframomum_melegueta

[@hoppyjoker]

I brewed two times with yeast and both times it finished at 1.020. It fermented for two days with a stable temperature which the yeast increased on its own, then the temperature dropped and the fermentation was done. I wouldn't use this yeast again as it needs precise management on the wort making. Low mash temperatures and not high volumes of flaked grains . Any opinions about this yeast?

[@MeanBrews]

maybe ramp up sooner and keep warm when it stops maintaining its own heat.

[@renato7118]

Any substitute for red wheat malt ? We have here castle malt and weyermann. Thanks !

[@MeanBrews]

Weyermann pale wheat malt or CHÂTEAU Weat Blanc should be fine substitutes. Only thing red contributes is more haze to the finished beer.

[@MeanBrews]

BTW the picture behind me is a close up of my witbier!

[@Bullsbrew551]

Hi Matthew I’m about to brew this beer. I know you say not to vorlauf. I “assume” you also do not use whilfloc. Is that correct? Thank you

[@MeanBrews]

yes keep it murky no whirlfloc no irish moss

[@Callummellers]

Awesome video. Making a Belgian wit soon. When adding yeast for bottle conditioning could you not just add the yeast to the bottling bucket rather than the bottles?

[@MeanBrews]

Yes you can do that

[@Callummellers]

@@MeanBrews awesome, thanks for the reply. How much dry yeast would be appropriate for a 5 gal batch?

[@MeanBrews]

@@Callummellers I think one packet of mangrove Jack's would be enough.

[@Callummellers]

@@MeanBrews thanks! 🍻

[@RCAC03]

Matthew - any experience or recommendations for M21 stalling at 1.020, only 62% attenuation? OG 1.054 ripped thru to 1.020 in two days, only rose to 71 degrees on its own. Now stuck at 1.020 for past three days as dropped itself back to 67 degrees. My hybrid version of your recipe (same gran bill %s and mass steps) in Bf expected to be 1.011. How long will M21 stay viable to knock out 8-9 more points?

[@MeanBrews]

yes I've had this problem before. It wouldn't re-start. It still won medals

[@RCAC03]

@@MeanBrews I did get a Silver at Ocean State Comp in RI but on few other submissions judges coming back with "oxidized" in taste. Pressure fermented and close transferred to 100% CO2 purged keg, keg conditioned with limited forced CO2, counter pressure bottled with split second to capped on foam. So where can they be getting oxidized - a spice? Or the stalled yeast?

[@stenlee556]

Matt, thank you for your analytical work. Now, before I brew a beer, I watch your videos. Sometimes I am tormented by the question: Is there a lot of magnesium in your water?)))

[@MeanBrews]

I have a normal amount of magnesium in my tap water. But I have a crazy amount of sodium. I use RO water for almost all my beers and make up the water profile as needed

[@sandgroperbrewing2399]

Hello, What was the correct ppm for Cl ?

[@MeanBrews]

70 recipe.brewfather.app/WNkHWRECSXwWZkB4r1kS5zDBOforyK

[@stenlee556]

Matt, is it true that a lot of sodium can slow down and even stop fermentation? Does magnesium have a good effect on the yeast cell membrane, but makes beer bitter?

[@MeanBrews]

excess sodium is harmful for yeast. Magnesium is a yeast nutrient. Everything is harmful at the right dosage. I suggest you download Brun Water as it will give limits for each of these elements/compouonds.

[@luizcampos1600]

The white part of oranges add bad taste on bier... Witbier challenge in south america is peel lots of fruits to have enough ingredients... any tip on this front???

[@MeanBrews]

avoid the pith! can't be stressed enough. use a vegetable peeler to take a thin layer off the citrus in strips. Then add at the 5 minute mark. substitute fresh peel 3x the weight of dried peel. I've heard mandarin and tangelo peel work well in this style as well

[@carlosarenas7686]

Hey Matt, I'm a big fan of your channel, Love your work! Got a question in regards to kegging hazy styles such as this one. It is expected to have yeast floating around But in order to carbonate the beer the keg must be cold, right? I'm a little confused because essentially that's cold crashing

[@MeanBrews]

yes kegging involves crashing. Bottling is the best option for this style but it is still good kegged.

[@carlosarenas7686]

@@MeanBrews thanks a lot! Can't wait to see the next video. Keep it up!

[@MeanBrews]

@@carlosarenas7686 awesome! are you going to brew up a witbier at your brewery?

[@carlosarenas7686]

@@MeanBrews I'm seduced by the idea but haven't really considered it. We are preparing to brew a Hefeweizen very soon

[@galzoli]

I am not sure how to interpret this: "Ferment at 70F and allow to free rise to 78F". You mean: started the fermentation/pitched at 70F and placed it in a 78F environment, so the temp was let to rise to 78F (normally that takes no more than 24 hours) and practically the fermentation was made at 78F ?

[@MeanBrews]

yep

[@galzoli]

@@MeanBrews Thnx. I am bit nervous about the relatively high temperature (78F) becasue in past (some other style) resulted me pretty sulfury byproducts during fermentation and some fusel alcohol too . But I will give try :-)

[@MeanBrews]

@@galzoli you're correct. it will produce some sulfur but it will also offgass.

[@galzoli]

@@MeanBrews When cold crashing is not recommended, just like in this case, at what temp do you carbonate the beer ?

[@amsluis]

Have you ever heated or toasted the coriander before grinding it up and adding to the boil?

[@MeanBrews]

never tried toasted coriander. Have you? what are the results?

[@amsluis]

@@MeanBrews You definitely notice a change in the aroma of the ground spices, but I couldn't say whether it made a difference. But I've seen this recommendation a few times in wit recipes so was curious if you had an opinion.

[@suchy6021]

Hi! Thanks for yours recipe. I dont understand in 100% one thing. You used fresh orange peel in your winning recipe or you dried your fresh peel?

[@MeanBrews]

I use fresh orange peel. I did a test where I peeled some orange and weighed it. Let it dry out and weighed it again to see how much was water weight. It turns out fresh orange peel weighs 3x what dry orange peel does. Use this ratio when selecting your ingredients. My recipe is based upon fresh orange peel.

[@suchy6021]

@@MeanBrews so I did it right 😁 from my fermentation frigde I have strong aroma of orange 😁

[@MeanBrews]

Let me know how it turns out!

[@suchy6021]

@@MeanBrews So now I can tell you its not the best I ever brew but the best I was ever drinking. So complex Witbier - perfect. I had only problem with yeast, because M21 was very fast (finished in 2 days), I gave them more time (about week) and after few days in bottle was ready to drink. Was perfect for 3 weeks and after that time yeast started working again. Gushing and overcarbonated beer. I did second batch and sended to competition with recipe based on yours and was the same problem. But still I'm in final :) I need for the future change yeast I think. Thanks again!

[@MeanBrews]

@@suchy6021 Keep in mind, at these carbonation volumes its typical to have a little gushing. nothing crazy though. I'm glad you liked it. This beer is best fresh and declines fast.

[@ragimundvonwallat8961]

i tired of zesting and peeling, and the fruit are never the same...i buyed essential oil, always the same and easy to adjust to perfection

[@MeanBrews]

Great tip!

[@ragimundvonwallat8961]

@@MeanBrews i never expected that a sophisticated brewer such as yourself would take interest in my comment...on forums im more or less laughed at as 'the guy who flavor his beer with cool aid' lol i tried many time to explain that what we extract from the zest IS essential oil, we are just doing it badly with a boil. by th eway ive never seen anyone else but you showing all the graph about the ingredients and beer metrics, very very usefull for someone wanting to eyeball a recipe PS sorry i know my english is not great

[@MeanBrews]

@@ragimundvonwallat8961 using essential oils is akin to using a hop shot. I see nothing wrong with it if it works for you!

[@TheBMurph43]

🍻🍻

[@matangadijolachangapodcast1786]

is this a recipe video or a Math lecture?? omg