Brasserie Saint James’ The Wit Album: Replicator
Dear Replicator, We recently took some family and friends to the Brasserie Saint James in Reno, Nevada. Along with some fantastic food, we enjoyed a great lineup of Belgian-style beers. We tried a great saison and a golden strong ale, but undoubtedly one of our favorites was the Belgian wit they refer to as The Wit Album. I had planned on brewing a Belgian wit for my wife, and would love to take a shot at recreating the one we had at the Brasserie. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Phil Lesquereux
Douglas, Nevada
I’ve got great news for your wife, Phil: You’re going to get your shot at brewing her Brasserie Saint James’ witbier! Brewery Operations Manager Madison Gurries and Head Brewer Josh Watterson shared all of the brewing information that you’ll need, and the rest is up to you. But you’re reading Brew Your Own, so I imagine you’re OK with that!
For those who haven’t been to the “Biggest Little City in the World” in a while, Brasserie Saint James can be found in midtown Reno, Nevada in the historic Crystal Springs Ice & Water building, formerly the home of an ice factory that produced more than ten tons of ice each day – and that was after they drilled through more than 100 feet (30 m) of granite to get to the artesian aquifer that was almost 300 feet (19 m) down. Clearly, this is a place for people with determination, and who appreciate the potential of water to become something better.
Brasserie Saint James was founded by Art Farley in 2010 and found quick success, becoming a Great American Beer Festival gold medal-winner and the Midsize Brewpub of the Year in 2014. They did it, in part, by sticking with a clear vision of what they wanted to be. “Here at Brasserie Saint James our hearts lie in Belgium,” Josh says. A substantial portion of their year-round lineup is Belgian-style, and they take extraordinary measures to identify and define what they want, long before the beer is made.
Watterson passed on the Brasserie Saint James recipe process – and I can wholeheartedly agree that it’s a good strategy to take when putting together your own recipes. “When we decide to brew beers here at Brasserie Saint James we like to do a blind tasting of as many commercial examples as possible. This allows us to put our pre-conceived notions aside and simply immerse ourselves in the products before us.” Watterson also notes that this makes it possible to identify which elements of the beers are worth emulating and which boundaries to press and even break.
In the case of the The Wit Album, the team tasted more than 15 commercial witbiers – from both domestic and Belgian breweries – before settling on a profile. The elements that jumped out were a light, delicate body; a focus on the vanillin phenol that can be present in Belgian yeast profiles, and appropriate but not over-the-top spicing (many wit producers actually keep their spicing regimens secret, much like gin producers, since it’s such an important component of the beer).
Getting from that light, spiced, subtly-vanilla goal to The Wit Album is, like most things involving Belgian styles, a combination of simplicity and complexity.
First, the yeast. Josh has changed the preferred yeast periodically, but is currently favoring White Labs WLP400 (Belgian Wit Ale) or Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan Weizen) yeast. Both provide plenty of ester and phenol production, and allow for a nice, complete attenuation. Temperature control matters here, though: Josh suggests a temperature-inverted fermentation, holding the yeast at 72 °F (22 °C) for 24 hours after the first visible signs of fermentation, then dropping to 64 °F (18 °C) for the remainder of fermentation. He suggests allowing fermentation to hold for 18–20 days to allow for a thoroughly complete job by the yeast.
Then there’s the spicing. Josh recommends coriander, sweet orange peel, grains of paradise, pink peppercorns, chamomile, and heather tips. He provided us with recommended amounts (which you’ll find in the recipe below), but feel free to play with quantities of each of these to get a lighter or stronger presence, depending on your preference. Add these in a large spice or hop bag with about 10 minutes left in the boil. Make sure you use a large enough bag: If you use a smaller bag and cram the spices in, you will get dry pockets and poor utilization.
Finally, vanilla: Vanillin is a phenolic aldehyde that sometimes presents in Belgian yeasts, but you can’t always be confident of what a strain will produce, or in what amounts! So Josh recommends a slight cheat on this
one, and suggests that you add a touch of vanilla extract (I’d hesitate to use more than just a drop or two in 5 gallons/19 L) during your whirlpool. That way you can be certain that there’s at least some guaranteed vanilla, bringing you that much closer to Saint James’ version!
So, Phil, I hope you and your wife have an anniversary coming up soon, because the good folks at Brasserie Saint James have given you everything you need to make a great clone of The Wit Album.
Brasserie Saint James’ The Wit Album clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.056 FG = 1.011
IBU = 14 SRM = 4 ABV = 5.9%
Ingredients
5.5 lbs. (2.5 kg) Pilsner malt
5.5 lbs. (2.5 kg) wheat malt
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) flaked oats
3 AAU Hallertauer hops (45 min.)
(0.5 oz./14 g at 6% alpha acids)
3 AAU Hallertauer hops (15 min.)
(0.5 oz./14 g at 6% alpha acids)
1.9 AAU Saaz hops (1 min.)
(0.5 oz./14 g at 3.8% alpha acids)
1.5 oz. (43 g) sweet orange peel (10 min.)
0.5 oz. (14 g) coriander, cracked (10 min.)
0.5 oz. (14 g) grains of paradise, cracked (10 min.)
0.2 oz. (6 g) pink peppercorns, cracked (10 min.)
0.2 oz. (6 g) chamomile (10 min.)
0.2 oz. (6 g) heather tips (10 min.)
¼ tsp. vanilla extract (optional)
White Labs WLP400 (Belgian Wit Ale) or Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan Weizen) yeast
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Mill the grains and mix with 3.3 gallons (12.5 L) of 165 °F (74 °C) strike water to reach a mash temperature of 153 °F (67 °C). Hold this temperature for 60 minutes. Vorlauf until your runnings are clear. Sparge the grains with 3.1 gallons (11.7 L) and top up as necessary to obtain 6 gallons (23 L) of wort. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops according to the ingredient list and Irish moss if desired. With 10 minutes remaining, add the spices loosely in a large spice/hop bag, ensuring that there is sufficient room for water flow.
After the boil, turn off heat and whirlpool for 10 minutes, and (optionally) add vanilla extract. Then chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, about 70 °F (21 °C). Aerate the wort with pure oxygen or filtered air and pitch yeast.
Ferment at 72 °F (22 °C) for 24 hours after the first visible signs of active fermentation. Then decrease temperature and hold at 64 °F (18 °C) for up to 20 days. Once the beer completes fermentation, bottle or keg the beer and carbonate to approximately 2.5 volumes. You can cold-crash the beer prior to packaging to 35 °F (2 °C) for 48 hours to improve clarity.
Brasserie Saint James’ The Wit Album clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.056 FG = 1.011
IBU = 14 SRM = 4 ABV = 5.9%
Ingredients
3.75 lbs. (1.7 kg) Pilsen liquid malt extract
3.75 lbs. (1.7 kg) wheat liquid malt extract
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) flaked oats
3 AAU Hallertauer hops (45 min.)
(0.5 oz./14 g at 6% alpha acids)
3 AAU Hallertauer hops (15 min.)
(0.5 oz./14 g at 6% alpha acids)
1.9 AAU Saaz hops (1 min.)
(0.5 oz./14 g at 3.8% alpha acids)
1.5 oz. (43 g) sweet orange peel (10 min.)
0.5 oz. (14 g) coriander, cracked (10 min.)
0.5 oz. (14 g) grains of paradise, cracked (10 min.)
0.2 oz. (6 g) pink peppercorns, cracked (10 min.)
0.2 oz. (6 g) chamomile (10 min.)
0.2 oz. (6 g) heather tips (10 min.)
¼ tsp. vanilla extract (optional)
White Labs WLP400 (Belgian Wit Ale) or Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan Weizen) yeast
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Bring 5.6 gallons (21.2 L) of water to approximately 162 °F (72 °C) and hold there while steeping the flaked oats in a grain bag for 15 minutes. Remove the grain bag and let drain. Add the malt extract while stirring, and stir until completely dissolved. Bring the wort to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops according to the ingredient list and Irish moss if desired. With 10 minutes remaining, add the spices loosely in a large spice/hop bag, ensuring that there is sufficient room for water flow.
After the boil, turn off heat and whirlpool for 10 minutes, and (optionally) add vanilla extract. Then chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, about 70 °F (21 °C). Aerate the wort with pure oxygen or filtered air and pitch yeast.
Ferment at 72 °F (22 °C) for 24 hours after the first visible signs of active fermentation. Then decrease temperature and hold at 64 °F (18 °C) for up to 20 days. Once the beer completes fermentation, bottle or keg the beer and carbonate to approximately 2.5 volumes. You can cold-crash the beer prior to packaging to 35 °F (2 °C) for 48 hours to improve clarity.
Tips for Success
Head Brewer Josh Watterson uses rice hulls in the mash to promote the easy flow of wort from the mash tun, so if you have consistent issues with stuck mashes/sparges due to the use of wheat malt, you should follow whatever procedure you would ordinarily use for beers with a high wheat content. He also notes that spicing is essential to witbier, and you should feel free to adjust the spice levels/amounts recommended here to your specific taste. Finally, if the beer seems too “heavy,” consider adding a protein rest to your mash schedule to thin out the beer’s body without compromising flavor or gravity.
