Brasserie Saint James: The Wit Album Recipe

(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 (150 g) dextrose (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.

Extract with grains option:
Substitute the Pilsner and wheat malts in the all-grain recipe with 3.75 lbs. (1.7 kg) Pilsen liquid malt extract and 3.75 lbs. (1.7 kg) wheat liquid malt extract. 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. Follow the remaining portion of the all-grain recipe.

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.