Brewery Ommegang: Witte Recipe

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.047 FG = 1.010
IBU = 10 SRM = 3 ABV = 5.2%

Ingredients

5.8 lbs. (2.6 kg) Pilsner malt
2.4 lbs. (1.1 kg) white wheat malt
1.1 lbs. (0.48 kg) unmalted wheat berries
0.39 lbs. (0.18 kg) flaked oats
2.5 AAU Styrian Golding hops (90 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 5% alpha acids)
0.35 oz. (10 g) crushed coriander seed (10 min.)
1.2 oz. (34 g) sweet orange peel (10 min.)
Wyeast 3944 (Belgian Witbier) or White Labs WLP400 (Belgian Wit Ale) yeast
1 cup (200 g) dextrose (if bottling)

Step by Step

Mash the grains for 5 minutes at 113 °F (45 °C); 35 minutes at 144 °F (62 °C); 20 minutes at 154 °F (68 °C). Mash-off at 165 °F (74 °C), collecting about 7 gallons (27 L) of wort.

Boil 90 minutes, adding hops at beginning of boil and spices for final 10 minutes. Cool, aerate, and pitch yeast at 70 °F (21 °C); let temperature rise but not above 79 °F (26 ° C). Carbonate to 2.7 volumes of CO2.

Partial mash option: Reduce the Pilsen malt in the all-grain recipe to 2.1 oz. (59 g) and add 4 lbs. (1.8 kg) Weyermann Pilsner malt extract. In a 2-gallon (7.6-L) beverage cooler, mash crushed grains in 5.5 qts. (5.2 L) of water for 45 minutes at 150 °F (66 °C). While mash is resting, heat 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water to a boil in your brewpot and another 5.5 qts. (5.2 L) of sparge water to around 180 °F (82 °C). Recirculate wort then run off to brewpot. Stir sparge water into grains. Recirculate and run off again. Boil 60 minutes, adding hops and spices at times indicated and liquid malt extract with 15 minutes left in boil. Top off to 5 gallons (19 L) after cooling and follow the remaining portion of the all-grain recipe.