Belgian Wit Recipe

My dad is a big fan of Belgian Witbier. He enjoys Hoegaarden, but is more of a fan of some of the locally brewed Wit's that you can't always find fresh during the winter months. I always have a hard time figuring out what to get him for Christmas so I figured I would attempt my first Belgian Witbier and give it to him as a Christmas present this year. The recipe is largerly based on Jamil Zainasheffs Belgian Wit recipe that is found is his amazing book Brewing Classic Styles.

5 Gallon Batch
90 Minute Boil

Brew Day = 11/14/09

Grains
6.5 lbs of Belgian Pilsner Malt
6 lbs of Briess Flaked Wheat
¼ lb of Weyerman Light Munich Malt
1 lb of Flaked Oats

Hops
2 oz of German Hallertau Hops (3% AA) for 60 minutes

Yeast
Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier

Spice Additions (at 5 minutes remaining in boil)
Zest from 6 oranges (might adjust this still)
1.2 ounce of crushed Coriander

Target OG = 1.058
Target FG = 1.105
Target ABV = 5.6%
Target IBU's = 16

I also decided to order all my supplies from a new online homebrew supply company called the Brewmasters Warehouse. Their website is pretty cool, they use what they refer to as a Brew Builder which allows you to go in and build your own recipe or view various base recipes and then make changes to those recipes. They are based out of Marietta Georgia so hopefully they will get the shipment quicker to me than some of the West Coast based homebrew supply shops. I put my order in on Saturday and hope to have the package by Friday so that I can get the yeast starter going. Fingers are crossed and I'll post another blog update once I see how things go. They offer $6.99 flat rate shipping and are currently offering a 10% discount if you use the passcode BN ARMY at checkout.

If you don't have any plans for this Saturday and feel like hanging out in the garage, lending a hand with the brewing activities and sharing a few beers feel free to stop by. I plan to get this one started early (around 8-9 am).