Belgian Wit Review

Today was a brewing triumph. A week ago last Saturday I brewed my first attempt at a Belgian Wit beer, aiming for something a bit like a Hoegaarden - following a recipe out of Belgian Ale, by Pierre Rajotte which included crushed coriander seed and orange peel. I used the peel off a fresh organic orange rather than the prescribed dried peel as I didn't have the latter and thought it was worth a try. Reading through the book this week, it was clear that the traditional wit beer was always drunk very young, because in the days before hygiene was invented it began to sour very quickly (due to loads of lactic bacteria). So I thought why not go with that idea and cut right down on the brewing time. So tonight, it came straight out of the primary fermenter and into a keg - and on tap! 2 oz of brewers glucose in there, plus a teaspoon of lactic acid to bring the pH down a little (Pierre should it should be pH 3 point something, which is pretty acidic).

9 days total production time! I thought if it tastes to bad I can always let it sit a few days. It was pretty cloudy but generally looked the part. So, 5 minutes later I tapped off a small trial glass. So - how was it? It was, to be immodest, sensationally good. The flavour was much closer to the craft-brewed Huyghe wit beer sold by Tesco and M&S as a premium beer, with more body than Hoegaarden and more flavour - especially up the orange end of the palette. The body was higher than Hoegaarden and Huyghe though, which may be an illusion caused by the un-fermented glucose (which should ferment out over the coming week or so. There was already a modest but pleasant carbonation since it is just out of primary. And  it was white with yeast and general haze - some of which might come from the coriander I think. It was truly a white (wit) beer.

Anyway, the conclusion: Wit is the fastest brew in the west to get in a drinkable condition - could be great for summer barbies too. You just need some decent quality and freshly bought coriander seed that you crush just when you need it (Asian cooks swear coriander has to be very fresh for the best flavour) and a really fresh organic orange. Next time I might try adding a little wheat flour to the mash too (sprinkled on top is the way to go) to add a further authenticity and some more alcohol!