All-grain · 20 L (5.3 gal)
Witbier Recipe
BJCP 24A · Witbier
The Belgian white beer: pale, hazy and refreshing, with raw wheat, coriander and bitter orange peel.
Witbier recipe by the numbers
- Batch size
- 20 L (5.3 gal)
- Original gravity
- 1.048
- Final gravity
- 1.010
- ABV
- 5.0%
- Bitterness
- 16 IBU
- Color
- 4 SRM (7 EBC)
- Mash
- 66 °C (151 °F) for 60 minutes
- Boil
- 60 minutes
- Fermentation
- 20 °C (68 °F) for 10–14 days
- Bottling
- 7 g of sugar per liter (0.9 oz/gal)
About 145 kcal per 330 ml (11 oz) bottle, worked out from its original and final gravity.
Witbier recipe: ingredients and steps
Batch size
Recipe for 20 liters (5.3 US gallons) into the fermenter.
Malts
| Malt | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pilsner malt4 EBC (2 °L) | 2.30 kg (5.07 lb) | 50.5% |
| Flaked wheat3 EBC (2 °L) | 2.00 kg (4.41 lb) | 44.0% |
| Flaked oats2 EBC (1 °L) | 0.25 kg (0.55 lb) | 5.5% |
Hops
| Hop | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Saaz3.5% alpha acids | 40 g (1.41 oz) | 60 minBittering |
You will also need
Yeast: Dry Belgian witbier yeast, such as M21: one packet.
Spices: 15 g (0.5 oz) of coriander seed, crushed just before adding, with 5 minutes left in the boil.
Spices: 15 g (0.5 oz) of dried bitter orange peel (Curaçao), with 5 minutes left in the boil.
Water: About 28.5 L (7.5 gal): 13.5 L (3.6 gal) for the mash and 15 L (4.0 gal) for the sparge.
Priming sugar: 7 g of table sugar per liter of beer bottled (0.9 oz/gal), about 135 g (4.8 oz) for 19 L (5.0 gal): it's a fairly highly carbonated beer.
Hops: pellets, kept in the freezer until brew day.
Step by step
- Heat 13.5 L (3.6 gal) of water to 72 °C (162 °F), add the crushed malt and the flakes (no need to mill them) and stir well. Hold about 66 °C (151 °F) for 60 minutes. With this much raw wheat the sparge runs slowly: if it gets stuck, add a handful of rice hulls.
- Sparge with 15 L (4.0 gal) of water at 76 °C (169 °F) until you collect about 24 L (6.3 gal) of wort at 1.042–1.043.
- Boil for 60 minutes with the 40 g (1.4 oz) of Saaz in from the start. With 5 minutes left, add the crushed coriander and the bitter orange peel.
- Chill to 20 °C (68 °F), transfer about 20 L (5.3 gal) to the fermenter and take a gravity reading: it should be around 1.048.
- Pitch the yeast and ferment at 20 °C (68 °F).
- Once the gravity holds at 1.010 for three days in a row, bottle with the sugar. It's naturally hazy: no need to clarify it.
Dried bitter orange peel is sold at homebrew shops. Sweet orange peel doesn't give the same result.
Coriander loses its aroma quickly: crush it right before adding it.
The style: Witbier (BJCP 24A), with its history, its numbers and other ways to brew it.
Different setup? Recalculate with the water calculator, the IBU calculator and the priming sugar calculator.
Rating recipes and keeping a brew log need an account, which is only available in Spanish for now. English accounts are coming soon.
Frequently asked questions
How strong will this Witbier be?
About 5.0% ABV: it starts at 1.048 and finishes at 1.010, and (OG − FG) × 131.25 gives that percentage.
How long until it is ready?
One brew day, fermentation at 20 °C (68 °F) for 10–14 days and about two weeks in the bottle: give it a little over a month.
Can I use a different bittering hop?
Yes. What matters is keeping the bitterness: if you use another hop instead of Saaz at 3.5% alpha acids, work out the grams from its alpha acids (or with the IBU calculator) to stay at about 16 IBUs.
What if my system does not get 72% efficiency?
Your gravity will come out different. Scale the base malt up or down (or add a little dry malt extract to the boil if you fall short) and recalculate the water with the calculator.
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Reference style: Witbier in the BJCP guidelines, 2021 edition. Original recipe by Hacer Cerveza Casera, designed for a homebrew setup.