A French style of beer, beers in this category
are golden to deep copper or light brown in color. They are
light to medium in body. This style of beer is characterized by
a toasted malt aroma, slight malt sweetness in flavor and medium
hop bitterness. Noble-type hop aromas and flavors should be low
to medium. Fruity esters can be light to medium in intensity.
Flavor of alcohol is evident. Earthy, cellar-like, musty aromas
are okay. Diacetyl should not be perceived but chill haze is
okay. Often bottle conditioned with some yeast character.
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5 ounces Belgian Cara-Munich malt
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6 ounces 60ºL crystal malt
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7-3/4 pounds light DME
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1 ounces Brewers Gold hops
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1/4 ounce Saaz hops
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1 teaspoon Irish moss
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Yeast recultured from bottle of Jenlain
Bière de Garde (or any other bière de garde) or Wyeast 3944
Belgian Witbier yeast
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1-1/4 cup wheat DME
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Place the crushed specialty grains in a
nylon hop bag and steep them in 1 gallon of preheated 150º
water for 30 minutes.
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Drain and discard the spent grains.
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Bring at least 3 gallons of liquor to a
boil, remove the brew kettle from the heat source then stir
in the light DME and the Brewers Gold hops.
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Return the brew kettle to the heat source
and boil for 45 minutes, then add the Irish moss and the
Saaz hops.
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Boil for an additional 15 minutes, then
remove the brew kettle from the heat source, cover it and
drop the temperature of the wort as quickly as possible to
77º F.
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Once the wort has cooled to below 77º F,
take an original gravity reading, pour the wort into a
primary fermenter through a funnel with a strainer and add
enough cool water to create 5 gallons.
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Once the wort has been transferred to the
primary fermenter, pitch the yeast, stir the wort
vigorously, seal the fermenter with an airlock and ferment
at 70º-73º F for a week.
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Rack the beer to a secondary fermenter and
allow the beer to finish fermentation.
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Once fermentation is complete, rack the beer
to a bottling bucket, prime with the wheat DME and bottle
and condition as usual.
