Has anyone brewed the Witty Dutchman recipe on the web site? It calls for 5 oz of cracked coriander, which seems like a misprint. 0.5 oz for a 5 gallon batch seems to be in line with the conventional wisdom. The recipe is as follows:
Ingredients:
MALTS
4 lb. (1.81 kg) 2-row Pilsner malt
2 lb. (907 g) white wheat malt
1.5 lb. (680 g) red wheat malt
12 oz. (340 g) yellow flaked corn
4 oz. (113 g) flaked oats
HOPS
0.7 oz. (18 g) Northern Brewer hops, 7% a.a. @ 60 min
WATER
Carbon filtered, targeting a mash pH of 5.2
YEAST
1 package Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier
ADDITIONAL ITEMS
1 oz. (28 g) orange peel @ 10 min
5 oz. (142 g) cracked coriander seed @ 5 min
Thanks BrewBama. First time I have seen flaked corn in a Wit recipe too, but it’s a gold medal winner so I figure I’ll have a go I guess it is safe to start low and sample it when I take gravity readings during fermentation. If for some reason the flaked corn is playing games with the coriander I can always rack it off and add more. I’ve added coriander to a secondary in a Hoegaarden clone I brewed a while back.
Thanks brewthru, nice of you to check that in the hard copy. I saw that the recipe on brewer’s friend excludes the red wheat, but still more coriander than a typical Wit recipe. In the end I decided to go with 1.5 oz based on a hoegaarden clone I have done. Brewed it today, the og sample did not taste or smell overwhelmingly like coriander, but of course it’s wort not beer. I’ll make a decision about adding some coriander in a secondary once primary fermentation is done. I’ll post how it comes out, FWIW.
Just keep in mind coriander is cilantro. Some folks taste soap when they ingest cilantro. To me this was VERY strange when I first heard, but, apparently, it’s true.
Thanks brewthru, I will post how it turns out. I’m a big Wit fan and I have done at least a dozen, love the coriander, just never seen any that called for over a quarter of a pound ???. Appreciate all of the links.
Coriander seed has quite a different taste than cilantro. It has a warmer, spicier character and much less of the citrus and soap you get with cilantro leaves.
In brewing, coriander refers to the seeds, not the leaves. Completely different flavor. For instance, in witbier coriander is used to get the orange flavor.
Denny, yes, I understand these are different parts of the plant. However, I mentioned as a friend of mine complained about a “soap” taste after drinking one of my Witbiers. What? At the time I didn’t know some taste soap with cilantro and apparently my friend with coriander. No one else drinking the Witbier mentioned noting “soap”. I know it wasn’t the serving glass.
Hi Denny,
FWIW, my son has that reaction to Cilantro, fortunately I do not, I love the Belgian brews. The way I understand it, people who perceive Cilantro as soap have a smell receptor gene cluster that is sensitive to aldehyde chemicals that are present in both.
I would be highly interested in how a 5 gallon batch with 5 oz. of coriander turns out. Note that I would never try this myself - think 2 oz. would be my ceiling.
In the end I decided to go with 1.2 oz coriander. I was going to use 1.5 but I ran out . The beer came out pale yellow with a thick white head. Just about 5% ABV. Very soft and round with a lemony and mild spice flavor. Nice finish, not sweet and not bitter. If I did this again I would probably cut back on the coriander even though I think it is a very good beer. Thanks to everyone that left comments and suggestions.
I guess it is safe to start low and sample it when I take gravity readings during fermentation. If for some reason the flaked corn is playing games with the coriander I can always rack it off and add more. I’ve added coriander to a secondary in a Hoegaarden clone I brewed a while back.