What characteristics make up a world class Witbier

Balance between citrus and coriander, with yeast and wheat tones clearly present. Smooth body. Must be refreshing.

 

IMHO, witbier is a great blank canvas. But I do think it has a few boundaries. First of all, it should be light bodied. I think witbiers should be fizzy and spritzy, and very attenuated - not sweet at all. I think the spices - coriander, orange peel, pepper, or whatever flight of fancy you have - should be prominent, but they should not overpower the aroma or flavor of the wheat or the estery and phenolic notes of the yeast. It should be light and bright and effervescent. Beyond that, the sky is the limit...

 

My top two readily available (here) Witbiers are the St. Bernardus Wit and the Allagah White. There are enough reviews of each in the database to suggest you might find one or both where you are located.

 

Just drink Allagash White and boom!: you have the characteristics you're looking for. Good balance between the orange, corriander, and wheat malt is what--in my opinion--defines a good Belgian Witbier. I had a Belgian White from a local brewery that was just okay, mainly because it was too heavy on the orange. Also, a generous amount of carbonation is key.

I'd also like to put Woody Creek White by Flying Dog in for consideration, but a) its a summer seasonal and b) I don't believe they distribute to Wisconsin.

 

Then you'll also want to do some checking with the folks in the Homebrewing forum. Near as I can tell they are very happy to help out each other with brewing tips, etc.

 

Complex aroma. Being a "thirst quencher" isn't good enough. I can be wowed by a world class wit as much as any style of beer if it's done right.

 

I just brewed a Wit a couple of months ago.

From my perspective the 'must haves' is a 50/50 combination of Belgian Pilsner Malt (I prefer Castle) and raw wheat (I prefer flaked wheat). I lightly hop with European hops: I prefer German hops for bittering (German Magnum of Tettnager) and Czech Saaz hops for flavor). The typical yeast is Wyeast 3944 (or the White Labs equivalent).

Now let's discuss the important aspect of spicing. The typical ones are cuarcao orange peer and coriander but some folks use others as well (e.g., grains of paradise, sweet orange peerl, etc.). I prefer the 'standard' spicing of curcaro orange peel and coriander. There is a misnomer that the curacao orange peel provides a citrus flavor but its flavor contribution is more on the herbal side; a chamomile type flavor. Using a judicious amount of freshly cracked coriander provides the citrus character.
Where folks can go awry is via overspicing; for example too much coriander will produce a flavor quality other than citrusy.

My favorite commercial Witbiers is St. Bernardus and Allagash.

A well made Wit will have the character of light sweetness, zesty yet subdued citrus, and low herbal character. It should also have a pleasant soft, smooth, creamy mouthfeel.

Some folks like to add a bit of oats (flaked oats) to augment the mouthfeel but from my perspective a 50/50 mix of Pilsner Malt and Flaked Wheat will provide a nice smooth mouthfeel.

Oh, and the hopping level should be subdued; something like 20 IBUs.

Cheers!

 

A great witbier needs NO FRUIT garnish

 

Is there any great beer that "needs" a fruit garnish???

 

Find Indian coriander, superior flavor to the usual stuff you find in a homebrew shop.

Supposedly there was a secret ingredient in Celis White. Randy Mosher has said it was chamomile. Others have claimed grains of paradise or cumin. The levels of this should be low. You should say there is something going on, but what is it?

 

Try Hoegaarden. I'm sure the haters are going to say something to the effect of "blah blah blah AB-InBev evil scum, you might as well be supporting terrorists, blablahblah" but it really is a solid example of how the style is supposed to be done, readily available and reasonably priced.

 

Nope, even the Mexican lagers & I'm no stranger to the lime myself.

 

Must be bottle conditioned in order to be at their best.