Hi, sorry if this question has been asked before. I'm trying to do an extract Belgian wit and came accross several recipes to steep wheat grains or flakes. Is it Ok to steep wheat? and not mashed? Thanks.
It's not a good idea. You'll get lots of starch in your beer, and no fermentables from the wheat. ETA: How much wheat are the recipes saying to steep? If a small amount, it may be intentional, to add some starch haze. Usually though, the wheat part of an extract recipe wit would come from a wheat extract (which is actually a mix of wheat and barley malt extract).
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f71/easy-belgian-wit-28370/ http://byo.com/stories/item/1647-witbier-style-profile yeah, they all call for ~1lb of wheat or oats. So the haze is the only thing that it will contribute? Nothing to do with flavor?
+1 on the starch haze. I agree with the mini mash as well. Get a pot and a grain bag or paint strainer bag and do a mini mash with some 2 row and you are good. I'd say a 50:50 mix of each should get you in the ballpark.
thanks guys. One more question, the store ran out of sweet orange peels. That person says that you could easily make your own from supermarket oranges. :-) So I want to give it a try. (experiment is part of the fun, noh?) Question I forgot to ask, do I have dry the peel or can I add fresh ones? Has anyone used regular orange peels before? like sunkist or the like??
I personally have only brewed using dried Curacao Orange (Bitter Orange) peels. I have no advice on using fresh oranges in brewing but I recommend reading this for zesting directions: http://www.wikihow.com/Prepare-Fresh-Citrus-Fruit-Peel Cheers!
I'd zest and make a tincture with a little vodka. Let it steep and sit around, and then add it to taste to your bottling bucket.
