Had this sitting around for more than a year, so decided it was about time to make it (especially as the 'best before' date is April 2018)
Supposed to be 2 cans for 20L, but as usual I've done it differently.
As an experiment, I'm going to try one can with the (supplied) 'Belgian style' yeast & the other with some 'German style' yeast (Mangrove Jack's M20 Bavarian Wheat) to see if it makes any difference.
1 can, plus 2x Wheat spraymalt & 1x Extra-light spraymalt with enough water to make around 11L.
Checked the SG once it was all mixed & found it to be just over 1.09 ..... with a quoted finishing SG of around 1.014, that would be around 9.5-10% ABV !
Given that the instructions say that with 1.75Kg LME it's supposed to be about 4.5% ABV, it got me confused.
Then I re-read the instructions & realised that with 1 can + 1.75Kg LME it's still for making 20-23L ..... Ooops!
Can't be bothered to change it now, so I'll just have to see what happens.
Comments
As I'll be using a different yeast for the next batch, I used the supplied yeast from both cans in this one.
I've also got some Mangrove Jack's M21 'Belgian Wit' ready just in case, although according to their website it's supposed to struggle with anything over 8% ABV
Failing that, I've got some Fermentis SafBrew WB-06 yeast, which according to their website has a higher attenuation ( 86% vs 75% ) and is supposed to be good for up to 11% ABV.
To be honest, I'll settle for sweeter & a lower ABV.
Despite being in the same location I always do my brews & despite starting it at just over 20C, it's now up to 30C !
I've put it somewhere cooler to see if that helps, as 30C is probably at the upper limits for the yeast.
The good news is that the temperature's down to a normal 24C.
The bad news is that there's very little visible activity & the SG's still 1.04
I have a feeling the yeast's committed suicide, as my thermometer shows the brew got up to a maximum of 34C yesterday.
Given it a good stir to see if that does anything, but if it's still the same tomorrow I'll chuck some fresh M21 yeast in.
Calculator I use has this as an attenuation of around 55%
Another good stir & some fresh M21 yeast added, hopefully that'll do something.
SG's dropped slightly to 1.036 ( 7% ABV and about 58% attenuation ) still with little visible activity.
Given it yet another stir.
Not expecting it to drop much more, so I'll probably just leave it for another week before bottling.
Having done my usual & drunk the samples, I can say that it tastes fine although - as expected - sweeter than most witbiers I've had.
That should be about 7.9% ABV & 65% attenuation.
I left it for a week and just checked it.
What did I find?
The SG has now dropped to 1.026 !
( That's about 8.4% ABV & 70% attenuation )
I wonder what the record is for the longest time taken to brew a batch of beer
Hopefully that's it.
Being a cynic, though, I've only done a test-bottling ( 2x 500ml bottles ) just in case.
Started my second batch of Witbier on 13 March...
German-style this time, using Mangrove Jack's M20 Bavarian Wheat yeast.
One can of Witbeer & a can of wheat malt DME with enough water to male up 12L & a tight handful of dried sweet orange peel.
Starting SG was 1.084
Brew was finished on 23 March, with a final SG of about 1.031 ( around 7% ABV )
Think I overdid the orange peel ( or left it in too long ) as it's noticeably orangey & rather sweet.
All bottled now, so trying to decide what to make next -- possibly the Black Rock Oatmeal Stout I've got.
https://homebrewonlinebrewblog.wordpress.com/2019/02/25/making-stout/