Gingerbread Christmas Wit

It's Christmas time and all those amazing ginger, vanilla and cinnamon smells are flying out of the oven, so we decided to have them fly out of the tap too. This is a witbier in the Belgian tradition, with a slight hint of orange peel, coriander and gingerbread spices in the finish. The gingerbread man was naughty this year, so skip the milk and give Santa cookies in a glass!

Witbier, Wit or White Ales originated in late medieval Northern Europe, then 19th century Leuven, Belgium. The style was revived by Pierre Celis in the 1950s and has seen great success becoming a mainstream popular style again. The flavor of Witbiers is usually a dry creaminess with a soft acidic finish. The aroma is of a spicy yeast and spices including orange and coriander. The flavor and aroma create a nice milkshake texture, but dry with a touch of tart. Witbier is now brewed year-round thanks to Pierre Celis and traditionally enjoyed in warm weather

We use a blend of malted and flaked wheat in this recipe, allowing the pilsner malt and malted wheat enzymes to completely convert the starches without the need for a decoction mash. Simple single infusion mashing for use with most modern well modified grains is all that is needed (about 95% of the time). The normal gravity range for a Wit is 1.042 -1.055 with an ABV range of 4.2 - 5.5%. Bitterness is low to medium on this beer around 15-22 IBUs with color 2-4L (pale straw to gold) and attenuation dry to medium. [See our brewing calculators to estimate your ABV, water and other factors.]

The additions of gingerbread spices to the citrus and coriander flavors blend nicely to create a new unique christmas beer called the Naughty Gingerman. Think... gingerbread with orange/citrus flavored icing. Due to the large spice additions in this beer, it is best when aged for a few months to let the spices incorporate completely.

We chose an experimental hop for this recipe called Sonnet™ Golding with low alpha acid (4%). This hop is a brand new baby hop similar to a Golding. As for the yeast, we recommend WL410 as it is less phenolic than WLP400, and more spicy. These yeasts will leave a bit more sweetness, and flocculation is higher than WLP400.

Related Recipes:
Pistachio Pale Ale - A citrusy pale ale using palisade hops with a smoky pistachio kick.
Smoked Pumpkin Saison - A smoky pumpkin beer recipe with a spicy selection of pumpkin pie flavors.
Pecan Doppelbock - A recipe for a strong Bavarian style Doppelbock with roasted pecans that will warm you up pre-winter.

Published: December 7, 2011

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