Garden to Kettle: Brewing the Juneuary Wit

The coriander seeds are here, and just in time for Drew to brew a new beer.

We picked a couple tablespoons to use fresh, and will leave the rest to dry on the vine, and finish drying in paper bag.

I have trouble sticking to recipes. Instead of a wit, I think I just made a hoppy Belgian ale. I've had Citra hops on the brain, so I bought some at the homebrew store along with the other ingredients. Didn't even try to fight the impulse. Then, fifteen minutes before flame off, I remembered I had some Simcoe hops in the freezer. So, whatever this beer turns out to be, it's not a wit.

But I did stick to using orange peel and coriander from Jen's garden. That's a lie, actually. A real wit recipe would have used dried coriander. 

I used flaked oats and CaraVienne, and steeped them for 30 minutes at about 168 degrees.

I added the coriander and orange peel at the boil, as well as an ounce of Goldings.

Some folks say that you shouldn't let your dogs stay in the house during a brew. Thats fine, but I think a deep clean of your equipment and brewing space is sufficient. Also, this dog tried to attack the lawn mower and weed whacker Jen was using outside. He forced a compromise.

More updates on how this brew turned out soon! Feel free to comment for more details regarding home brewing and/or the recipe.