Like I said before concerning the American Ale by Budwieser, everyone on the forum probably has at least tasted some of the different beers that are just becoming available in my area. Maybe it is the micro breweries that are forcing the big companies to produce more flavorful brews. Anyway I was able to obtain a bottle of Belgium Wheat Beer. The commercial name was "Blue Moon". To my surprize it was very tasty and I do plan on trying to brew something like it. Funny how things work out but here I am entering my senior years and just now getting introduced to some wonderful new beer and the spare time I have after retirement is making it possible to brew some of this new to me beers. (If I can ever get past all these chores my wife has lined up for me)

art, hope you are enjoying your retirement, i never drank much of the different beers either, when i was growing up, so now i am making up for it with my brewing. i have tried so many different types since i retired 4 years ago that it's sad to see what i've missing.
gary

Hey Art, I have been drinking Blue Moon for a couple of years now and love it. I did a batch back in March. It turned out pretty dam good too. Here is the recipe that I used. It's an extract recipe so you may have to convert it to ag if that is how you brew. Good luck to ya.


Whitewater Wit
Witbier


Type: Extract
Date: 3/31/2008
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Brewer: Heavenlyfire Homebrew
Boil Size: 4.08 gal Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: Brew Pot (5 Gallon)

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
6.00 lb Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 80.00 %
0.50 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 6.67 %
0.25 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 3.33 %
0.25 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.33 %
0.25 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 3.33 %
0.25 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.33 %
0.50 oz Spalter [4.50 %] (60 min) Hops 6.5 IBU
0.50 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (30 min) Hops 4.4 IBU
0.50 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (15 min) Hops 2.9 IBU
0.50 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1.00 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
2.00 gm Seeds of Paradise (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Belgian Witbier (Wyeast Labs #3944) Yeast-Wheat



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.054 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 0.000 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG Measured Final Gravity: 0.000 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.29 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.00 %
Bitterness: 13.8 IBU Calories: 0 cal/pint
Est Color: 8.1 SRM Color: Color

I hear ya, I look back at all the miller i drank & hated pale ales!! After i started brewing i started to like & appreciate them. Now ipa is my beer of choice!! I didnt find out about great beers to late in my life though so thats good!!
Im not much of a wheat beer fan but they are good sometimes. I prefer widmer hef over blue moon though. Not sure if its over your way though.

Gary, I agree with you totally. There are so many new taste out there for me now that I have time to concentrate on the brewing. Just wish I could run up on another homebrewer in my area or even a club would be nice.

Thanks for the recipe Heavenly, I will make a copy and it will surely be put to use as soon as I can get past this house project. One question, what are paradise seed and where did you get the orange peel bitter?

Jeep, I'm not sure if I'll ever get into the IPA's they are just way too bitter for me.

My father in law said the same thing about ipa's 2 years ago. We went to the oregon brewers festival & 13 of the 72 beers were ipa's. He hated them. About a year later after drinking my pales all year he liked them. He was sure he never would. Its funny how beer taste evolves sometimes.
My ipa on tap now is really hoppy!!

It is not impossible for me to develop a taste for IPA someday, but it is not probable.

Art wrote:Gary, I agree with you totally. There are so many new taste out there for me now that I have time to concentrate on the brewing. Just wish I could run up on another homebrewer in my area or even a club would be nice.

Thanks for the recipe Heavenly, I will make a copy and it will surely be put to use as soon as I can get past this house project. One question, what are paradise seed and where did you get the orange peel bitter?

Jeep, I'm not sure if I'll ever get into the IPA's they are just way too bitter for me.

I use Coriander seed in my Wit Biers. I can get it at grocery stores, health food marts, World Market, etc. As for the orange peel you buy a bag of oranges and zest the rinds. Don't get into the white pith as that will add bitterness. My first batch of beer I ever brewed was a Hoegaarden clone which is very similar to Blue Moon.

Ignore the dirty glass, I had a pour over. That was the first pint I ever pulled off of my kegorator. It was a Wit Bier.

I got the seeds and orange peel at my LHBS and they came in the right size pack for one batch of beer. I have also used coriander and like it too. Swampwater, that is a tasty looking brew.

Swampwater Brewing wrote:

Art wrote:As for the orange peel you buy a bag of oranges and zest the rinds. Don't get into the white pith as that will add bitterness.

Actually, I believe he is referring to bitter orange peel (curacao???). From what I understand, this stuff looks terrible. Instead of tasting citrusy, it is supposed to taste more herbal????? I've never used it though, so this is all hear say.

Cheers
Dave

I have made it with the dried bitter orange peel before but have to say if you use fresh orange peel you will get a much better flavor. The best Wit Bier recipe I have made to date was from Randy Mosher's book Radical Brewing. One of my all time favorite and must have beer text's.

Just got to try yet another wheat beer by the name of Hoegaarden. I do believe it is more flavorful than the Blue Moon. We are getting closer to finishing the remodeling here and I will be back to brewing again and the wheat beer is probably going to be my first batch.

Art wrote:Just got to try yet another wheat beer by the name of Hoegaarden. I do believe it is more flavorful than the Blue Moon. We are getting closer to finishing the remodeling here and I will be back to brewing again and the wheat beer is probably going to be my first batch.

I agree with you. Hoegaarden is a bit more tasty. While Blue Moon is fine it is a bit thin for my taste. It is refreshing though. You out to try a Honey Moon (same company) if you can find it. It may be seasonal though. Lienenkugel has some tasty wheat beers as well.