A Wit and a Marzen Walk Into a Bar...

...and then I drank them.

This past weekend I shared a keg of my homebrewed Belgian Wit (that's actually a photo above--thanks Seamus) with a bunch of friends down at the guido-tastic Jersey shore. Between fist-pumping and spiking our hair, we somehow found the time to drink some beer. The beer came out good, but I was a bit disappointed, because it wasn't what I was shooting for. I was trying to produce a Blue Moon clone, but with a little extra flavor from a true Belgian yeast (Blue Moon uses a clean American yeast). I think the beer was good, and judging from how quickly it was consumed, so did my friends, but it just wasn't what I was looking for. A few things I would change:

1. Increase the bitter orange peel, orange zest, and coriander. I cut back on the suggested spice amounts from the recipe I used, so that I wouldn't over do it. An overly spiced beer could be disgusting. Next time I brew this though, I'm going to increase the spices a little--they were barely apparent in the flavor and aroma, and I would've liked to see a little more citrus character.
2. The recipe called for a portion of the fermentables to be pure dextrose (corn sugar). This thins the beer out a little, and it could've used a little more body. I'll probably cut the sugar in half next time and replace it with a 50/50 split of wheat and Pilsner malt to maintain the gravity.
3. I'm going to try this beer with an American yeast next time. This way, I can get the other flavor components to where I want them. Once I get everything else in place, I can try it with the Belgian yeast again to see how it complements the beer.

I'm looking forward to brewing this one again and trying to tweak a recipe to my liking--it's definitely a warm weather beer, so I'll either take another stab at it at the end of the summer or it will have to wait for next spring. In addition to the Wit, my Marzen was bottled just about 2 weeks ago, and I'm planning on opening a bottle tonight. If I'm feeling saucy, maybe I'll try to post some tasting notes on it later this evening, so be on the lookout for a second post in one day! Until tonight, may the schwarzbier with you! (Yes, I know that was horrible)