[ynotbrusum]

So, I don’t make a lot of ales, let alone Belgians, but my niece asked me to brew a wit for her September wedding.  My question is whether the “witsters” here crush their coriander seed before it is added to the end of the boil or throw it in whole? I crushed it and wow was it lemony smelling….I have time to re-brew, so I thought I’d ask.  I used 3.5 grams in a 5 gallon batch fwiw.

[denny]

I lightly crack it. I have ground it in the past. Doesn't seem to make a lot of difference.

[ynotbrusum]

Yea, I cracked it with a spoon in a small stainless dish, so I did not grind it; I will take a taste of the finished beer and decide from there.  Again, this is not a style I make with any frequency, so I didn't want to overwhelm anyone with too expressive of a coriander spice addition.

[reverseapachemaster]

Crushing is fine. You just need to expose the interior of the seed for better extraction. You won't get as good of a result without exposing the interior. Leaving a more coarse texture will make it easier to keep the solids out of the final beer.

[jeffy]

I have always just run it through my grain mill, which crushes it but doesn't pulverize it

[rburrelli]

Made an homage to Allagash White recently. It also
Used some Grains of Paradise. They add a nice touch.

[EnkAMania]

This is timely, as I'm brewing my first witbier on Saturday.  Do people toast the coriander?  I see people who cook with it do it sometimes.

[denny]

This is timely, as I'm brewing my first witbier on Saturday.  Do people toast the coriander?  I see people who cook with it do it sometimes.

Nope, I never have.  I've also used chamomile in a wit, as Celis allegedly did.

[jeffy]

This is timely, as I'm brewing my first witbier on Saturday.  Do people toast the coriander?  I see people who cook with it do it sometimes.

Nope, I never have.  I've also used chamomile in a wit, as Celis allegedly did.

Mine uses coriander, chamomile and the zest (none of the pith) of citrus fruit

[denny]

This is timely, as I'm brewing my first witbier on Saturday.  Do people toast the coriander?  I see people who cook with it do it sometimes.

Nope, I never have.  I've also used chamomile in a wit, as Celis allegedly did.

Mine uses coriander, chamomile and the zest (none of the pith) of citrus fruit

Sweet or bitter?  I've always gone trad and used bitter orange peel for bittering and coriander for the orange flavor

[jeffy]

This is timely, as I'm brewing my first witbier on Saturday.  Do people toast the coriander?  I see people who cook with it do it sometimes.

Nope, I never have.  I've also used chamomile in a wit, as Celis allegedly did.

Mine uses coriander, chamomile and the zest (none of the pith) of citrus fruit

Sweet or bitter?  I've always gone trad and used bitter orange peel for bittering and coriander for the orange flavor

I used to have a sour tangerine tree in my back yard, which was a very nice addition to the beer.  It died.

[denny]

This is timely, as I'm brewing my first witbier on Saturday.  Do people toast the coriander?  I see people who cook with it do it sometimes.

Nope, I never have.  I've also used chamomile in a wit, as Celis allegedly did.

Mine uses coriander, chamomile and the zest (none of the pith) of citrus fruit

Sweet or bitter?  I've always gone trad and used bitter orange peel for bittering and coriander for the orange flavor

I used to have a sour tangerine tree in my back yard, which was a very nice addition to the beer.  It died.

Wow, that would have been great.

[fredthecat]

somewhat related but i grow chamomile flowers in my backyard, and while i liked the dried chamomile, the fresh flowers in a tea are about 500% better in taste. no sour notes, dusty, stale notes i get from dried chamomile. just extremely pleasant and much brighter

i pick the flowers, wash them off a bit and store them in a plastic bag in my freezer until i use them.

the seed pack was 99 cents or so

[denny]

somewhat related but i grow chamomile flowers in my backyard, and while i liked the dried chamomile, the fresh flowers in a tea are about 500% better in taste. no sour notes, dusty, stale notes i get from dried chamomile. just extremely pleasant and much brighter

i pick the flowers, wash them off a bit and store them in a plastic bag in my freezer until i use them.

the seed pack was 99 cents or so

I used to pick, rinse, and use immediately

[Richard]

The newest post in Brulosophy is a comparison of sweet orange peel vs bitter orange peel in a wit. Might be worth reading.
https://brulosophy.com/