Jim- WITBIER: If your orange peel and coriander were in your boil, you should have extracted the flavor and aroma that was there, and you needn't transfer them to the primary. One question though - after the boil, why do you transfer to plastic to chill, then to glass to ferment? Could you just chill in the kettle? At that stage, your sweet wort is particularly vulnerable to infection, and the less times you have to transfer, the less likely that infection will occur. HOPS: If you have third-year plants, they should be fine. If you get dozens of shoots, trim them back to about 3 per hill. I wait until they get about 4 inches long, then cut them off at the ground. They are a delicacy! Steam them, and serve them with a little butter and lemon! - Al -----Original Message----- From: mba-bounce(a)thebarn.com [mailto:mba-bounce@thebarn.com] On Behalf Of j.voosen(a)comcast.net Sent: Monday, April 04, 2005 7:13 AM To: mba(a)thebarn.com Subject: Witbier I brewed up a Witbier extract from Northern over the weekend and had a few questions. I made a yeast starter using about 8oz of DME to a quart of water Saturday morning. Sunday morning I brewed the Witbier. The corriander and orange peel both have a great aroma. I chill the wort down in a plastic fermenter, however, as the plastic has a few years of experience, it does not seal properly which results in very little, if any, activity in the airlock. It looks like we have an OG of 1042. After the wort is chilled down to where I pitch the yeast, I transfer to a glass carboy so I know it will be air tight. After the transfer, I noticed much of the corriander and orange peel remained on the bottom of the plastic primary and didn't get trasnferred over. Would this have any detrimental effect on flavor, etc not sitting in the fermentation tank? Should I add more during the primary or secondary fermentation to enhance flovor or just leave it alone? With using a yeast starter, I used a blow off tube vs the airlock. After just a few hours in the glass carboy, I could not believe the activity within just a few hours. Also, this is the third year I have hops growing in the back yard. Is there anything special I should do to them at this time of the year ? Thanks! Jim Voosen Stillwater, Mn