I got an email asking if I still had that Hoegaarden yeast I harvested years ago. So, I checked my fridge and found a jar that looked like peanut butter. I decided not to revive the old sample. Instead, I grabbed a fresh six-pack and started over.

The goal was simple. Harvest the bottle dregs and brew my own witbier.

Here we go!

Bottle Dregs Witbier Recipe & Brewing Process

We kept this one straightforward and let the yeast experiment lead the way.

Name: Because I Can Witbier

Batch Size: 5 gallons

Water:
Spring water from the store – no additions

Grain Bill:
50% Dingemans Pilsner Malt (I used 4.5 pounds/2 kg)
50% Flaked Wheat (I used 4.5 pounds/2 kg as well)

Hops:
1 oz (27 grams) of Karma hops 8.7% AA added with 60 minutes left to go in the boil
0.5 oz (14 grams) of Karma hops 8.7% AA added with 10 minutes left to go in the boil

Extra:
0.75 oz (21 grams) of Fresh Orange Peel – added with 5 minutes left to go in the boil

Yeast:
Dregs from a six pack of Hoegaarden, added to a liter yeast starter made with Fast Pitch canned wort

Instructions:
Mash for 60 minutes at 150°F (66°C)
Boiled for 60 minutes
Fermented for 2 weeks at 72°F (22°C)
Kegged and carbonated to 2.5 volumes

Outcomes:
Original Gravity: 1.046
Final Gravity: 1.009
% ABV: 4.8%

What We Learned

On the tasting side, the aroma was immediately recognizable. It had that slightly sulfury, wheaty character typical of a witbier strain. The beer poured hazy with a classic wheat beer appearance. I wanted a bit more citrus on the palate from the zest. The soft water made it very easy to drink.

The Karma hops brought a green, almost umami character with minty citrus notes. I think I was heavy handed on the 60 minute addition. The bitterness pushed the IBUs higher than traditional witbier ranges. If I brewed this again, I would scale that back. Still, the yeast character came through clearly. By day two of the starter, it smelled like witbier. That told me the harvest worked.

I can tell you that harvesting bottle dregs still works. Even with rumors about different bottling strains, this fermented like a proper witbier. Building a healthy starter made the difference. The yeast took off and finished clean.

Next time, I would reduce the bittering hops and maybe bump the citrus. But overall, this proved again that you can source yeast from commercial bottles and brew a solid beer at home. It is a fun experiment and a practical skill for homebrewers.