Orange Blossom Amber

Brewsmith · 08-01-2006, 08:31 PM

I buddy of mine at work has a favorite beer, one of the few that he will drink, that is the Orange Blossom Amber Lager from Indian Wells Brewing near Mojave, CA. I have never had it but from what he has told me, there is basically no bitterness and there is the flavor and aroma of oranges to it. The brewery's website says the recipe started as a test brew experiment with real orange peels. I've come up with a basic recipe for this "contract brew" but I don't know how much orange peel (or zest) to use.

5.5 Gallons

9 lb 2-row
1.5 lb Munich
0.5 lb Crystal 60
0.5 lb CaraPils

1.5 oz. Hallertau 60min

OG: 1.057
SRM: 8
IBU: 15
5.5% ABV at 75% attenuation

I will probably use either a Ca Common yeast or a German Ale/Kolsch since I can't do lagers.

Please help with the orange zest. Could I add orange to the secondary as well?

G. Cretin · 08-01-2006, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brewsmith

Could I add orange to the secondary as well?

Maybe just the zest in the secondary would be good since you're already going to add hops and the pith is the bitter part.

Brewsmith · 08-01-2006, 08:50 PM

I don't want any of the pith in the brew anyways. I'm just curious on how many oranges.

Willie3 · 08-01-2006, 08:55 PM

Isn't the pith the zest? isn't the zest the peel? isn't the peel the bitter part?

What in God's name is Pith? Excuthe me I have to take a pith?

- WW

Brewsmith · 08-01-2006, 08:58 PM

The pith is the white part of the peel that is bitter and tastes nasty. The zest is the outer part that is orange, contains orange oil, and tastes and smells like oranges.

**the_bird** · 08-01-2006, 08:59 PM

Consider an orange peel. One side is the color orange, the other is white. All the stringy white stuff, that's the pith. Tastes like crap, bitter but not in a good way.

What you need to do is to get the outer orange layer - that part that's actually the color orange - off from the orange without bringing any of the white pith along for the ride. You can buy a zester for a couple bucks to to this, it's going to scrape and gouge the fruit just enough to get the zest but not the pith. The zest - the orange bit - is where all the good flavor is. I have a sharp, serrated steak knife that I use to scrape off the zest from the fruit.

mbreen01 · 08-01-2006, 09:27 PM

I brewed up a wit bier and just used the dried orange peel from my LHBS. If you're going that route, I'd recommend 1/2 oz sweet orange peel and 1/2 oz bitter orange peel; then I'd break up that combo and add half at 10 min and the other half at 5 minutes. I've never used fresh orange peel, so I'm not sure how that correlates. Good luck.

Marc.

Brewsmith · 08-01-2006, 09:35 PM

My guess was the zest of a couple oranges near the end if the boil. I'll see how much 1 orange is.

Beer Snob · 08-01-2006, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brewsmith

My guess was the zest of a couple oranges near the end if the boil. I'll see how much 1 orange is.

I think adding it to the secondary would be better. That way you can taste it every so often and when it tastes the way you want it to, thats when you'll know its done and you rack.

Brewsmith · 08-01-2006, 10:13 PM

I think I'll do both. Some near the end of the boil and more in the secondary. I was just curious if anyone had made an orange beer before, not just one where orange was part of the spices added.