GavSenior

Recipes 

Hi,

I'm thinking about using zest in a wheat beer.

Are there any potential issues with the zest infecting the beer, or causing any long term stability issues? If so, how do I get around this?

I was planning on cleaning the fruit by dunking it in a 1% peracetic acid prior to zesting, will this be sufficient for cleaning the fruit?

I will be adding the zest at the end of the boil.

Cheers!

Tiber_Brew

Recipes 

I usually add my fresh zest within 5 minutes of the end of the boil, or right at the end of the boil. Five minutes at ~212F is sufficient for killing most bugs. If I add at the end of the boil, I let it steep at 190-200F for about 10 or 15 minutes during whirlpool. With either method, I've never had any issues with contamination. Hope this helps!

__________________
On tap:
1. Bock 2. Pale Ale 3. Blonde 4. Saison 5.[Nitrogen] Dry Stout
Primary:
1. Pale 2. Pale 3. None 4. None 5. None
Secondary:
1. Lambic x2 2. Brett Ale 3. Thimbleberry Lambic x2
Bottled:
About 56 gallons of beer & 7.5 gallons of mead
Kegged & conditioning:
Porter x2, Saison, Pale Ale, Pilsner x2 (lagering)


My 1/2 BBL electric HERMS build | Homemade hot sauce

techbrewie

Recipes 

this. I usually dont do fresh orange zest though. I usually buy Sweet Orange Peels. 5 mins in boil is usually the best time to add these. If it's any addition after the boil as per the recipe, just boil them in a cup of water for a few mins to sterilize, then make your addition.

__________________
Brew long and Prosper... May the wort be with you... Yippeekayay master brewers... You had me at free beer.

looneybomber

Recipes 

I've added orange zest at the end of the boil for two different beers, and I've used some in secondary on another beer. The one I put in secondary, I scrubbed the oranges using organic soap (and hot water), zested the oranges, then let the zest soak in some 100 proof vodka. I don't know if that's the best way to do it, but it worked for me. Go easy on the zest though. I used too much and gave my beer a little grapefruit smell/bitterness...it's slowly going away though.

__________________
Queue: King Tut ale, BIG barleywine, Desire mead, AHS Aniv Wit, Lemon wheat, Blond rye.
Fermenting: Skeeter pee w/cranberry
Secondary: Electrical engineering finals in 1 day.
Bottled: <1.060: Bluemoon
<1.090: Rye wheat ale, spiced tripel, tripel w/orange, baltic porter, skeeter pee lemon, skeeter pee lime
<1.110: Reverend clone, IIPA. Chocolate RIS, Bourbon Barrel Quad, chocolate RIS w/oak & whiskey
>1.110 OG: Double W (inspired) stout, Choco milk Czar, Mephistopheles (inspired) stout..

Tiber_Brew

Recipes 

If you're getting bitterness, perhaps you're getting some of the pith with your zest? What method are you using to get the zest? Or did you add a LOT of zest to the secondary?

__________________
On tap:
1. Bock 2. Pale Ale 3. Blonde 4. Saison 5.[Nitrogen] Dry Stout
Primary:
1. Pale 2. Pale 3. None 4. None 5. None
Secondary:
1. Lambic x2 2. Brett Ale 3. Thimbleberry Lambic x2
Bottled:
About 56 gallons of beer & 7.5 gallons of mead
Kegged & conditioning:
Porter x2, Saison, Pale Ale, Pilsner x2 (lagering)


My 1/2 BBL electric HERMS build | Homemade hot sauce

techbrewie

Recipes 

100 proof vodka or everclear would work, just be sure to use as little as possible, especially if your using everclear or a low grade vodka. It doesnt take much to make a noticeable presence in your beer. I'd say 1/2 to 1 cup max.

__________________
Brew long and Prosper... May the wort be with you... Yippeekayay master brewers... You had me at free beer.

looneybomber

Recipes 

I used an apple pealer and had little to no pith, but I did use zest from either 3 or 5 large oranges, I can't remember. I think I used too much.

__________________
Queue: King Tut ale, BIG barleywine, Desire mead, AHS Aniv Wit, Lemon wheat, Blond rye.
Fermenting: Skeeter pee w/cranberry
Secondary: Electrical engineering finals in 1 day.
Bottled: <1.060: Bluemoon
<1.090: Rye wheat ale, spiced tripel, tripel w/orange, baltic porter, skeeter pee lemon, skeeter pee lime
<1.110: Reverend clone, IIPA. Chocolate RIS, Bourbon Barrel Quad, chocolate RIS w/oak & whiskey
>1.110 OG: Double W (inspired) stout, Choco milk Czar, Mephistopheles (inspired) stout..

Tiber_Brew

Recipes 

I see.

I use a zest peeler like this one, and it does a good job of leaving the pith behind. (click image to view at Amazon)

__________________
On tap:
1. Bock 2. Pale Ale 3. Blonde 4. Saison 5.[Nitrogen] Dry Stout
Primary:
1. Pale 2. Pale 3. None 4. None 5. None
Secondary:
1. Lambic x2 2. Brett Ale 3. Thimbleberry Lambic x2
Bottled:
About 56 gallons of beer & 7.5 gallons of mead
Kegged & conditioning:
Porter x2, Saison, Pale Ale, Pilsner x2 (lagering)


My 1/2 BBL electric HERMS build | Homemade hot sauce

looneybomber

Recipes 

Oh that would have been great to have. I ended up putting my orange peal along with the vodka in a sanitized hand blender/chopper thing of my wife's to get it into much smaller pieces. Poor boys have poor ways I guess.

__________________
Queue: King Tut ale, BIG barleywine, Desire mead, AHS Aniv Wit, Lemon wheat, Blond rye.
Fermenting: Skeeter pee w/cranberry
Secondary: Electrical engineering finals in 1 day.
Bottled: <1.060: Bluemoon
<1.090: Rye wheat ale, spiced tripel, tripel w/orange, baltic porter, skeeter pee lemon, skeeter pee lime
<1.110: Reverend clone, IIPA. Chocolate RIS, Bourbon Barrel Quad, chocolate RIS w/oak & whiskey
>1.110 OG: Double W (inspired) stout, Choco milk Czar, Mephistopheles (inspired) stout..

Calichusetts

Recipes 

http://www.amazon.com/Microplane-40020-Classic-Zester-Grater/dp/B00004S7V8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357643958&sr=8-1&keywords=microplane+zester

This works best...it will keep the zest in the back of it until you take it out. Very common in restaurants as well...use what the pros use.