Used orange peel before?

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PintOfBitter

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I'm contemplating an orange-flavored mead (just wildflower honey) and I'm thinking of something like: (5 gal)

18 lb honey
Wyeast Sweet Mead yeast
4 oz. Sweet Orange Peel (in secondary, about 1 month)
4 vanilla beans (in secondary)

I'm aiming for a dessert metheglin suitable for family gifting at Christmas.

Having never used bitter or sweet orange peel before, I'm wondering if this amount seems reasonable, and if they are best used in secondary, or in the boil.

Thanks
 
Yeah, it was a tossup between posting in the mead forum or the ingredients one. Since I'm really looking to get a feel for the potency and usage of the ingredient, I stuck it here.

I read somewhere that table oranges contribute a metallic flavor, which I really want to avoid, since the flavor profile should be more soft and rich.

Anybody used the dried peel?
 
I think four ounces is a lot of orange peel. Probably. That recipe will have to sit around a long time anyway, you'll have, I imagine, plenty of time to add more.

Most of the wit recipes I have read call for one ounce of orange peel, it seems like the orange steps up on like week three or so- after just a ten minute steep in the kettle and then strained on the way to the primary. I have only made one wit recipe one time.

I absolutely defer to Yooper and the rest of the folks who make mead, I just dabble in the stuff. If you just have to pull the trigger right now my guess would be start with a quarter to half an ounce of orange peel in the kettle with your steeping honey for the last ten minutes or so of the steep.

Taste the hydrosample as the first few pounds of honey are fermenting out, and then add more or less orange peel to the next steep as you prepare to rack onto some more freshly steeped honey. My guess is it will be easier to keep up with the orange flavor you want all along rather than trying to nail it with one add.

I agree you probably won't need yeast nutrient because of the orange peel.

Just M2c.
 
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