Adding orange zest?

Just a quick question on adding orange zest. From my under standing in adding zest you can do it at boil out or add to the secondary. But to get the zest ready you peal the orange and boil the zest to kill the bacteria. Now here comes one of my questions, do i just strain and add the orange zest or cool and add the orange zest and water? Sorry i want to add to my secondary.

Seconded question I have made the beer already and added .5oz orange peal bitter , and .5oz orange peal sweet to the boil so would i even need to add orange zest to secondary? I want to make this beer have alot of orange taste but i dont want it to be too bitter.

I've heard a lot of folks dunking oranges in starsan then zesting them. I'm not sure you want to boil zest maybe bring it up to a certain temp.

Yeah, I don't think you should boil them either.

This sounds like a prime case for either 1) going with an established recipe or 2) small test batches. You can really, really overdo it with oranges, from what I've heard, so... good luck!

I clean the outer skin of the orange and then zest directly to the secondary. My Belgian Wit turns out great with no infection problems to date.

Salute!

bmckee56 said:

I clean the outer skin of the orange and then zest directly to the secondary. My Belgian Wit turns out great with no infection problems to date.

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By cleaning do you mean starstan or just soap and hot water? Could i soak the oranges in 160 degree temp then do starstan or is this over kill. I don't want to take any of the orange flavor away from the orange.

Also make sure you are not zesting too deep. You only want the top layer of peel as the white part will give you the bitter flavor you are avoiding.

I read in another thread to pasteurize at 170* for 10 min. I did that last weekend for a batch with orange rind. I also squeezed the juice & pasteurized that with the rind and added a little (1/4 cup) water.

Just zest no starsan

When I put in lemon zest I add to last 15 minutes of the boil. That's what the original kits instructions said.

Alternative to adding zest is to add sweet orange peel. I did that in one of my recent batches and it smelled amazing. Can get it at homebrew store.

If you are putting the peel/zest into primary, I would encourage most people to sanitize it somehow. Oranges often rot from the outside in, and it's almost always a mold(!) on the skin(!!), so... I just think the skin is a mold risk, and mold is probably the most dangerous thing that a beer can grow.

Safety first!

Also, unless you grew it yourself, it could have pesticide on it. Wash the skin, IMO.

I add zest to the last 5 minutes of the boil. My Wit is delish (37 at NHC). No problem with this.

passedpawn said:

I add zest to the last 5 minutes of the boil. My Wit is delish (37 at NHC). No problem with this.

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I do the same. :rockin:

I am making an ale with orange zest. I am taking 1.5oz of fresh orange zest and adding it to Crystal Skull vodka. I will add this mixture to the wort once it is off the burner and cooling down. Hopefully by doing this I will kill off any pathogens while avoiding losing the flavor of the orange.

No issues with infection to be to overly concerned with. Make sure to wash the orange before you zest it....if you really want to be super safe, spray a paper towel with starsan and scrub the outside. I usually add my zest at flameout now but 5 minutes is fine. I've done the vodka soak for adding it to a secondary before raking but I've also added the zest straight to it. I went on a crazy citrus kick when i first stated brewing so I'd say I added zest probably 50 times without incident. Good luck