Orange Creamsicle Ale/Wheat?

I was at a Memorial Day BBQ recently where some of our friends made some delicious Orange Creamsicle Jello Shots. It actually got me thinking about trying to do an Orange Creamsicle beer. I've seen some different ideas but I figured I'd post this here to get some suggestions regarding how to capture the Orange and Cream flavors.

So for starters, I'm guessing that Orange zest it the best way to go about getting the Orange flavor. I'm am curious about whether this is suggested in the boil, in primary or both.

The Cream flavor is another question. The Jello Shots that were served used Whipped Cream vodka for the cream flavor. I assume that this would probably create a pretty hostile environment for the yeast and wouldn't do the brew any favors. My initial thought was just to go with some Vanilla Beans.

I'd love to hear what you guys might suggest here.

Thanks in advance!

I think it can be done www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_452_611&products_id=13328

+1 to the above as a kit, for the cream part Lactose is the ingredient you are looking for. Keep in mind Lactose is a non fermentable ingredient.

Just brewed the Austin HB kit this Sunday. Really looking forward to how this turns out. First time I've used a kit but it sounds like a good summer brew.

I've been reading a lot on how to get good orange flavor into beer on another thread about Blue Moon. General consensus seemed to be that the best option was dried sweet orange peel. Not as common as bitter orange peel, but it can be found both at homebrew suppliers and regular grocery spice aisles - McCormick's makes a line of it with valencia oranges. Add this with 10 or 15 minutes left in the boil. Next best option is the zest of three or four oranges soaked in 1/2 cup of vodka. Add this at flameout or add to the primary before pitching yeast - you don't want to boil it because the volatile essential oils will be lost. I've also read good things about really strong orange flavor by adding some zest (zest taken after soaking the oranges in star san for a few minutes) to the bottles at bottling time, but that seems incredibly tedious. Last, you could add some orange extract at bottling. As you might expect, this is reported to impart an assertive but weird artificial flavor.

GreeneTiki said:

Just brewed the Austin HB kit this Sunday. Really looking forward to how this turns out. First time I've used a kit but it sounds like a good summer brew.

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I'd like to know how that turns out. I've never brewed from a kit but that one caught my eye. I thought about that kit when I read the original post.

WesleyS said:

I'd like to know how that turns out. I've never brewed from a kit but that one caught my eye. I thought about that kit when I read the original post.

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This was my first kit as well. Wanted a couple good summer beers and this looked to be a good one. I'll let you know how it turns out.

GreeneTiki said:

This was my first kit as well. Wanted a couple good summer beers and this looked to be a good one. I'll let you know how it turns out.

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Yes please do. I might have to order it if it turns out good for you.

My wife wants me to try this kit. Just wondering if you have sampled any of your June brewing. I'm new to this so it might be too soon to ask. Thanks!

Girlfriend picked up the AHS creamsicle and I was blasting her for buying it. Got to admit after having it definitely not a bad beer. Not my style but all my friends love it and have filled the tip jar with money to buy the kit again. First time the cheap bastards have done that.

Mine is about ready to bottle actually (I only ended up picking up the kit about a month ago). I'll let you know how it turns out in a few weeks!

I did an orange creamsicle wheat a couple months ago that turned out really well. I used this orange wheat recipe here-- https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f70/orange-american-wheat-191944/
but only used 1 ounce orange peel and kolsch yeast. Then one Madagascar vanilla bean after primary fermentation for a week. The vanilla flavor was definitely dominate for about a month and had a nice creaminess and the kolsch yeast made it very clean. I would probably add more orange next time because 1 ounce was not enough to taste it and up the hops a little bit.