Adding orange peel to Cream Ale

I am looking to add a little more flavor to my Cream Ale and have heard adding a mixture of sweet and bitter orange peel in the secondary fermentor is best.

A) Is adding both (bitter and sweet) beneficial or should I stick with only one?
B) If I add both, what should the ratio be and how much of each should I add to a 5 gal batch?
C) Is adding orange peels during the secondary fermentaion the best way to go about it?

Thanks!

I can't answer your question but would love to know the answer myself. I have a batch of cream ale that will be ready to bottle this weekend and woul dlove to try adding a bit of orange to it. Being from northern NY I was weened on Genessee Cream ale.

In the recipes ive doen with orange peel its added towards the end of the boil. As to what kind to use, thats totally up to what you like.

Adrenaline-Junkie said:

In the recipes ive doen with orange peel its added towards the end of the boil. As to what kind to use, thats totally up to what you like.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I was debating adding at the end of boil...did that with honey in a brown ale in a brew last week.

I'd prefer the sweet orange flavor but don't want the beer too sweet, that's why I was thinking a little bitter to balance out.

How much total did you add at then end of boil for 5G? I can then mess around with the ratio but just don't know where to begin with the total quantity.

I add the peel of 1/4 a fresh orange at the end of the boil for a 4 gl batch and it shows up so you know for sure its there in aroma and taste (blue moon clone). If you want a little bit of hint I would go with less than 1/4 fresh peel with 10min to go in the boil.

I usually use like an ounce. Sweet orange peel wont make your beer sweet (maybe if you added a ton, idk), its just not bitter and will add a different taste to the beer.

Gixxer said:

I add the peel of 1/4 a fresh orange at the end of the boil for a 4 gl batch and it shows up so you know for sure its there in aroma and taste (blue moon clone). If you want a little bit of hint I would go with less than 1/4 fresh peel with 10min to go in the boil.

Click to expand...

I'm looking for more of the blue moon amount of flavor....thanks!

Adrenaline-Junkie said:

I usually use like an ounce. Sweet orange peel wont make your beer sweet (maybe if you added a ton, idk), its just not bitter and will add a different taste to the beer.

Click to expand...

Awesome, and have you added that ounce at flameout, a minute left, 5 min? I know with honey the longer its in the boil the more flavor gets boiled off, I'd assume its the same deal with orange peel.

10 min is okay... 5 min is okay too... When I pitch the peel, its straight in and not in a bag so its in there the whole time during cooling so its still steeping after the boil till I rack to the fermenter. Oh yea when I say peel, I mean actually peeling the nice orange part off with a vegetable peeler, leaving the pith behind.

Another addition that will get you orange flavor is to crack some coriander seeds and add them. I'd try 1/2 oz at the last couple minutes of the boil.

Cream ale + sweet orange zest = Creamsicle beer!

I must try this. Thanks for the idea.

RM-MN said:

Another addition that will get you orange flavor is to crack some coriander seeds and add them. I'd try 1/2 oz at the last couple minutes of the boil.

Click to expand...

Did you do that in addition to the orange or just stand alone? Thanks for the advice!

I added it with the orange peel. I don't know if it would pass as orange by itself but it does add to it.

Have you had syrup with imitation flavoring? I doesn't taste exactly like real maple syrup but if you mix the two, you might not be able to detect the imitation.

BaysideBrewer said:

Awesome, and have you added that ounce at flameout, a minute left, 5 min? I know with honey the longer its in the boil the more flavor gets boiled off, I'd assume its the same deal with orange peel.

Click to expand...

Usually anywhere from 10min to flameout. Kinda depends on what im going for. Also, adding coriander is a nice addition and is used on a lot of wheats with orange. I personally shy away from it oruse less because its not my favorite flavor.

Epimetheus said:

Cream ale + sweet orange zest = Creamsicle beer!

I must try this. Thanks for the idea.

Click to expand...

Try lactose sugar, sweet orange peel, and vanilla extract. If you really want orange to come through you can use orange flavoring as well.

I brewed a cream ale last year and added lactose and some vanilla. Ended up tasting like cream soda, so I'd imagine some orange peel would definitely work well.

Keep in mind though a true cream ale shouldn't taste like cream...it's basically an ale version of a lager - light and crisp, so really its more of a hybrid with a cream ale base. All that said it doesn't really matter if its delicious!