Use of orange peel...how much is too much?

Long time Beeradvocate.com poster on the homebrewing forums, first time HBT post!

I'm making an American Wheat and want to infuse a lot of orange peel. However, I'm not trying to overdo it by any means. So I pose the question to the forum, how much is too much?? Have you ever made a beer with orange peel and thought, if I only would have cut back a bit... Let me know amounts and times you made the additions.

Thanks in advance!

I'd say 1.0 oz at 5 min before flameout is overdoing it for my taste. I made an attempt at an Ommegang Rare Vos clone (using dried sweet orange peel) and have been wishing I had used only about 0.5 oz because that would probably be around the flavor threshold for that particular brew.

That said, you will have to dial it in after a couple of attempts, and keep in mind that it fades with time just like late addition hops.

I make a hefeweizen with orange in it. What I do is use the zest from half of the orange and then put some of the whole orange into the boil.

I have made it several times and each time I make it I can hardly keep it in bottles or kegs for a week before my friends and I drink it.

I am brewing it again on Friday with the hopes to add more orange per request of the drinking crew.

Make sure you add it at the end of the boil to really get that orange profile you are looking for!

I've done 2oz (1oz bitter and 1oz sweet) at 15 min and thought it was perfect with the 1oz coriander at 15min also.. No late hop additions

I've done 3 oranges zested at 10, 5 and flameout and hardly noticed it...it was in an imperial though.

I guess I should have listed what I was planning... Much like calichusetts, I was going to do the hop burst method.... 10, 5, 0, 1/2 oz of bitter orange peel and 1/2 oz of fresh orange zest. 3 oz total. I know it's a lot but I really want to push the boundary... Has anyone done additions near that amount?

Jettanbass9 said:

I guess I should have listed what I was planning... Much like calichusetts, I was going to do the hop burst method.... 10, 5, 0, 1/2 oz of bitter orange peel and 1/2 oz of fresh orange zest. 3 oz total. I know it's a lot but I really want to push the boundary... Has anyone done additions near that amount?

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The most I've ever done is 4 oranges, 2 grapefruits zested @ 10, 5, and flame along with 1/2 oz of dried peel at 10 then again at flameout. Then I dry "hopped" another 4 oranges and 2 grapefruits in a secondary.

I just dry hopped a winter beer with 1/2 ounce dried sweet orange peel three days ago and bottled it today. I think it might have been too much, it tastes really orange and bitter now compared to before I dry hopped it. I think it might mellow out once it carbonates and sits in the bottle for a while.

I zested 5 clementine oranges which came to about a 1/2 cup into a cream ale. It was like crack at a summer camping outing. There was not one person who tasted it who didn't say "damn that's good" and then proceeded to drink a sixer of it ...

...zested into secondary? added at flameout?

This recipe calls for zest of 4 large oranges....seemed to have gotten good reviews. It's next up on my list......

acidrain23 said:

...zested into secondary? added at flameout?

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Yep .... into the secondary.

Okay, my wife just corrected me. She actually did the zesting. She reminded it was difficult to zest clementines, so she had to actually peel them and then cut off the white part, which she says was a pain in the a**. But it was indeed quite fresh and tasty!!