orange pith ale

Everything I read about using orange peel in a brew says: (Panicky voice) "Whatever you do don't get any of the orange pith in the wort, it will be bitter". Excuse me folks but do we not use hops as a bittering agent in beer? Anyway, as soon as I read that I thought why not brew a beer using the pith as a bittering agent along with a mid-level hop variety. I tasted the beer at 1 week transfer and I have to say that it is a very interesting flavor. Has anyone ever done this? and what should I expect in the finished product?

Well, I certainly haven't heard of anyone doing this, but other the few thousands years of brewing I guess someone is sure to have tried. Let us know how it goes once it ages out a bit. I am quite curious.

interesting experiment - how did you use it?

Pappers said:

interesting experiment - how did you use it?

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I added the peels of 2 whole Valencia oranges to the boil @ FO, Whirlpooled for 10 minutes then racked to no-chill container. I have since kegged this one with 1oz orange zest in a tea ball. This is SWMBO's favorite: awesome orange aroma with a light malt profile. I could drink MANY of these when summer hits. There is no bitterness or soapyness that others had warned me about. I think this falls under the urban legend section of homebrewing along with "table sugar produces cider taste" or "No-chill brewing doesn't work" or " splash that hot wort and your beer is ruined"

Wit beers use whole sour orange peels, pith and all I think. So I don't think you're exactly off on uncharted territory, but its very cool that you did this as an experiment. Plus, those peels are always dried, so fresh ones prob behave at least a little differently. The stupid urban legends we pick up around here are annoying and I'm glad you proved this one wrong again.

This summer I brewed a holiday ale that included the juice and quartered peels from 4 Valencias. (last 10 min of the boil)

At first the orange was being overpowered by the cinnamon but oddly it came out after about 4mos. Now it has a warm citrus/cinnamon flavor that goes well with the cooler evenings.

I made a Saison and tossed in the whole peels (pith and all) from four big ripe Valencias with 10 mins left in the boil. Man, the aroma was outstanding. I tasted the wort and it's got A LOT of orange going on. It's going to be a summer drinker so I hope some of that citrus makes it through fermentation. I used a Belgian yeast, so, hopefully the citrus will balance out a bit too with cloves and banana, etc. Must wait to try this one... but I don't want too.... ;P

Just want to circle back on his. The Saison I made with whole orange peel turned out fantastic! Rave reviews from all who've had it. I think we need to chuck the whole "orange pith" myth out the window.