When to add zest to primary only Hefe?

Hey all, I've had my Hefe fermenting in the primary for a week now and I would like to add lemon zest to it. I do not plan to secondary this brew. When should I toss in the zest? It is still fermenting pretty solidly at the one week mark since it is a fairly big Hefe ( 1.065 OG). I have had the fresh zest soaking in vodka since brew day.

So in short, should I toss the zest in now at the one week mark or wait until the fermentation slows down a little more?

Just my two cents, but I don't add anything to my Hefe's. If you want lemon, add it to the beer at serving, that way everyone can have it or not.

Reiheitsgegot!

EdWort said:

Just my two cents, but I don't add anything to my Hefe's. If you want lemon, add it to the beer at serving, that way everyone can have it or not.

Reiheitsgegot!

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Agreed!

However... (you knew it was coming right) SWMBO wanted something different on tap, so I did a Hefe, fermented with 20 mandarine oranges. It's actually a fantastic beer. Edwort, I actually used your base recipe for this. You get the slight banana and clove flavors, but the oranges kick back with some acidity and tartness in the finish. However its really smooth, I know because I did 5 gallons this way, and 5 gallons left alone (mine).

OP... depends on what flavor profile your looking for, if you want more aromatic, add during secondary. If you want flavor, add during fermentation, and add A LOT! The yeast will scrub a bunch of the flavor/aroma away during primary.

If you're using the vodka zest method then you can add it to the secondary, late in the primary (after a couple of weeks) or during bottling, it doesn't really matter as long as you've given the zest enough time to soak in the vodka (i.e.: 2 weeks or so is what I've done).

It's not entirely clear based on your post, but you are planning on just tossing the vodka into the beer, right? The vodka will leech out the fruit flavour from the zest anyway, and straining it first will save you more hassle later in the process.