I am making a blue moon type of beer for the pending warm weather and something my girlfriend, sister, and brother in law will enjoy drinking. I used 1/2 teaspoon of McCormick Valencia orange peel and 1/2 teaspoon of coriander at the end of the boil. It has been 13 days in primary and I took a gravity reading to see where it was at and to taste the sample. My gravity is down to 1.012, which is good, but I'm not getting as much orange flavor as I'd like. What would be the best method of adding orange flavor? My 2 ideas were boiling a tsp of the valencia orange peel in a little bit of water, cooling it down and adding it to the fermenter, OR putting some of the orange peel in vodka for a day or two, and adding that to the fermenter. Anyone used either of these techniques? If so, how did it turn out. I should also add that I am making a 2.5 gallon batch. Thanks!
Adding Orange zest to fermenter
- Thread starter jbsg02
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
I just brewed with orange zest last night. I added the zest of 2 oranges to the fermenter right after pitching my yeast which I kind of regret. From what I've read, it's better to put in orange zest after fermentation is complete because your yeasties will eat that sweet flavor right off the orange zest.
I however forgot to soak my zest in vodka and am very worried about contamination now.
I however forgot to soak my zest in vodka and am very worried about contamination now.
i would not worry about contamination from zest me and many other brewers add fresh zest to our wort with no problems. the few bugs that might survive in citric acid will have their butts kicked by the 100 billion yeast (at least) that you are pitching. 1/2 teaspoon of corriander and peel is pretty tame even for a small batch. the corriander actually provides a citrus like flavor and i usually add 1 oz at flameout. i use 4-5 medium sized oranges and maybe a lemon, they grow right outside my house here. you could add it in later and it will be fine.
paraordnance
Well-Known Member
I did. I think its a preferable method. I added half corriander during last 5 min of boil than added remaining half after fermentation was over
A little update on my brew by the way, not only does it look ok this morning..I had my first blow-off! It's going nuts in that thing! And my basement smells like sweet, sweet oranges, so I assume everyone is playing nice in my carboy 
ThePearsonFam
Well-Known Member
I just nuke my zest on a paper towel in the microwave for about 20 seconds.
Would you say that nuking them brings out the oils more? Or just done to sanitize?
ThePearsonFam
Well-Known Member
It certainly smells strong when I pull it out, but I do it to sanitize... Probably not needed but it's my ritual now.
I thought that maybe the internal heating that microwaves do might lighten the viscosity of the oils. At least,brighten them up a bit. I'll have to keep this in mind...
Similar threads
