Adding orange

Have read several times about not getting the white from the peel when you zest. Then the recipe tells me to boil the peels. Is that not going to add bitterness? Peel=white stuff?

the outer peel is the orange the inner part (called the pith) is the white part... and yes it is bitter (ever tasted some).

I'd recomend zesting and boiling that zest. I know you can buy packets of orange (bitter or sweet) for adding in I think in the 1 oz size. They are dried orange peel bits. I have used them once in a kit that contained them. I'd say that they somehow get the right amount of peal with out getting to much pith.

Anyhow if you are doing it yourself, just zest, or use a small grater to do the zesting - 1 orange is ok to zest, but lots it is handy to have a grater because it is faster.

ACbrewer said:

the outer peel is the orange the inner part (called the pith) is the white part... and yes it is bitter (ever tasted some).
I'd recomend zesting and boiling that zest.
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Yeah, if I was doing the blood orange hefe I would go about it this way. I've had multiple friends try Sam's recipe and it seems the easiest way is just take a small paring knife and peel as much white off the orange as possible. (almost like you were taking the skin off an apple). The pith may add way too much bitterness to this beer and take away from the traditional german flavors. I've also heard of people having difficulty with balancing the orange zest flavor they were expecting with the bananna and other fruit flavors coming through on this hefe. I'd double up the peels and try to sanitize the best without removing too much of the distinction of the flavor in the process. A little pith wont kill the brew, but it definelty puts up a fight with what orange you can inpart on the brew.