Might have screwed up with Orange peels

[SchnookeredSir]

I wanted to try adding some tangerines and cloves to a American Ale style beer tonight, and I figured I'd toss in the peels for some extra flavor.

I got extra flavor all right... like I drank a damn bitter peel. I added some honey to counter, but it's still very much there. Would this flavor ferment out or am I screwed and have to dump it?

I am also considering adding orange juice concentrate to help counter the bitter... any advice?

 

[z-bob]

??? Tangerine peels usually aren't bitter.

At this point, what have you got to lose by fermenting it out and seeing what happens? (it might even need to age for a few months)

I'm trying to remember if I've ever poured out a beer, no matter how nasty it was, lol

 

[bobeer]

How many orange peels did you add in and how big is the batch? What yeast are you using?

Honey is almost 100% fermentable so you wont get much of it after fermentation. Honey will dry a beer out. Orange juice concentrate will probably not ferment the way you think it will. Citrus has a way of doing that.

I'd let it ride. The orange will fade a little though conditioning and it might all blend nicely. Time will tell.

 

[helibrewer]

Brew another 5 gallons and do some blending trials.

 

[SchnookeredSir]

3 tangerines, with a batch size of about 4 gallons final. I think I will let it ride and see what I get.

I was basically using what I had left to more or less fill a fermenter and not have extra grains around. It's Mostly pilsen, with some cara-pils white wheat, flaked maize and citra hops.

It's about to go in the bucket after chilling.

 

[seagondollar]

It will taste very bitter prior to fermentation. Let it ride. Ive boiled with orange peel 3 times now and you'll be surprised how it disappears after primary is done. In my experience leaving the orange peels in for more than 2 weeks gave me weird off flavors, so i would rack your beer around that time. Others may disagree, but that has been my experience. Don't worry at all about the bitterness though, it will subside.

 

[cjgenever]

Did you zest them or throw the whole peel in? The orange part is a little bitter sweet with big flavor. The white part underneath has little flavor with a harsh bitterness. I always zest my peels.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

+1 You want to zest, not peel.

 

[z-bob]

Yeah, but tangerine peel is not nearly as bitter as orange or lemon or grapefruit. That's why I use tangerines to make marmalade (because I'm lazy)