a question about boil times and quantities for additives (coriander, orange peel)

[jasonlee247]

well, i consider myself thrifty, and was wondering if i can save money by using smaller ammounts of my additives (coriander and sweet orange peel) and boiling for longer.

For example, i know it's commonplace to use 1oz orangepeel for the last 15min of boil.
Would i get similar results by using 1/2oz for 30min. And so on? Does anyone here have any experience with this kind of thing?

Just currious. It just popped in there. Lol


Thanx for any info in advance,
Jason

 

[Skyforger]

Don't add the spices earlier. All the aromas will boil right off. You'll just waste them.

 

[bigbeergeek]

I agree with skyforger, in fact, I usually add my coriander and citrus at the five minute mark, as their flavor/aroma contributions are delicate and boil off readily. If you want to save a few bucks, why not go the route of adding fresh orange/grapefruit zest as advocated by Randy Mosher and others? I've switched to a combo of 75% fresh orange zest/25% fresh grapefruit zest with my wits and I love the results. No more dehydrated citrus potpourri in my beers!

 

[jasonlee247]

ok. Thanx for the info. I didn't think it would boil off. Makes plenty of sense tho. so ho much freah orange zest would be equivelent to an oz of dehydrated? And i've neard that regular store bought orange can add a metalic note to the beer. Is that true?

 

[Skyforger]

Well, I'm not sure about a metallic note. I do know that non-organic oranges have plenty of chemicals and orange dye in the rinds, so this may be a case to go organic if possible. That may be the source of the problem. Quantities are a bit difficult, as the water quantity is variable and unknown. You could dehydrate the zest and weigh it, but honestly the amount of flavor in rind is pretty variable as well so I'm not sure how much that would help.
Randy Mosher recommends the zest of one bitter (seville) orange as a good quantity for five gallons. If all you can find are sweet oranges (probably the case), two to three times that is about right. So, maybe zest from two sweet oranges and half a grapefruit or something similar.

 

[bigbeergeek]

My first fresh zest wit recipe had the zest of two oranges added at flameout -- and their flavor was imperceptible. Since then I've upped the dose to four oranges and half of a grapefruit and the aromatics are right where I like them: delicate, integrated into the tartness of the Hoegaarden yeast strain perfectly. Wash those fruits well with soap and water if they're not organic, they're certainly not going to "hurt" you if they're not orgainic but keeping the pesticides out of the homebrew is good practice. You'll love the results, I promise.

 

[jasonlee247]

awsome. Thanx for the info guys. Justwhat i was looking for. Now, thanx to you two i have a base to start from and i'll experiment from there. i do actually have organic oranges here at home, but as a horticulturist i can tell you that they arent much better as far as pesticides. Maybe not AS toxic, but you still wouldn't want that in your beer. I'd wash those babies too, just as much. there's some nasty stuff out there thats organic, heck, anthrax, arsnic,...just to name a couple. Lol organic pesticides are usually plant derived poisons that are concentratec to a high toxicity. No bueno.

Thank you for the info guys.