Added Orange Peel Before Pitching Yeast

[WrecksBrewCo]

Brewed Brickwarmer Holiday Red Ale extract kit from Northern Brewer today and forgot to add sweet orange peel at flameout. I noticed this once I had the wort cooled to 72 degrees. I sanitized the pack it was in and threw it in the wort before aeration and pitching yeast. Hopefully won’t get infected but was wondering how that will affect this batch. I’ve never brewed this before so I don’t know what to expect.

 

[KB12]

I haven't brewed this one but it sounds like you added the sweet orange peel into the fermenter and are currently fermenting with it in there.

I wouldn't worry too much about infection risk, you pitched way more yeast cells than any bad stuff on the peel. I don't know if they do anything to reduce bacteria on the dried peel at the factory but I'm pretty confident anything on there is in small quantity.

You may get slightly less orange flavor because you don't have the heat to draw out the oils. Some people think the pith (white parts) can add some bitterness but I've never picked up on that much. You could get more orange because the heat didn't drive off the aromatics. It's complicated. Personally I'd probably consider adding it in the secondary so fermentation doesn't blow off the aromatics. Take notes in case you brew this one again! I think it'll be good.

My main concern would be: Are you using a blowoff tube? If not, watch your airlock. The peel could clog a 1 or 3 piece airlock. If you aren't sure, lightly push down on the lid. if you see the airlock rise, this means some air is moving and you are ok. If it doesn't rise or feels like you're pushing on a steel wall, you may have a clogged airlock. if you think it's clogged get some paper towels and maybe some sanitizer mixed and ready; when you pull a clogged airlock, it's going to foam some and make a mess on the top of your bucket. PM me if you think you need more info on this. (As a beginner I added dry hops to early, clogged the airlock, got a call at 11pm saying my beer exploded)

 

[WrecksBrewCo]

I haven't brewed this one but it sounds like you added the sweet orange peel into the fermenter and are currently fermenting with it in there.

I wouldn't worry too much about infection risk, you pitched way more yeast cells than any bad stuff on the peel. I don't know if they do anything to reduce bacteria on the dried peel at the factory but I'm pretty confident anything on there is in small quantity.

You may get slightly less orange flavor because you don't have the heat to draw out the oils. Some people think the pith (white parts) can add some bitterness but I've never picked up on that much. You could get more orange because the heat didn't drive off the aromatics. It's complicated. Personally I'd probably consider adding it in the secondary so fermentation doesn't blow off the aromatics. Take notes in case you brew this one again! I think it'll be good.

My main concern would be: Are you using a blowoff tube? If not, watch your airlock. The peel could clog a 1 or 3 piece airlock. If you aren't sure, lightly push down on the lid. if you see the airlock rise, this means some air is moving and you are ok. If it doesn't rise or feels like you're pushing on a steel wall, you may have a clogged airlock. if you think it's clogged get some paper towels and maybe some sanitizer mixed and ready; when you pull a clogged airlock, it's going to foam some and make a mess on the top of your bucket. PM me if you think you need more info on this. (As a beginner I added dry hops to early, clogged the airlock, got a call at 11pm saying my beer exploded)

I took notes of my brew day after I was finished just in case this works out well. I’m going to stick with what I have in the primary as is and then bottle it after it’s done fermenting.

Totally fine with not getting much citrus flavor out of it since it tasted fine without it(hydrometer sample didn’t have the orange peel in it). I’m interested to see how it affects the aroma and taste.

Yes I ran a blow off tube. Steeping grains, 6 pounds malt syrup, 2 pounds of dry extract, I figure it will be a aggressive fermentation. Didn’t think about the peel stopping up the airlock.