Adding orange peels

[smittygouv30]

Hello all,

I brewed midwest's "Honey Bee Ale" extract kit last weekend. And I have a few questions. I'm looking to add orange peels to the brew to add a nice orange aroma/flavor. I'm planning to either add them directly to the primary this weekend or to the secondary following transfer this weekend. I've always used a secondary for my brews but from what I've been reading it's unnecessary and may actually be worse. My question is for those of you that have done this, what's the best way to do it? First, Do I transfer to secondary or just add them directly into the primary? Secondly, do I boil the orange peels to sanitize them prior to putting them in the brew? Or do I bake them? if so for how long and at what temperature?

Thanks!

ps I apologize in advance as I'm sure there is already a thread on this. But in my defense I did a search and came up with a bunch of madness.

 

[duboman]

I always add it to the secondary, shave the rind off several oranges being careful to avoid the white part as it creates a bitter taste, to sanitize you can either soak them in vodka or what I do is zap them in the microwave for 30 seconds.

 

[Calichusetts]

Secondary...I use a hop bag because the zests are so small they can get in your beer very easily.

Don't listen to the "risks" of a secondary as many post on this site. It might be unecessary but oxidation and infection are rare if you know what your doing...neither has happened to me and I almost always secondary

 

[smittygouv30]

Thanks guys, excellent tips. I'll transfer to the secondary and probably go the vodka route! Seems like a logical idea. Do they need to soak for hours, or will the alcohol in the vodka kill everything pretty quick?