Adding Orange to Wheat?

[eurc51]

Hi,

I'm planning to brew a basic American Wheat from Northern Brewer tomorrow. My girlfriend wants to add orange...so we are adding orange. But, I'd like to do it correctly. I've read some recipes that call for orange peel or orange zest added to the boil. And, some that call for orange zest added to the secondary. Has anyone modified a wheat recipe with orange? Can someone suggest a good approach i.e. how much orange peel or zest and how long? (recipe below)

Thanks,

EU

Kit Inventory

Fermentables

4 lbs. Rahr White Wheat
4 lbs. Rahr 2-Row Pale
Boil Additions

1 oz. Willamette (60 min)
1 oz. Cascade (15 min)
If you choose dry yeast

Safale US-05. Optimum temperature: 59-75° F.

 

[ShaneKasey]

one time i used fresh orange peel to an american wheat like this, and chopped it up with a slap chop. the beer had a fairly yucky bitterness behind it, like if you licked the inside of a grapefruit peel. then i talked to a few other brewers, and they told me that i needed to use the zest grater on my cheese grating block, and only take the orange color off of the oranges (which from what i hear takes quite a few oranges). lucky for me, my wife loves to eat oranges.

i would recommend using about half an ounce of zested orange peel per 5 gallons of beer, added to the last ten minutes of the boil

 

[rclonber]

I brewed some about a month ago. I used orange zest of 3 oranges in the last 10 min of boil. Then orange zest of 2 oranges in the secondary for about 1 week. The bitterness that shanekasey is talking about is from the white of the peel. Do not put that in, just the zest and it should come out pretty good. I know mine did and no bitterness at all.

 

[lackey2000]

Check out this topic: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/blue-moon-clone-65328/

In particular, the posts by Wayne. He says they used valencia orange zest in Blue Moon as opposed to others because of its sweetness. Other oranges could impart a bitterness.

 

[GrumpyJed]

Check this thread -https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f85/blood-orange-hefeweizen-98579/index2.html

 

[wilserbrewer]

Yea that is a basic starting point for an American wheat....I usually add some crushed corriander and orange peel for the last 5 min. 1/2 or a pound of flaked oats wouldn't hurt either...i use regular quick oats from the supermarket...they make it a lil more creamy foamy...has that.

 

[jldc]

First off, that recipe will make a very nice American Wheat with US-05, without changing anything.

To add orange, you can add dried orange peel (bitter and/or sweet), fresh orange zest, or Orange Jelly (marmalade). I've only used the dried peel and I wasn't that pleased. It was ok, but not the aroma I was looking for. The next time, I'm going to try 6-8 oz of Orange Marmalade. It should already be sterile, so I can add it well into the wort chilling phase of brewing (or even to the fermenter a few days later). I haven't tried it yet, so I cannot personally vouch for this method, but I figure the later you add the orange, the more aroma you'll get.

 

[passedpawn]

I use zest from 1 orange per 5g. Perfect for me. Do not dig into the white pith (either use a zesting tool or the fine side of a kitchen grater).

I throw it in 5 minutes from the end of the boil. I remove it when I transfer to fermenter.

Gluck.

 

[Blackhawkbrew]

Hey, I'm brewing up a citrus American Wheat as we speak! I got some sweet and bitter orange peel from my LHBS. It comes in one ounce packets from Brewers Best.

Good Luck!! Mine just started boiling

 

[goose1873]

I'm jealous...I'm still waiting for my barley crusher from austin HBS...ordered 22 days ago...it's killing me. I got rid of my corona mill too (buddy) so I have a bunch of grain and no way of crushing..........ahhh

 

[kinison_fan]

I prefer a fresh squeezed slice of citrus in my "plain" wheat beer- orange, lime or lemon.
Kind of like in iced tea...

 

[mbtech]

I'm jealous...I'm still waiting for my barley crusher from austin HBS...ordered 22 days ago...it's killing me. I got rid of my corona mill too (buddy) so I have a bunch of grain and no way of crushing..........ahhh

I ordered mine from them...it ships directly from the manufacturer. When I finally got it after 3 weeks or so, the backside was all dented in. I was able to push it back out but still looks f'ed up. The functionality is still there. The company wanted me to take pictures and send it back. But that would mean probably a month or so of waiting again, so I guess I'll just deal with it.

 

[bosco_NJ]

i made a Blood Orange Hefe that i put orange zest from 6 medium sized oranges and i also added the oranges themselves along with the juice. i made sure as to not include any pulp (the bitter white stuff). i then steeped the mixture in 160*F water for about 15-20 min (cool it to pitching temp) i put everything into a muslin bag that had been sitting in sanitizer solution. i then added the bag & the liquid to my primary before i pitched my yeast. fermented for 2 weeks then bottled. i liked how it came out but i think i'm gonna add zest & oranges into the primary after fermentation has just about finished. i want to get as much of the orange flavor & aroma as i can. i think the vigorous ferment had stripped away alot of the flavor & aroma.

 

[klyph]

Steep the zest in vodka throughout the ferment, then strain the zest and add the vodka at bottling.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

All I can re-enforce is using only the zest. The pith (white stuff) will add a very noticeable bitterness that just does not match a wheat beer.
I usually soak the orange, zester, knife, etc in starsan before using them, and that is the extent to my sanitation.
I do add the juice also as it's cooling, just becuase I also like the acid bite a slight as it turns out.