Adding oranges to wheat ale.

[BrewingTravisty]

Ok so I'm brewing a hoppy wheat ale, and thought about adding oranges to it. I think it would be good with just a hint of the Orange, and a nice Orange aroma. Here's my recipe so far.

Grains:
4lbs 2-row
5lbs red wheat malt
1lb honey malt
Mash at 154° for 60 minutes

Hops:
.5oz Zeus @ 30mins
.5oz Zeus @ 15mins
1oz Zeus @ flame out
3oz Amarillo @ Dry hop for 5 days

Yeast: S-05
And then I was thinking of zesting some oranges and then peeling them to add both the fruit and zest with the dry hops.

My questions are basically how many oranges should I use? And how should I prep them to avoid infection but not lose any aroma. Boiling will kill some of the aroma correct?

 

[Sammy86]

I used four ounces of sweet orange peel in my boil with 10 minutes left in the boil and I got a nice citrus aroma and it gave a nice hint of orange flavor as well.

I found the orange taste really come together after about a month or so in the keg...again it was more of a hint and the aroma was nice.

 

[Mexibilly]

I added the zest of a lime, a lemon and an orange to a blue moon clone yesterday.
SG sample tasted very good. I'll update if I remember...

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I used four ounces of sweet orange peel in my boil with 10 minutes left in the boil and I got a nice citrus aroma and it gave a nice hint of orange flavor as well.

I found the orange taste really come together after about a month or so in the keg...again it was more of a hint and the aroma was nice.

I used sweet Orange peel in my winter ale that I just bottled yesterday. I didn't taste it while bottling (was rushing and accidentally dumped all the spill off and FG reading xD) but it did have a slight aroma from it, though I had a lot of other stuff in it too that covered it up a bit. I'm pretty excited to try that, I'm hoping I balanced everything well enough that it still comes through slightly.

For this one though I guess I was thinking that using actual oranges and the zest would give me a fresher taste.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I added the zest of a lime, a lemon and an orange to a blue moon clone yesterday.
SG sample tasted very good. I'll update if I remember...

That would be awesome, I hope to hear how it turns out. I'm a fan of Blue Moon, it's my default go to beer when I don't feel like trying something new lol

 

[Aristotelian]

I was listening to the Jamil Show podcast on Belgian Witbier. He talked about grating a massive ball of orange zest that weighed two pounds of just zest. I think it was for a 20 gallon batch. So maybe half a pound for a 5 gallon batch? This recipe calls for 1/4 pound.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/128970/jamil-s-wit

Put it in a hop bag and wait til the last 5 minutes so the oils don't boil off.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I was listening to the Jamil Show podcast on Belgian Witbier. He talked about grating a massive ball of orange zest that weighed two pounds of just zest. I think it was for a 20 gallon batch. So maybe half a pound for a 5 gallon batch? This recipe calls for 1/4 pound.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/128970/jamil-s-wit

Put it in a hop bag and wait til the last 5 minutes so the oils don't boil off.

I might just try that method! Only thing I'm worried about is my hop selection, since the CTZ may not pair well with the recipe now that I look more into it. I'm expecting it to have a bit of sweetness, and citrus and I know Amarillo gives a nice Orange floral note, isn't CTZ more earthy and piney? I haven't ever used it, so I'm kinda questioning that part of it now haha

 

[menerdari]

I did a blue moon clone a while back, came out so good it didn't last long ( should do it again)
I added 1-1/2 ounce Mccormick valencia orange peel and 1 oz. coriander seed (crushed, ran it through a coffee grinder)
I would imagine fresh zest would work just the same.
Avoid any of the white part of the peel. I have heard it will give the beer a ham aroma of all things.