BJCP Category for a Blood Orange Hefe

[jwbeard]

I've decided to enter a Hefeweizen brewed with zested blood orange peel, and can't quite divine which BJCP it properly falls under... By the ingredients, it seems a blood orange hefe would fall under 20 (fruit beers), but I've also seen comments saying that an orange beer should be under 21A (spiced beer). The orange definitely does not seem to be a dominant flavor, so I'm also wondering whether 15A (Weizen) would be appropriate.

It was fermented with WL380, and has stronger clove than banana notes, which are smoothed out nicely by the orange. Gorgeous color, and at 1.046/1.011/4.8% with 9.8 IBU and 6.4 SRM, it falls smack dab into the style guideline for 15A.

Any wise words for this first-time competition entrant?

 

[weirdboy]

If you can taste and/or smell the orange it should be in 20 in my opinion.

Otherwise it should just be 15A.


I wouldn't personally put it in 21A, although I suppose some people might do that with beers they spice with orange peel.

 

[dbreienrk1]

Post the recipe...that will be the easiest way to determine.

 

[thetragichero]

but is there any significant difference between a blood orange peel and a regular orange peel? i've been led to believe the only difference is the colour of the pulp

 

[jwbeard]

Post the recipe...that will be the easiest way to determine.

Recipe was quite simple, since it was my first foray into crafting my own recipe...

6lb Bavarian Wheat Extract
Zest of 4 Blood Oranges
2 Sliced Blood Oranges (didn't want to overwhelm the brew with Orange-iness by using all 4)
.5oz Hallertauer, 60 min
.5oz Hallertauer, 20 min
Yeast: WL380

And turns out I was looking at the wrong entry for my brew stats; the actual stats from the brew:
OG: 1.046
FG: 1.016 (ABV 4.0%)

I boiled about 2 gallons of water, and put slices from two of the blood oranges into the water until it came to ~150, then let that simmer until the main kettle came to a boil. Dumped the orange "tea" into the main kettle, put the zest into a hop bag and added it in.

It's gotten rave reviews thus far and was a very easy brew, for anyone looking for a refreshing early-summer ale.

 

[jwbeard]

but is there any significant difference between a blood orange peel and a regular orange peel? i've been led to believe the only difference is the colour of the pulp

I haven't used zests enough to know the difference between blood orange zest and "regular" orange zest, but the flesh is less sweet and a bit more intensely flavored (I think, among other things, they have more citric acid). I certainly cant tell you what effect any of those differences have on a brew, though... I went with the blood orange because I thought it would give more of an orange flavor without changing the rest of the flavor profile, and whether I was right or wrong I'm quite pleased with the result!

 

[Realispatt]

but is there any significant difference between a blood orange peel and a regular orange peel? i've been led to believe the only difference is the colour of the pulp

Its about the diffrence of coors light and miller light. The zest has a slightly diffrent flavor than normal orange zest. The flesh has a much diffrent flavor. when mixed with food the diffrence of using one zest over the other wont be noticed by 90% of the population. (Im a chef, and Blood Orange happens to be my absolute favorite citrus)

With everything else in the beer, I would doubt anyone would be able to say "Man that blood orange zest you added is awesome!". However, it very well could be that little somthing somthing, that is awesome but just can't be quite figgured out.

Great Idea to the OP though, I love blood orange and been thinking about trying to make a blood orange flavor forward beer for a while, just have not got around to it. If I saw blood orange heff, and orange heff in the store side by side, I'd choose the blood orange.

 

[KellyK]

If the orange comes through it's a 20(A) with the Hefe noted as the base style. If you don't get the orange at all, or get very little of it, putting it in regular Hefe 15(A) is appropriate as the prominent flavor/aroma of a regular Hefe should be banana/clove not orange. A tart citrus (lemon/orange) character is appropriate in 15(A) but it should not be an obvious aroma/flavor nor should it mask the typical banana/clove. Orange is always a fruit, even if it is the zest - it would not be an appropriate entry in 21(A). If you do enter it as 15(A) do not mention the orange on the entry sheet.

 

[fletchsj]

enter it is all 3 and see what the judges say. Judging is a fairly subjective thing anyway.

 

[jazzbass]

Looking to brew this Blood Orange Hefe soon
as the oranges are towards the end of the season.

The recipe calls for adding the fruit to the primary, I haven't used a secondary for a couple years . Most of what I have read leads to a preference for secondary for fruit additions.

Any recommendations from those that have done this style beer or
experienced differences either way?

 

[j1laskey]

I zested 5 blood oranges, steeped the meats for about 20 mins @ 170 in 0.5 gallons H2O then added the tea and oranges to the primary.

I fermented 10 days ~ 68 degrees and racked below the oranges into the keg.