Blood Orange Hefeweizen

[mabisa]

Just finished up brewing with several changes; used Wyest 3056 as the LHBS was unfortunately all out of 3068 and 3638, replaced the fruit with a trio of winter citrus (blood oranges, tangelos, and a red grapefruit), and used Citra instead of Hallertau hops. Looking forward to it!

 

[Stefano]

Just brewed this baby today.

 

[Chaddyb]

I opened the primary today (9 days fermenting) to take a gravity reading, and it tastes good, slight citrus taste to it.

 

[Gritsak]

mine is kegged and carbed up (brewed 12 days ago). I ended up adding more oranges in the primary after i wasn't happy with the initial taste (barely any citrus). Taste is better now, but i didn't get much color at all from the blood oranges. I've been waiting to brew this for months waiting for blood oranges to be in season, but now i'm curious if it would taste any different than with regular oranges (my bet would be no).

 

[knotquiteawake]

Blood Orange Season is finally at hand, I think its time to put this into the brewing queue.

 

[jmkratt]

I kegged mine last night - thought it's not the Hefeweizen it's an American Wheat. It came out pretty well so far. I would have liked a little more citrus but I really think the SWMBO will like it. I plan on brewing another version with Navels or Valencias or something right away to see what effect, if any, the Blood Ornages have.

 

[Centexbear]

Yeah I brewed this one and it didn't have the color or orange flavor I was hoping for and expecting.

 

[jmkratt]

Well the color of mine turned out exactly like Sam's picture.

It has some citrus flavors but not a whole lot.

 

[supernaut]

Bought all my ingredients for this last night, but I'm replacing the Hefe yeast with WLP400 as I don't really want bubblegum/banana flavor in mine. I noticed a lot of people saying that there wasn't much orange flavor in it, so the guy at the LHBS suggested putting the juice and zest in 6 or so days after pitching the yeast so hopefully it didn't all get consumed/blown out during active fermentation. Any ideas on this strategy for getting a stronger orange flavor out of the beer?

 

[Kurtamous]

This looks too delicious to pass up; and as my neighbor's tree is full of oranges, I am going to give this a shot! All-grain as well

They are temple oranges: big, juicy, and sweet, but no matter, going to do it!

I was wondering if I should put any oranges in the mash as well as the boil? I plan to add the oranges to the primary after a few days as I have read that someone didn't end up with the orange flavor/aroma they desired when adding directly from first day.

 

[Chaddyb]

Ive had this carbed up and been drinking for a few days now, it tastes really good, no real orange flavor to it though, but I can pick up a citrus hint. I brewed a midwest hanks hefe the same day, and there is a distinct difference.

 

[nspaldi0]

To anyone who used blood oranges and grapefruit, how did it turn out? I was thinking about going that route. I loved this beer the first time I brewed it, but I want to kick up the citrus a little on the next go round.

 

[K5MOW]

Sounds and looks great.

Roger

 

[Stefano]

Just bottled this yesterday I had great citrus notes. I added the peel of four oranges to the boil, and then the fruit from six blood oranges into the fermenter when one would normally rack. I did this by boiling the fruit in a little water and then adding it to the carboy. This was a five gallon batch and I'm pumped for this to be ready.

 

[jtkratzer]

Found blood oranges at a local grocery store. I'm getting a starter going for this tonight to brew tomorrow or Sunday. I'm pumped!

 

[jtkratzer]

Got the starter going for this last night and I'm heading out for the blood oranges shortly.

Has anyone used WLP320 American Hefeweizen for this beer?

 

[jtkratzer]

The blood oranges were only the size of a billiard ball, so I bought two bags of 5. Should I used all 10?

 

[Stefano]

jtkratzer,
As mentioned above I used 6 blood orange fruits added during a week in fermentation. The blood oranges were about billiard size and I had a batch of 5 gallons. I think its a perfect amount of citrus. Any more would be too much. I thionk this is one of the better beers I have brewed!

 

[jtkratzer]

jtkratzer,
As mentioned above I used 6 blood orange fruits added during a week in fermentation. The blood oranges were about billiard size and I had a batch of 5 gallons. I think its a perfect amount of citrus. Any more would be too much. I thionk this is one of the better beers I have brewed!

How did your "blood orange tea" look when you poured it into the fermenter? I left the lid on for it to steep and then put it outside to cool. I was surprised how red the liquid was. I didn't see your post before I got started, so I went with 8 oranges and 6 zests. Oh well, my wife really likes the wheats with citrus, like a Blue Moon with a huge chunk of orange in it. I'm sure it will turn out fine.

The wort is really good. The citrus is definitely there, but it's not like orange juice or anywhere close to that strong. I'm hoping some of the citrus aroma is left after it ferments out.

The color is going to be pretty close to the picture on the first page. It's a really nice orange color.

 

[Stefano]

How did your "blood orange tea" look when you poured it into the fermenter? I left the lid on for it to steep and then put it outside to cool. I was surprised how red the liquid was. I didn't see your post before I got started, so I went with 8 oranges and 6 zests. Oh well, my wife really likes the wheats with citrus, like a Blue Moon with a huge chunk of orange in it. I'm sure it will turn out fine.

The wort is really good. The citrus is definitely there, but it's not like orange juice or anywhere close to that strong. I'm hoping some of the citrus aroma is left after it ferments out.

The color is going to be pretty close to the picture on the first page. It's a really nice orange color.

My blood tea looked pinkish red, and almost gave the wort a slight pinkish color. Thats probably because I made a light hefe using white wheat. The finished beer looks hazy and straw colored, no sign of the oranges. Let us know how it turns out with eight oranges.

 

[jtkratzer]

My blood tea looked pinkish red, and almost gave the wort a slight pinkish color. Thats probably because I made a light hefe using white wheat. The finished beer looks hazy and straw colored, no sign of the oranges. Let us know how it turns out with eight oranges.

The "tea" looked like grapefruit juice.

The airlock smells fantastic. I found it interesting that even using double the number of oranges, it must have been fairly close to the amount desired as my SG was 1.051, only 0.001 higher than the number listed on the recipe on Page 2 of the thread.

 

[diverpat]

I'm gonna do this one this weekend. Just to clarify things. Does the water used to steep the oranges get added also? I'm doing an AG batch so do I adjust for the added water after the boil? For a 5.25g batch, end boil with 4.75 and add 0.5 of the blood orange steep water (+ oranges) to equal 5.25?

 

[jim_reaper1066]

Whats the consensus on adding the oranges to an all grain batch? Brew the beer as usual and add the oranges directly to the primary, or let fermentation wind down before racking over onto the oranges in a secondary?

 

[azscoob]

Aah the blood oranges are brimming off the trees, and the frost has made them super sweet. Time to brew 10 gallons of this for spring, maybe 10 more for summer. Anyone know what to do with three trees worth of oranges? Not my trees but a coworkers, I get the pick if I want em, also 4 oro blanco trees and 3 navel trees. Up to our asses in citrus this year.

 

[Kurtamous]

Anyone know what to do with three trees worth of oranges? Not my trees but a coworkers, I get the pick if I want em, also 4 oro blanco trees and 3 navel trees. Up to our asses in citrus this year.

Make orangecello

 

[Kurtamous]

Whats the consensus on adding the oranges to an all grain batch? Brew the beer as usual and add the oranges directly to the primary, or let fermentation wind down before racking over onto the oranges in a secondary?

You'll find that if you add the oranges directly to the primary you won't retain much citrus flavor - much of it will be lifted away with the CO2. Throwing some of the peels (no pith) into the boil will add some as well as if you let it sit in the secondary.

 

[jtkratzer]

You'll find that if you add the oranges directly to the primary you won't retain much citrus flavor - much of it will be lifted away with the CO2. Throwing some of the peels (no pith) into the boil will add some as well as if you let it sit in the secondary.

I have two blood oranges left from what I started with. Will adding those two in a sanitized grain bag give it a little flavor/nose or is that not enough orange?

 

[Stefano]

I only added mine to the secondary. Im not sure if the citrus is going to be super strong after the boil and the vigorous fermentation

 

[Kurtamous]

I have two blood oranges left from what I started with. Will adding those two in a sanitized grain bag give it a little flavor/nose or is that not enough orange?

It shouldn't hurt and would impart some flavor/nose, I imagine the brew will be a good and tasty wheat regardless. I might have been a bit pessimistic saying you would'nt get too much flavor from the oranges in the primary as it depends on the amount of oranges to start with and temperature anyhow.

should turn out good!

 

[sourmash]

Whats the consensus on adding the oranges to an all grain batch? Brew the beer as usual and add the oranges directly to the primary, or let fermentation wind down before racking over onto the oranges in a secondary?

I kegged 5 of 10 gallons this past weekend and took a pull last night just for grins. I used 4 blood oranges for 5 gallons. I zested and cut the fruit up and put them in 160 degree water for short period of time. I did not add the water to the carboy from steeping the fruit. I put the zest and fruit in a secondary which was transferred from the primary after about a week. The nose definitely has a citrus/orange presence. The initial taste definitely has orange in it and carries all the way through. Once the carbonation is up to the correct level, I anticipate this beer to be very good. I'll post picts soon of the whole process. This is the first beer I did using RO water and built the water up for this recipe.