Blood Orange or Grapefruit IPA

[daggermark]

I've mainly stuck to simple West Coast IPAs since I started all-grain brewing, but I want to branch out into something else.

I am a big fan of citrus-forward IPAs such as Beavertown Bloody Ell, Fourpure Juicebox or Brewdog Elvis Juice, so I think this style would be a good choice.

I'm thinking that I can start with a fairly basic pale malt, and use a load of Citra and Simcoe towards the end of the boil / dry hop to get the right base flavour. Are there any hops that people have successfully used in this style and would recommend?

I'm also unsure about how exactly to add the fruit flavour. I've seen people use peel, others use tinned fruit, others just use fresh fruit flesh. Anyone got any success or horror stories on the various methods? I have never racked to secondary before - I ferment for 2-3 weeks and then add my dry hops for a further 5-7 days before bottling. Can I just throw the fruit in in similar fashion, or should I be racking the beer onto the fruit in secondary?

Any other advice welcome!

 

[anteater8]

I brewed a grapefruit IPA a few years ago by adding 2 grapefruits worth of zest into the boil with a few minutes left. I got zero grapefruit flavor out of that one.

I brewed another grapefruit IPA a few weeks ago. This time I used the zest from 2 grapefruits and peel from another 2 grapefruits and added it in primary with my dry hops 3-4 days before kegging. This one is still carbing up, but based on the samples I'm definitely getting a noticeable (but not overwhelming) grapefruit aroma and flavor.

My advice would be to use zest and/or peel, avoid the pith, flesh and juice. Start with 4 grapefruits for 5 gal, or use more if you want a stronger contribution. Add it directly to primary as you would with your dry hops, secondary is not worth the oxidation risk. For hops, I used all Citra, but I think Simcoe and Centennial would work really well in there too.

 

[daggermark]

Thanks! Did you just peel them and throw it in? No further prep or sanitisation required?

 

[Jag75]

If you want a prominent extraction of Grapefruit make a tincture. Then add tincture right before you package.

 

[daggermark]

Interesting... does that just involve soaking the peel in vodka for a day and putting the whole lot into the bottling bucket?

 

[Jag75]

Interesting... does that just involve soaking the peel in vodka for a day and putting the whole lot into the bottling bucket?

I usually soak mine for 1 week min but normally 2-3 weeks.

 

[daggermark]

I'm thinking of doing a test 1 gallon batch of this asap. Was considering going for the zest of 1 whole grapefruit soaked in the least amount of highest-proof spirit I can lay my hands on. Haven't seen too much online about the ballpark quantities of zest, so this might be wild!

 

[govner1]

I routinely make a version of both using the zest of either red/pink grapefruit or a couple of blood oranges. I’ve found the easiest way to control the taste is to boil a couple of cups of water at packaging (I keg) and add the zest and let it sit until it is cool. I the add to my beer. It’s easy to taste and adjust.

 

[daggermark]

I routinely make a version of both using the zest of either red/pink grapefruit or a couple of blood oranges. I’ve found the easiest way to control the taste is to boil a couple of cups of water at packaging (I keg) and add the zest and let it sit until it is cool. I the add to my beer. It’s easy to taste and adjust.

I assume that hot water extracts less flavour than alcohol? How much zest do you tend to use per gallon?

 

[govner1]

I wouldn’t say less flavor but the “ tea” it creates is smoother. I usually use the zest from two grapefruits or 3-4 blood oranges depending on size. I brew 6g batches and keg in two 3g kegs.

 

[Brooothru]

A couple of years ago we were traveling through Arizona/Utah near Page and stopped for dinner, so I had to try something local on tap. For some reason I followed the waitress's suggestion and tried a Blood Orange Saison. I'm not really a fan of saison, but that beer made my evening. By the time we got home a few weeks later the only thing running through my mind was cloning that beer. I cobbled together a recipe, gathered all the ingredients I thought would work, and then never brewed it. My plan was a simple plain ale with blood orange puree tossed into the fermenter with a French Saison yeast pitch, followed up with an ounce of sweet orange peel with the dry hops (Simcoe, Citra and Chinook). The puree was about $20 for 52 fl oz, and I had (have) no idea how much of it to use or how it would affect the O.G. The project has languished in neglect ever since. I'm afraid to brew it and have it be an epic failure, so there the ingredients sit, mocking me and my vanity. Sure would like to try it though.

 

[catalanotte]

My advice would be to use zest and/or peel, avoid the pith

If you’re new to using citrus peels, really take note of the comment above. I mistakenly used peels once that I cut with a potato peeler and got a lot of pith that is not a good flavor. Use a fine cheese grater or peeler to get just the surface or zest, stop if get to the white on the orange/grapefruit.

I may be less cautious than others, but typically wash fruit well in water, give it a soak for a few minutes in star san, then prep and toss into the fermenter after most activity has subsided. Never had a problem.

Bavarian Mandarina is a great dry hop for a citrusy IPA. You can actually convince people it has oranges in it with just the hop

 

[daggermark]

A couple of years ago we were traveling through Arizona/Utah near Page and stopped for dinner, so I had to try something local on tap. For some reason I followed the waitress's suggestion and tried a Blood Orange Saison. I'm not really a fan of saison, but that beer made my evening. By the time we got home a few weeks later the only thing running through my mind was cloning that beer. I cobbled together a recipe, gathered all the ingredients I thought would work, and then never brewed it. My plan was a simple plain ale with blood orange puree tossed into the fermenter with a French Saison yeast pitch, followed up with an ounce of sweet orange peel with the dry hops (Simcoe, Citra and Chinook). The puree was about $20 for 52 fl oz, and I had (have) no idea how much of it to use or how it would affect the O.G. The project has languished in neglect ever since. I'm afraid to brew it and have it be an epic failure, so there the ingredients sit, mocking me and my vanity. Sure would like to try it though.

That does sound good. A saison is definitely something I'd like to have a go at.

If you’re new to using citrus peels, really take note of the comment above. I mistakenly used peels once that I cut with a potato peeler and got a lot of pith that is not a good flavor. Use a fine cheese grater or peeler to get just the surface or zest, stop if get to the white on the orange/grapefruit.

I may be less cautious than others, but typically wash fruit well in water, give it a soak for a few minutes in star san, then prep and toss into the fermenter after most activity has subsided. Never had a problem.

Bavarian Mandarina is a great dry hop for a citrusy IPA. You can actually convince people it has oranges in it with just the hop

I'm going to do some hop shopping this week, I'll keep an eye out!

 

[anteater8]

Thanks! Did you just peel them and throw it in? No further prep or sanitisation required?

I kind of half assed it and swirled my peels & zest in a little bit of everclear. Usually I don't worry too much about infection too much on a beer that will stay cold and be gone in a few weeks, but as others mentioned you can definitely go the tincture route.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

I just tried to make a grapefruit IPA.
1 oz of grapefruit peel at the end of the boil with cascade dryhop.
not must of anything.

boiled up some water and tossed another OZ of GF peel in the french press and made some GF tea.
added that and great GF aroma but very little flavor.
at this point i have some summit hops and thinking i'll just toss a few OZ in and move on.

i'm Leary of using the grapefruit extract I bought since even a few drops in a glass of beer makes it taste like medicine.

Crystallized grapefruit is used in hard water recipes so may try that next time.

 

[daggermark]

Think I'll buy a couple of bottles of bog-standard lager and add tea to one and tincture to the other and see how I get on with it. Experimentation is a good excuse to drink some more beer!

 

[NitrogenWidget]

actually, i'm going to hold off on the summit.
the beer isn't very grapefruity however it's coming together nicely after today's tasting and I think i'll see where it goes.

 

[daggermark]

OK so here's the first stab at a trial recipe, comments welcome!

Batch size: 1 Gallon
OG: 1.062
FG: 1.011
ABV: 6.7%
SRM: 5.2
IBU: 72

Grains:
1.2kg Maris Otter (2.5 °L)
0.1kg Carapils (2 °L)

Mash: 60 mins @ 66°c

Hops:
6g Chinook @ 60m
6g Mandarina Bavaria @ 15m
3g Citra @ 15m
10g Citra @ Flameout

Fermenter additions:
20g Mandarina Bavaria @ 5 days
Grapefruit tincture / tea @ bottling

Water profile: Bitter (3:1 SO4:Cl)

Yeast: Mangrove Jack M44

What do we think? Alternatively, considering putting a touch of crystal in (23 °L) to give it a bit more backbone for the hops.

 

[govner1]

Some crystal wouldn’t hurt but what about DH hops?

 

[daggermark]

Dry hops? Those are the 20g of Mandarina Bavaria for the last 5 days of fermenting. I tend to put them in the primary after 2-3 weeks rather than rack to secondary.

 

[govner1]

You might even add some hops at mid to low krausen and see if bio transformation gives you some added aroma.
Also, if you can get some Experimental Grapefruit hops they’re very interesting.

 

[daggermark]

Decided to do without the crystal for a first try, and drop the IBU slightly to 65. I'll probably brew a few variations over the next couple of months and see what works. Might also do a similar hop profile with a NEIPA grain bill.

 

[anteater8]

Quick update on my grapefuit IPA. I used zest from 2 grapefruits and peel from 2 grapefruits in secondary with my dry hop. Now that the beer has been kegged for 2 weeks, there is almost zero grapefruit flavor or aroma left. Next time I would use at least 6 grapefruits for 5 gallons.

 

[daggermark]

I've just knocked up a tincture with half a grapefruit and a shot of vodka. Next weekend I'm going to add some to a bottle of my current brew and see how it alters the taste and aroma.