Brewing with Orange Peel

[Drebin138]

I’m going to make a blonde ale for a summertime outing coming up and I wanted it to have a nice refreshing orange/citrusy pop and flavor. I planned on adding some orange peel to achieve the flavors I want but I’m not exactly sure how to go about this.

Should I add the peel to the boil or add it as a dry hop after fermentation is complete? Or both? I don’t really have the means to secondary right now so that’s not really an option.

This will be a 5 gallon extract batch. I’ve looked at recipes online and some said to add it in the boil, others said to add it as you would a dry hop and some didn’t tell me what to do with it at all.

I need to impress my wife’s psych PhD classmates and professors so I really wanna nail this brew.

 

[Amadeo38]

You can add peel in last five minutes of boil, and also after primary dies down, leaving it in for a week or so like you would a dry hop. Whatever you do, use a potato peeler and ONLY get the orange rind without the white pith part below. This can potentially add off-flavors to the beer, and some people are quite easily able to detect it. If you want to be safe, homebrew shops sell it already peeled and dried.

 

[Calder]

Zest a few oranges (use a zester or a grater and get the orange outer layer of the skin - the white pith can be bitter). Add to a jar and cover with vodka. Leave for as long as you can.

You can strain and add liquid to bottling bucket, or add everything after fermentation has slowed down.

The higher alcohol in vodka is more efficient at extracting the oils than if you just add the zest straight to beer. The vodka also sanitizes the zest.

I usually add some zest to the boil as well with about 20 minutes to go.

 

[AzOr]

You can add peel in last five minutes of boil, and also after primary dies down, leaving it in for a week or so like you would a dry hop. Whatever you do, use a potato peeler and ONLY get the orange rind without the white pith part below. This can potentially add off-flavors to the beer, and some people are quite easily able to detect it. If you want to be safe, homebrew shops sell it already peeled and dried.

Good advice.

Remember, blondes are very simple (no pun intended).you can throw off the balance very easily. Best to throw an ounce or two in boil.Then adjust later with tincture.

 

[ba-brewer]

Some fruit get a fine coating of food grade wax, I wonder if that is anything to be concerned about? Thinking/wondering if it would behave like oil and may not be good for head retention.

Just did a blue moon like beer and did the potato peel thing and it worked great to get big slices. I just scraped off any pith that I got from going too deep. I did a zester the time before and seems like that way causes a lot of oils to go into the air compared to the potato peeler.

 

[Drebin138]

You can add peel in last five minutes of boil, and also after primary dies down, leaving it in for a week or so like you would a dry hop. Whatever you do, use a potato peeler and ONLY get the orange rind without the white pith part below. This can potentially add off-flavors to the beer, and some people are quite easily able to detect it. If you want to be safe, homebrew shops sell it already peeled and dried.

Thank you! I planned on getting 3 or 4 oranges. Is that a good amount for a 5 gallon batch?

 

[Amadeo38]

Thank you! I planned on getting 3 or 4 oranges. Is that a good amount for a 5 gallon batch?

I’ve zested up to five oranges in the last five minutes of a boil. Agreed with previous poster that any secondary peel additions should be soaked in vodka first. You can always add that orangey liquid at bottling to taste rather than adding to the fermentor. I would do two to three oranges worth in the vodka soak.