fermented orange juice?

[rmolledo]

yes or no? are there legit beverages out there consisting of fermented orange juice/grape fruit juice?

 

[Walker]

I've never seen a commercial one, but it's been discussed here before.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/orange-juice-217/

 

[Sedge]

Apparently it is like prison hooch and tastes horrendous.

I had some accidental spontaneous fermentation of neglected tangerines in my dorm freshmen year of college. Everyone thought I spilled Rum on the carpet from the aroma.

I've also had spontaneous fermentation of V8 that I left on the counter for two days. I drank it, and it was had a pleasant mild carbonation and tartness.

You can ferment anything with sugar, so give it a shot and report back.

 

[TipsyDragon]

Apparently it is like prison hooch and tastes horrendous.

I had some accidental spontaneous fermentation of neglected tangerines in my dorm freshmen year of college. Everyone thought I spilled Rum on the carpet from the aroma.

I've also had spontaneous fermentation of V8 that I left on the counter for two days. I drank it, and it was had a pleasant mild carbonation and tartness.

You can ferment anything with sugar, so give it a shot and report back.

dont you drink anything with preservitves in it. my god

 

[Beerbeque]

There is a commercial hard lemonade so why not hard orangeade?

 

[NCBeernut]

They don't ferment lemonade to make it. They just add spirits to unfermented lemonade.

 

[KayaBrew]

You mean like Pruno?
Mmmm. Pruno.

Duuude! How about fermented alcoholic Clamato?


Oh man...I just threw up in my mouth a little.....

 

[Edcculus]

Everything I've ever heard is that fermented orange juice tastes and smells like barf. YMMV

 

[phishfood]

I have what I HOPE will be an orange wine in a secondary right now, made from orange juice from our own trees. The recipe I was given at the local froo-froo wine shop called for a lot of cane sugar, water,raisins, with the juice from about 50 oranges. I juiced several hundred, cut the sugar by about 2/3, used the raisins, and didn't add any water. If it ferments fully, I should have ~ 14% wine.

Edit: If it tastes and smells like barf, I will be one dejected puppy. I have been wanting to try this for several years,

 

[JefeTheVol]

I made it in college so I know from personal experience how absolutely horrible it is. If you take a sip of OJ after brushing your teeth with a sh*t ton of toothpaste you will know exactly what fermented OJ tastes like. Ick! Good luck.
-Jefe-

 

[rmolledo]

I have what I HOPE will be an orange wine in a secondary right now, made from orange juice from our own trees. The recipe I was given at the local froo-froo wine shop called for a lot of cane sugar, water,raisins, with the juice from about 50 oranges. I juiced several hundred, cut the sugar by about 2/3, used the raisins, and didn't add any water. If it ferments fully, I should have ~ 14% wine.

Edit: If it tastes and smells like barf, I will be one dejected puppy. I have been wanting to try this for several years,

keep us updated

 

[FreeM80s]

does mad dog 2020 Orange Jubilee count?

 

[user 22118]

NOOOOOOOO!!!!! I did this with fresh oranges and about gagged when I smelled the vomity aroma and flavor.

 

[vinyl_key]

Hmm, if orange wine is this bad, could I expect mango wine to be just as putrid?

I wanted to ferment some mango juice, but I'm quite unsure about that after reading this thread haha

 

[shelly_belly]

When my son was a toddler he would often 'hide' his sippy cups. I'd find them days later after they had fermented out. Fermented orange juice is horrible. Juicy juice, on the other hand, did quite well. I would definitely like to try some mango wine.

 

[JefeTheVol]

Hmm, if orange wine is this bad, could I expect mango wine to be just as putrid?

I wanted to ferment some mango juice, but I'm quite unsure about that after reading this thread haha

I like the taste of Mangos. What I would do is make a wine from another fermentable and use potassium sorbate to kill the yeast and then back sweeten with teh mango juice or OJ for that matter. This way you would get the flavor without having to ferment the OJ/Mangos.
-jefe-

 

[OsbornBrewing]

Sounds like a lot of work for screwdriver! Smirnoff works well for me
I know, not the same! Good luck on your effort

 

[eelpout]

when we were kids on the farm we would make stuff in a bucket under our beds (to hide it from ma) with OJ, rice, raisins and bread yeast. yep tasted like crap, worse than crap. but got us a buzz.
I aint makin it again

 

[rmolledo]

i've had mango wine before. Dry and sweet. Both were very tasty. I've heard people using mango with peaches in wheat beers too.

Fermented oranges in a controlled enviroment may possibly yield different results than orange juice left out in the open.

 

[rmolledo]

when we were kids on the farm we would make stuff in a bucket under our beds (to hide it from ma) with OJ, rice, raisins and bread yeast. yep tasted like crap, worse than crap. but got us a buzz.
I aint makin it again

clever kids. If only i would have thought as a teenager to make my own alcohol rather than to try and score some.

 

[frogguruami]

Citurs, especially orange and tangerine make a great wine but they take LOTS of time.

My first wine was a naval orange wine from my own trees and I didn't brew for almost a year after that because it tasted awful. However after about a year of aging it ROCKED!!!!!

Definitely an early lesson in patience!!!

 

[luthierzan]

I added a little OJ to my secondary with a wit in it once. It started fermentation again due to the new addition of sugar. I was a little concerned that the taste would be bad thinking about times I have had old OJ that had gone bad and fermented.
There is a big difference. The wit turned out awesome. The reason:
It's all about the yeast. If you control it with a proper brewing yeast it will ferment clean. If you let it sit out and let the wild yeasts ferment it, just like anything, you will get all kinds of crazy off flavours. That is not the juice, but the yeast.
That is my experience anyway, just thought I would share.

David

 

[funkapottomous]

there's an ongoing set of threads in the food and cooking image board on 4chan involving homebrewing.

a lot of the stuff they recommend for beginners are things like the ancient orange mead, and orange hobo wine. Orange juice, orange juice concentrate, sugar and yeast.

better than kilju. (water sugar and yeast)

 

[chickenmorose]

I just added two quarts of orange juice to 2.5 gallons of ginger beer after three days of fermentation (using champagne yeast) in a bucket. That fermented together for about 17 hours, then it was bottled and carbonated for three hours.
Delicious.

 

[Barley-and-Hops]

I am surprised nobody has mentioned citric acid yet. In college I have tried to make wine and mead out of many different types of fruits because I was so curious since there are very little fruit wines on the market. I started to realize that although there are many other factors at play, the main thing that separates fruits that generally handle fermentation well than those that don't is the principle type of acid in the fruit. This is one of the reasons why fermented fruits like grapes(wine) and apples(cider) hold a much higher place on commercial markets where other fruits like strawberry, kiwi, blueberry etc. is often an added flavor and never the star of the booze. The main acid in grapes is tartaric acid which contributes a lot to color, flavor, balance and stability and is generally considered the most palatable and preferred acid. Malic acid is the main acid in apples (especially green apples) and is also very present in grapes. Malic is very tart but handles fermentation/age well and can be turned into a softer lactic acid via malolactic fermentation. Citric on the other hand is the main acid in oranges, kiwi, strawberries, raspberries etc. and is often considered the least preferable acid in fermented products. Yeast has a nasty habit of converting citric acid into acetic acid during fermentation which is the main acid/flavor in vinegar and is a serious problem. If winemakers ever add citric acid (which is rare and only to reduce excess iron and copper) they never add it before/during primary for this reason. Citric is also considered "flat" in flavor and isn't nearly as nice on the palette as tartaric or malic. It also doesn't have the same stabilizing properties. Orange peels actually have a higher amount of malic than citric and also have a different flavor profile that tends to age much better. This is why most recipes (including marmalade) that involve imparting orange flavor more often call for orange zest rather than orange juice.
Oranges in particular have a hard time holding their flavor and a good orange is always best when its fresh (the same is not true for a good wine grape) Ever notice that fresh squeezed orange juice is always far superior in flavor than frozen concentrate? I suspect that this is because the compounds that flavor orange juice may have a very short shelf life and will degrade rather quickly. I also suspect that when the compounds degrade they turn into much more vile flavors such as the vomit flavor. Anybody with an orange tree might know this but sometimes an orange that is overripe will get stuck in a branch and will continue to age with the peel intact. Fruit that falls on the ground and breaks open is exposed to water, air, soil and microorganisms develop into nasty little white and green mold balls. Fruit that stays in the tree continues to age and will develop a very vile overripe classic vomit flavor that makes you want to puke. I often reach for these to eat as when you catch them early enough they are perfectly ripe, full of sugar and amazing. But when I hit a bad one its terrible. Keep in mind that when the peel is intact the inside of an orange is relatively sterile so this transformation is not the result of microorganism activity but is the result of the natural breakdown of the compounds in the orange. Kind of like how a green banana will change into a brown one. I have found a few commercial sparkling wines that try to mix champagne grapes and orange juice and then ferment it as a sort of "all in one mimosa" they are terrible...give me fresh juice in cheap champagne any day over that.

I have no desire to bash fruit wines here, I have heard a lot of people have been successful making more unusual fruit wines/beers/mead etc. so by no means is it impossible. My own experience has been very disappointing with anything that isn't grapes, apples or barley so I caution any beginners. If I find myself pouring out of the ears with excess oranges I will probably still try to give it a go, but I would never spend a large sum of money/time trying to make it. It is my opinion that if you are neck deep in oranges you are better off inviting your friends over for a mimosa/screwdriver party.

 

[Diaperload]

OMFG....Wall of Text!

I read about 5 lines of it then my brain started to hurt.

Back on topic.

I have never brewed with or added orange juice to a brew because I've heard that orange juice fermented tastes and smells like vomit.

I guess that's why you only see orange zest or orange peel added to brews.

I trust my brew club (they are the ones that told me this info) so I've never tried it.

If you end up trying it, I'm curious to see how it turns out.

 

[Barley-and-Hops]

Well sorry for the long response, I was just letting people who wanted to know, why orange juice tastes like vomit when it ferments and other things don't. Provided they can understand without their brain hurting.

 

[SnakeRidge]

Well sorry for the long response, I was just letting people who wanted to know, why orange juice tastes like vomit when it ferments and other things don't. Provided they can understand without their brain hurting.

Paragraphs help

 

[Vandulus]

I had the unfortunate experience to try fermented orange juice 20 some years ago. Mind you it was a carton of orange juice that had sat in back of the bar fridge for too long. It fermented with whatever yeast was in the juice and air, plus it occurred slowly in a 40F environment. It was fizzy and not the best tasting, but not as horrible as some of the other stories.

I'd guess the three keys to successfully fermenting orange juice are:
- Doing it in a lager style fermentation (under 50F)
- Selection of a good yeast that will support cold fermentation
- Adding some sugars that aren't fully fermentable to help cut some of the bite/acidity

 

[Max_P0wer]

I just created this account for the sole purpose of thanking B&H for his response. I'm not a home brewer. I just found myself googling random questions like "what do you get when you ferment orange juice" and stumbled across this thread.

After reading this ENTIRE thread which is full of conjecture, speculation, best guessing and "I found this under a bed once" responses, I was quite pleased to read B&H's response which was extraordinarily fact based and informative, addressing all the issues on the subject rather succinctly. And sans headache.

And yet his is the only response that got bashed by not one but two other forum goers.

Diaperload: Ironically, your response was not 'Back on topic' as the original topic was "are there legit beverages made from oranges/grapefruits" thus making your response identical to your username.

Snakeridge: .....so do full sentences.

Barley-and-Hops: Please keep up the good work and don't let these guys keep you down.