Fresh Juice

[NickThoR]

I posted this in the brew science, but i was hoping to get more opinions,

i am brewing a citrus wheat beer and really want an orangey taste. i was thinking the other day, why cant i bottle with juice/ fresh oranjes instead of corn sugar?

5 oz sugar = 141 grams sugar
141/23 (avg fresh orange and glass of oj has 23 grams of sugar) = 6

so could i use 6 - 7 oranges/cups of oj to prime my beer??

 

[Yooper]

Probably. Do you like the taste of fermented oranges, though? I'm not sure on the math, but fermented orange juice makes me think of juice left out of the fridge. I'm not sure I'd like the taste.

Maybe adding some zest in secondary would give you the citrus taste you're looking for?

 

[Edcculus]

This is purely anecdotal, but I've heard that fermented OJ literally tastes like barf. Maybe the amount you need to prime won't be enough to make it taste bad though. Also, 6-7 cups of OJ might throw off your pH balance since its pretty acidic.

I used fresh zest in my Witbier and got an excellent orange flavor and aroma. Drop it in the boil at 10 min. If your beer is already brewed, you can boil it with the priming sugar in a hop bag.

 

[NickThoR]

hmmmm.... i didnt think about that. But arent all fruits kinda gross if you leave em out for a while? Im racking to a secondary today, i think ill bottle a few with sugar, a few with juice, and add more zest to the rest in the secondary( i added ~ 2oz orange and ~1 oz lime in the boil @ 12). I just tasted it and its pretty awesome, but i like to push the limits . This way if it turns out like puke ill only have wasted a bottle or two.

 

[Yooper]

hmmmm.... i didnt think about that. But arent all fruits kinda gross if you leave em out for a while? Im racking to a secondary today, i think ill bottle a few with sugar, a few with juice, and add more zest to the rest in the secondary( i added ~ 2oz orange and ~1 oz lime in the boil @ 12). I just tasted it and its pretty awesome, but i like to push the limits . This way if it turns out like puke ill only have wasted a bottle or two.

Well, fermented grapes taste wonderful. Fermented OJ? I dunno. It sounds pretty awful to me.

 

[NickThoR]

I just bottled one 24 oz bottle with oj, one with sugar and racked the rest to secondary with some zest, we'll see in a few weeks!

 

[Edcculus]

out of curiosity, how much OJ did you use to prime?