Racking with Blood Oranges

[Return_of_the_Mac]

I am making a red belgian ale and I want to add Blood Oranges and the rind when I rack and leave it in my racking container for 3 weeks or so. I was wondering if I should boil the whole blood oranges or if I should break them down (cut and peel) and then boil them? I know I want to sanitize them first before they go into my brew but I don't want to loose too much flavor if I boil them before I put them into my racking contianer. Any recommendation for adding blood oranges to my racking container would be helpful.

Thanks!

 

[Trox]

I haven't used any adjuncts yet in any of my beers so I might be off, but I believe if you just soak them in vodka for about a week or so you won't need to worry about boiling them (the vodka will kill any bacterias that are in the organges.

 

[Return_of_the_Mac]

Thanks I didn't even think about that. I was reading on some other sites and they recommed to freeze them and then boil them for 20 ot 30 min. I haven't decided what technique I am going to use yet. I have no clue how much flavor it will bring out and was thinking of using 2-3 blood oranges.

 

[pointcity-homebrew]

I was eating a blood orange just this morning and thinking" Hey this would be good in a beer." Keep us posted on how it turns out.

J

 

[Return_of_the_Mac]

Will do, I will also let you know of the method I choose to add the blood orange to my racking container

 

[IslandLizard]

I would try it with only a gallon of beer first, with proportioned adjuncts of course. I've read reports here on HBT where the resulting flavor of adding oranges was equated with smelling and tasting like vomit.
The sugars (fructose) from the juiced orange ferment out, leaving the acidity behind. If the oranges are particularly sweet it may work.

The rind, the white pith mainly, is very bitter, and depending on how much of that you can stand, you want to control that amount. The grated zest however, the very thin colored outer layer, is very fragrant and can be used successfully. Soak in some vodka or pasteurize with a small amount of hot water. Again, adding too much may overwhelm your beer.

Boiling the zest changes the aroma and flavor and you will lose the fresh citrus character you're after. Boiled zest does have its place in certain spiced ales, and Belgians, although the dried bitter or sweet orange peel you buy at your LHBS is used more commonly.

I've used red grapefruit juice and zest in an experimental saison and it tasted delicious, yet very grapefruity, almost too much. So controlling amounts to get the right twist is important.

 

[Return_of_the_Mac]

Great information! Thanks for your input I might look into red grapefruit, I was looking to really give my red belgian ale a good red color to it

 

[IslandLizard]

I'm interested in your findings. There are many references to using citrus fruit, not just here on HBT. Boiling them changes the flavor badly (think boiled orange juice) and I'm not sure if it's really needed or not, depending on what's inside your fruit. If you treat and squeeze oranges in a sanitary fashion, I reckon you should be fine, unless there are bugs in the juice/pith/zest. About the last thing you want is acetobacter in your beer, although in sours they can add some extra dimension, but only in small quantities, and never by themselves. Keeping oxygen exposure at bay helps to curb the growth of acetobacter.

 

[Phoenix7801]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f70/blood-orange-hefeweizen-396346/#fref check out this recipe. I think this would go a long ways to helping you out.

 

[jdot6]

Try boiling the zest with the sugar and water when u bottle. Strain it off before you add it to ur bottling bucket. You're basically making a simple syrup and this will add flavor to the beer