When to typically add orange peel..??

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Tophe

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I've got an idea for a beer im going to make and i want to add orange peel to it to give it a little orange flavor.....When do you typically add this? Iwas thinking probably into the primary fermenter after the boil?
 
Tophe96 said:
I've got an idea for a beer im going to make and i want to add orange peel to it to give it a little orange flavor.....When do you typically add this? Iwas thinking probably into the primary fermenter after the boil?


I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I would guess that you would have to add it during the boil, due to contamination. Formerly I was in the produce business, and I know that any fruit or veg. are loaded with pesticides, bacteria and other uglies. I would think the boil would kill any of that stuff. Just a guess.
 
That's an interesting point about the pesticides and other nasties....I would've chucked 'em into the secondary. I'm doing a Brown Ale right now that I plan to throw a couple vanilla beans in the secondary along with some almond extract...
 
you could always put the peel in a small amount of water and add a camden tablet - then throw it into the secondary. Anything added to the primary gets scrubbed pretty well by the fermentation - you can generally get cleaner flavors by adding anything that does not need to ferment after fermentation is complete
 
NUCC,

Are you going to cut and scrap the seed of the vanilla bean into the batch or are you going to just throw the bean in whole. Just curious. I have cooked with vanilla bean and to optimize flavor the recipe said to cut the bean lenth wise and scrape the inside of the bean and add it all.
 
jeffrideal said:
NUCC,

Are you going to cut and scrap the seed of the vanilla bean into the batch or are you going to just throw the bean in whole. Just curious. I have cooked with vanilla bean and to optimize flavor the recipe said to cut the bean lenth wise and scrape the inside of the bean and add it all.


I've read that a lot too, so I think that may be the route I take.......I actually read that one here somewhere too......I figure 2 should be good for a 5 gallon batch. Plus maybe 2 oz. of almond extract....
 
....hmm well I was going to use the orange peel from the HBS in the package so maybe that doesnt have contaminates in it....Sounds like secondary is where it is supposed to happen though
 
I was thinking , what if i boil it first, let it cool and then add it to the secondary. ???
 
From what I've heard, you don't ever want to boil fruit. Now, I don't know if the peel by itself is a concern, but boiling fruit releases pectin. Why is the release of pectin undesirable? Got me. But they say it is.
 
Pectin from what I recollect is what makes jelly....um well.....jell-y....so my guess is that you'd end up either with a 5 gallon beer flavored jello or just have a lumps or haze in your beverage. None of which (in my opinion is desirable).

:D
 
hmm....well i dont think i'll try that idea. I'll ask the guy at the HBS. Thanks for the tip.
 
in practical terms, the pectin from fruit in your boil will not lump up, but it will make a haze you cannot get rid of

but not to worry about orange peel - no pectin there
 
yeh....i think it would take a lot of pectin to make a batch of beer jello.....though that might be kinda interesting.
 
.........so boiling shouldn't be bad? Hasn't anyone ever added orange peel to their brew?
 
Tophe96 said:
.........so boiling shouldn't be bad? Hasn't anyone ever added orange peel to their brew?

Per a recipe I had I added orange peel to the last 20 mins of the boil. So far everything looks fine. I havent bottled that batch yet (still in the secondary) but it looks clear from the carboy.
 
I am about to bottle my Belgian Wit Bier and it had orange peel and corriander in the recipe.

It told me to add it to the boil.
I left it in the primary & the secondary.
I'll be able to let you know in a week how it tastes.
It was in the primary for 10 days, then secondary for 2 weeks.

Here's the text from the recipe:
4. Second boil: Before returning the pot to burner add your malt extract. Make sure to stir the water so the malt extract does not burn on the bottom of your pot. Return pot to the burner and turn the heat to high. As soon as you see a boiling bubble add your 1 oz Hallertau bittering hops and boil for at least 30 minutes stirring as needed. The Joy of Homebrewing suggests up to 60 minutes of boiling time for optimal hop utilization. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR POT UNATTENDED! Boil overs are messy and should be cleaned up immediately. This can be avoided by going back and forth between high and medium high. During this boiling period add 3.5 -4 gallons of cold water to your sterilized 6.5 gallon fermenter and set aside. Add coriander and orange peel for the last 10 minutes of the boil. Add your 1 oz Hallertau aroma hops for the last two minutes and take off the burner. Remember, bittering and aroma hops can be the same hop. The only difference is the amount of time you boil them. Bittering and aroma are not printed on the hop label.
 
Thanks man, that helps alot. Thats pretty much the same brew im going to make. I think it should be similar to Blue Moon.
 
hey tophe!
(i'm a chick btw - the ONLY one on this site! lol)

i bottled my belgian wit on sunday 2/20.
siphoning got me to taste a bit and so far, YUM!
i'll let you know how it is after this sunday 2/26 (when it should be ready).
i might try to sneak a "peek/toke" to see before then. ;)
if i do i'll let ya know how it turned out.


did you end up boiling, or did you already start that batch and are thinking of adding the orange peel? for some reason i don't think you'd get much flavor adding it to primary or secondary, after the boil.
honestly i wouldn't chance the contamination level either, unless you boiled it.

i was really worried about this batch of belgian wit. mainly because the recipe i got with the kit (go ahead and flame me for not being all-grain), it was so general about the orange peel, it never said anything about getting it out of the wort (straining, etc). so, i just left it.
i watched my secondary daily to see if any tell-tale signs of contamination developed....none. tasted pret-ty-damn-good although flat. for now.

anyways, if you do add it late...maybe zest it? i know in cooking, if you want the flavor in basil to come out, you add it last - that goes for lemon zest, et al, as well. (ok ok i'm a gourmet snob!) otherwise it gets bitter. at least that's how it is in cooking.... don't boil it too long!

good luck and let me know how it ends up!
 
Hey, sorry about callin you "man" :D How about "thanks sweetie"..........anyways. No I havent brewed it yet, Planning on either this sat, or sunday. I just bought my ingredients yesterday.

Oh and no flaming from me for not being all grain.....im still extracting myself :)
 
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