Witbier with juices instead of peel/zest?

[Johntodd]

SWMBO has decided on a fruity witbeir, and I'm all for it.

My question is how to convert from ounces of zest to spoons of juices? We won't be buying fruit or zest, so only lemon and orange juices are available.

Here is the recipe:

HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Syndy's Witbier

FERMENTABLES:
6 lb - Dry Malt Extract - Wheat (75%)
1 lb - Cane Sugar (12.5%)
1 lb - Honey (12.5%)

HOPS:
2 oz - Saaz, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.5, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 13.19

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1 oz - Orange Peel, Time: 1 min, Type: Flavor, Use: Boil
1 oz - Lemon Peel, Time: 1 min, Type: Flavor, Use: Boil
1 oz - Coriander, Time: 10 min, Type: Flavor, Use: Boil
1.5 tsp - Yeast Energizer, Time: 15 min, Type: Other, Use: Boil

YEAST:
Danstar - Nottingham Ale Yeast
Starter: Yes

Thanks!
-Johntodd

 

[Kjay]

Adding peel to your brew is like adding hops. You are extracting the essence of the fruit from the peel for your flavouring. If you add juices from said fruits the flavour you are trying to obtain will be lost during fermentation if added before primary. You can add juice when kegging, not allowing the yeast to ferment the juices therefore obtaining the fruit flavour.

 

[Johntodd]

Now that makes perfect sense. Thank you!

How do I know how much of each juice to add to the keg?

Thanks!
-Johntodd

 

[Kjay]

I think that would be based on personal tastes. Start off with a litre per five gallon batch...maybe. You could always draw say a 1/2 pint and add measured amounts of juice to it until you get the flavouring where you want it then take that ratio and apply to total volume.

 

[Johntodd]

I see what you're saying, but my personal taste is unknown as I've never even had a witbier before. I just want some guidelines on converting the above recipe into juices.

Thanks!
-Johntodd

 

[TechyDork]

I see what you're saying, but my personal taste is unknown as I've never even had a witbier before. I just want some guidelines on converting the above recipe into juices.

Thanks!
-Johntodd

I don't think you can convert Zest to juice. They are two different end results. Zest is boiled to extract the flavor and the juice would be added post fermentation. Think about how the outside of an orange tastes compared to the actual fruit part.

Not saying that adding fruit juice to a wit is a bad thing, it is just not the same as adding the zest to the boil.

I think the best way is to do as metioned above. Maybe buy a 6 pack of a wit beer and add a few drops of juice at a time until you get a taste you like. Then scale that amount up for a full batch.

 

[Johntodd]

OK, zest it is.

Thanks!
-Johntodd

 

[theheroguy]

Adding peel to your brew is like adding hops. You are extracting the essence of the fruit from the peel for your flavouring. If you add juices from said fruits the flavour you are trying to obtain will be lost during fermentation if added before primary. You can add juice when kegging, not allowing the yeast to ferment the juices therefore obtaining the fruit flavour.

A lot of them will be lost but not 100%