You know you're a home brewer when you experiment with beer flavors that you've never had before...
Not saying it doesn't exist, as i'm sure it does, but I have never had an Orange beer before.
I made a batch of my regular milk stout that is absolutely fantastic... Since I did 10 gallons, I decided to experiment a little with it. I made up a couple of tinctures. One was vanilla from two Madagascar vanilla beans, and the other was orange peels. Both were soaked in vodka for about 2 months now.
I added the vanilla first, and it really softened the roasted notes. It made the "coffee" flavor taste very much like milk chocolate. That alone was pretty good.
I then added orange to it. At first it wasn't very noticeable, but as the beer warmed up (to the temp I prefer my stouts) it came out. It wasn't over powering by the least, but it was apparent.
I kid you not. It tasted like one of those chocolate orange candies you get for christmas. The kind in the foil that you "smash" to break apart. It wasn't sweet and it was just enough to know it was there.
It turned out pretty damn good... I think I'll bottle some and let them sit 'til christmas. I bet it will only get better with some time. Sounds like a great christmas gift.
I'm going to go to the store and get some Creme de Menthe extract to see how it does as an Andes mint beer too...