So I want to follow the brewer’s note and add the orange and coriander at flame-out. Will the NB bitter orange peel suffice? How fine should I crush the coriander, and do I need a muslin bag or do I just mix both in the wort? Sorry, only my third brew. Thanks all.
What is it that the brewer added? Orange juice or peal?
There are a wide variety of opinions as to how find you should crush spices like coriander, grains of paradise, pepper, etc. Honestly, I don’t see how its going to make a huge difference in your beer. I’d crush it to the size of a pin head.
Also, with the orange peel, I wouldn’t bother with the dried stuff. Get yourself a micro-plane zester and zest an orange. (those things are awesome to have for other things as well: homemade sauces (like bbq), dressings, marinades, etc…fresh citrus zest is where its at). The dried stuff has never delivered for me personally.
I would use a muslin bag, particularly for the coriander, as it will get into EVERYTHING (siphon, racking cane, bottles, etc.). With a bag you can just pull it out.
Good luck out there soldier.
I Agree about the zester. I got mine at Walmart cheap.
I did end up using powdered coriander. Normally I expect powdered spices to be less flavorful than their fresh or whole form. 0.25 oz in 5 gal ended up VERY noticeable.
I’ve brewed this in the past and had a similar experience. The coriander was very potent and the orange was subtle. The next time I approach a recipe like this, I will cut the spice and increase the orange (probably by 50%). Of course, this is all to your taste.
Enjoy!
I already ordered the coriander and bitter orange from NB and they will be here for brew day; however, I picked up a couple of fresh oranges and have a zester here. Do I add the orange to the wort itself after flame out? Plan on using the muslin bag for coriander. Are others in agreement to cut back on the amount of coriander? Could I use the fresh and bitter to enhance the orange flavor? Thanks for all the replies.
Earlier this year I brewed two American wheats back to back- the first with NB’s dried peel, the second with fresh orange peel. I didn’t zest the orange peel but I thinks that is a good idea. Added the orange peel at the start of the boil and left it in through fermentation. Got much better orange flavor with the fresh peel (used about three oranges worth of peel in 5 gal. batch).
As to the coriander, I agree with those above. I took the same advice, used about 1/3 the recommended amount, barely crushed. Glad I did, the coriander was still a little too pronounced for me, but I’m not a huge fan of spices in beer.
I know the petite orange is higher abv than the Amer. wheat, so I don’t know if that might effect how these additions work in the end. Good luck and cheers!
[quote=“Frenchie”]I didn’t zest the orange peel but I thinks that is a good idea. Added the orange peel at the start of the boil and left it in through fermentation. Got much better orange flavor with the fresh peel (used about three oranges worth of peel in 5 gal. batch).
[/quote]
I am not confident on my flavor chemistry, but I would guess there is an analogous relationship between oranges and hops with respect to bitterness and aroma. Just as full boil hops primarily provide bitterness and late additions hops provide aroma, I would think oranges may do the same thing. If the orange peel/zest is in the boil for the full 60 minutes, the contribution will be mainly an orange-ish bitterness. If the peel/zest is added a flameout, it will be less bitter and more aromatic.
It’s an interesting chemistry question but the answer is up to your personal taste and preference.
[quote=“scottNU”]
I am not confident on my flavor chemistry, but I would guess there is an analogous relationship between oranges and hops with respect to bitterness and aroma. Just as full boil hops primarily provide bitterness and late additions hops provide aroma, I would think oranges may do the same thing. If the orange peel/zest is in the boil for the full 60 minutes, the contribution will be mainly an orange-ish bitterness. If the peel/zest is added a flameout, it will be less bitter and more aromatic.
It’s an interesting chemistry question but the answer is up to your personal taste and preference.[/quote]
I’m not sure if orange goes through the same isomerization.
I think boiling the white part of any citrus peel brings out the bitterness. The orange part, the zest, has the oils that impart the orang-y citrus flavor. Since there is so much more rind than zest, the longer times would be still extracting bitterness from the rind after the zest is done. But truly, I am no expert on citrus either.
I know you want the zest to get at least some heat or other treatment to force the oils out. We added at 5 min, and I would still like more flavor. So is more time or more zest better? I don’t know. The other thought we had was to skip the orange zest at the boil entirely. We would soak the zest in alcohol (vodka, maybe rum) to release the oils, then add the orange tincture to the primary or secondary. The booze would also serve to sanitize the zest.
So my wyeast Belgian abbey won’t inflate after eight hours or so. Brew day delayed.
Date on the package? Looks like a starter is in order.
I woke up this morning and it had puffed out. Boiling the wort now.
So I left it in the primary for two weeks and skipped the secondary. Should I forget the secondary entirely at this point?
Did you measure your original gravity? If so, go ahead and get a finished gravity measurement and report back. If you didn’t measure OG but have the ability to measure density, grab a FG and report back.
If you aren’t measuring the gravity of the wort and beer I recommend you start as it is a necessary brewing tool.
Has the beer started to clear up? Since the horse is out of the barn I would probably wait at least one more week and then bottle.
I really liked this recipe. But I left out the spices and put in 3-kb of orange blossom honey at flame out. Boy is this good. With hints of orange and smooth mouth feel. I also kegged it. I will be making this again.
