I’ve decided to do the NB american wheat as my 2nd extract brew and I was wanting to add some orange. It seems there’s alot of options here. Do I want to do sweet or bitter and when do I add them? Last 15 minutes of boil, dump in the primary, add to the secondary? Can anyone offer some insight into what method does what? I want to have some orange zest taste but I don’t want to over do it.
Bitter or sweet would be fine. Better yet, zest some fresh oranges and use that. I would add as late as possible to minimize the loss of volatiles. My suggestion would be to add at flameout and let the zest steep for 5-15 minutes.
There are other options as well, such as creating a tincture and adding after fermentation.
[quote=“kcbeersnob”]
There are other options as well, such as creating a tincture and adding after fermentation.[/quote]
That’s my preference. Zest the oranges, place the zest In a shallow bowl/saucer with just enough booze* to cover them. Cover with plastic wrap for a few hours or days, then throw them in the primary, or secondary and rack on top.
*Cheap vodka is the standard option, but Bicardi 151 makes it interesting too, just a hint of the rum flavor can come through.
