Should I Use Less Orange Zest?

[verysupple]

Hi all,

I know there are a bunch of threads on here about how much and what type of orange zest to use in a witbier but none of them really answered my question.

I put in ~30 g of zest (4 large-ish navel oranges), making sure not to get any pith, at flameout for a 20 L batch. I'm going to bottle it tomorrow and put on another batch using the same yeast. At the moment the orange is massively over powering everything else. I assume it will dull down by the time it's carbed up and conditioned for a few weeks but my question is how much will it dull? Will it dull down a LOT or should I use less in my next batch?

Cheers in advance

EDIT: more info

 

[NewtownClown]

I like my wits fresh so cannot comment on the effects of time.

Fruit is going to vary a lot (when it was harvested, where it was grown, amount of oils in the skin, etc). So advising on quantity is difficult.
When you are ready to drink it would be the best time to gauge the effects of the amount you added and then adjust for future batches.
It is better to have too little spice and fruit because you can always make an infusion to add to the finished beer.

If, at bottling you still find the Orange dominating and you want to get the next batch going, try halving it and adding more later if needed...

 

[Rod]

I have used this with success

http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/product_in...roducts_id=8217

 

[jimmy01]

Hi all,

I know there are a bunch of threads on here about how much and what type of orange zest to use in a witbier but none of them really answered my question.

I put in ~30 g of zest (4 large-ish navel oranges), making sure not to get any pith, at flameout for a 20 L batch. I'm going to bottle it tomorrow and put on another batch using the same yeast. At the moment the orange is massively over powering everything else. I assume it will dull down by the time it's carbed up and conditioned for a few weeks but my question is how much will it dull? Will it dull down a LOT or should I use less in my next batch?

Cheers in advance

EDIT: more info

I usually zest 2 oranges for a 24l batch. As Newtown says, outcome will vary with different orange crops. I bottle and my Wit beers usually don't last more than 2months. I have not noticed any significant drop in citrus over this period.

The best improvement I have made to my Wit is to go lightly on the coriander seed. 12g per batch - initially started at 25g

Cheers

 

[verysupple]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I think the problem is it's really sweet rather than citrusy.

Anyhoos, I brewed the second batch yesterday and zested 2 valencia oranges (about 20 g) and added it and 15 g of crushed coriander seeds at 5 min then 1 g of camomile at flameout (basically just steeped while the wort cooled). It sounds like I did something close to what jimmy01 suggested.

I'm not sure if it is the different type of orange, the 1/3 reduction of weight, or the 5 min boil but this time it smells great - not so sweet and a bit more citrusy.

 

[bcp]

I use 28g of sweetened orange zest in a 24 litre batch of Mack'n'Jack (an american amber that has a cult following in Seattle). It's about right, but takes right on about 4 weeks for the orange to settle in. Any time I try it sooner I'm disappointed.

Not sure about the navels, though. I made a christmas beer in may with juice & zest of 4 navels, and it took about 6 months for the orange flavour to blend into the overall flavour (I got the timing right for christmas).

 

[verysupple]

Wow, either your christmas beer wasn't a wit or you have immaculate brewing techniques to get it to last that long. I'm now drinking a bavarian weissbier that has been in the bottle for 9 weeks and it's over the hill. I still have about a case of it

I had a taste of my hydrometer sample of my second wit and it tastes a lot better balanced (see what I changed in my previous post). Also, it's almost done fermenting after 4 days. I think I re-pitched too much yeast from the previous cake.

 

[bcp]

No, not a wit. An all-grain version of BCConnery's chrismoose ale, pale malt base, munich, wheat, golden syrup, belgian forbidden fruit yeast Wy3463, lots of spices. It's tasting great.

(the extras)

juice & rind of 4 oranges.
2.5tsp nutmeg.
1.5 tsp cloves.
1tsp mixed spice.
6 cardamon pods crushed.
2 sticks + 1tsp cinnamon.
300g Macadamia Honey