Orange peel is very versatile, and is currently the highest ranked addition. Here are some beer styles that work with orange peel, ways to use them, and some similar additions to mix and match.
Styles that work with orange peel
Click here for current orange peel rankings.
Orange peel can be added to almost any style. For lighter bodied and flavored beers, like Australian Sparkling Ale, Ordinary Bitter, Blonde Ale, or Light American Lager, orange peel adds a bit more flavor.
Wheat beers also work well, including Witbier, American Wheat Beer, and even Berlinner Weisse. Darker wheat beers like Dunkles Weissbier and Weizenbock also worked, but are not ranked as highly.
Beer styles that have a citrusy hop flavor also benefit from orange peel, so it’s not a surprise that American IPAs are ranked higher than English IPAs. Belgian IPAs are also pretty highly ranked.
Some surprising ones that have a lot of potential are darker, roasty styles like Baltic Porter, Imperial Stout, or Oatmeal Stout.
Styles that don’t work well tend to have more of a raisiny flavor, or be sweeter.
How to use orange peel
You can easily zest your own oranges, taking care to avoid using the bitter white pith. A much easier way is to purchase dried orange peel, which is what I usually do, as recipes often call for quite a few oranges worth of peel.
Purchasing also gives you the ability to choose between bitter orange peel and sweet orange peel. Neither is particularly sweet or bitter, but they do give different flavors. Try each and see which ones you like.
Orange peel is pretty straight forward to use- add near the end of the boil or at flameout. You’re going to get a lot of aroma, and the oils with the flavor will boil off quickly. You can also make a tincture with vodka to add to secondary or to the keg for super fresh flavor.
Additions similar to orange peel
If you have a recipe that works with orange peel, it’s likely that these would also work-
- blackberry
- raspberry
- elderflower
- ginger
- grapefruit
You could replace your orange peel with these ingredients, or potentially combine 2 or more with some of these ingredients. A ginger orange American Blonde or a raspberry orange American Wheat both side good.
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