Adding Zest to Beer

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aaronanddelania

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We have read several articles regarding the addition of zest to the wort and we have a few questions:
1. Do you add zest to the boil, primary, or secondary?
2. How do you sanitize the zest?
3. How much zest (approximate) should you add for 5 gallons?

In this case, we are making a Kolsch, but we would love to know the answers for a variety of beer or just in general. Any other advice or great recipes are appreciated.

Thanks,
Aaron and Delania
Brewing since 4/11/2013
 
I added lemon zest to my most recent brew. I added the zest of 3 lemons to it with 5 min to the end of the boil. I find the flavor comes through a little bitter in the end. I think maybe zest in secondary may provide a fresher flavor. But I have yet to do that. I would be interested to see if anyone has done that.
 
1. I usually add it to the secondary...actually, that's not really true. I don't use a secondary, I leave my beer in the primary for 3 to 4 weeks, so I add it to the primary one week before bottling.
2. I put the zest in a jar and add enough vodka to cover. Leave it to steep like that for a few days, then add the zest and the vodka to your beer for the last 5-7 days before you bottle. You can use a hop bag if you want, but put the zest in the bag before it goes in the jar so the bag will be sanitized by the vodka as well.
3. You don't say what kind of fruit you're zesting. I make a lime-zested beer that I use the zest of two limes in. That's roughly the same mass as the zest of one orange or two tangerines. That gives a subtle aroma. For a Kolsh, I think I'd use the zest from one orange. It would be subtle, but I wouldn't really want a pronounced orange flavor in a Kolsh. Two oranges worth of zest would be unmistakably orangey, but probably not overpowering. Three would be too much, IMO.
 
Thanks to you both. We were actually thinking of a lemon kolsch. Sterilizing in vodka is a great idea and it just so happens that vodka is always in stock. 😃
 
I added a wopping 6 limes. Zest and juice before i pitched my yeast. The blow off smell great. My first time adding fruit to a batch. Crossing my fingers everyday that it doesn't taste like @ss
 
Captain Damage said:
1. I usually add it to the secondary...actually, that's not really true. I don't use a secondary, I leave my beer in the primary for 3 to 4 weeks, so I add it to the primary one week before bottling.
2. I put the zest in a jar and add enough vodka to cover. Leave it to steep like that for a few days, then add the zest and the vodka to your beer for the last 5-7 days before you bottle. You can use a hop bag if you want, but put the zest in the bag before it goes in the jar so the bag will be sanitized by the vodka as well.
3. You don't say what kind of fruit you're zesting. I make a lime-zested beer that I use the zest of two limes in. That's roughly the same mass as the zest of one orange or two tangerines. That gives a subtle aroma. For a Kolsh, I think I'd use the zest from one orange. It would be subtle, but I wouldn't really want a pronounced orange flavor in a Kolsh. Two oranges worth of zest would be unmistakably orangey, but probably not overpowering. Three would be too much, IMO.
Click to expand...

+1!!!

Zest and vodka works awesome, however, make sure to pour a measured amount, and add measured amounts of vodka zest. (eg, 16oz beer, 1tsp of vodka at a time). Mix well and taste. Then mix those ratios into the whole beer. I added a whole bunch "by feel" to a batch and wrecked a beer. Really good lager, now it's a lime punch in the face. :(
 
One of my regular beers is a Lemon Blonde. I add the zest to the boil with 5 minutes left. 3 to 5 lemons depending on size and how much flavor you want to come through. No sanitizing needed when it's added to the boil.

Just remember that if you get pith in your zest it will be bitter. And it's not the good bitterness like what you get from hops. It's a nasty, unpleasant bitterness.
 
Thanks for all the tips. The vodka method holds the most appeal for me. I think I'll try that first. And I will be sure to keep the pith out.
 
No vodka! Take a cup of your beer from the primary. Put it in a pan with the zest until its180 degrees. Cool pan on ice and transfer onto it.
 
I use the vodka zest method. My warning to you is when doing this , it seems to amplify the flavor of zest used. So the test method mentioned above is recommended. I Made a beer taste like orange beer just from zest of 2 oranges in a 5 gallon batch. The flavor was good , just way to overpowering. I would use 3/4 of a orange next time.
 
No vodka! Take a cup of your beer from the primary. Put it in a pan with the zest until its180 degrees. Cool pan on ice and transfer onto it.
Click to expand...
The point of steeping in room temperature vodka is that by not heating the zest you don't lose as much aromatics - in principle. I haven't done any kind of side-by-side testing. Commercial extracts are essentially made the same way. The amount of vodka is very small. If you use more than two shots (3 fl oz) you're doing something wrong.
 
Captain Damage said:
The point of steeping in room temperature vodka is that by not heating the zest you don't lose as much aromatics - in principle. I haven't done any kind of side-by-side testing. Commercial extracts are essentially made the same way. The amount of vodka is very small. If you use more than two shots (3 fl oz) you're doing something wrong.
Click to expand...

+1 always use as little vodka as you can and it turns out great.
 

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