Grapefruit Addition

What does Goose Island IPA use in their's, cos it's pretty darn good and grapefruity.

 

Zest is the way to go for citrus in my opinion (and is what they use for Grapefruit Sculpin (or at least was when it was a cask thing). Add it for a day or two right before packaging. A potato peeler does a better job zesting compared to a Microplane, a tip I picked up from Alex Tweet the former cask-guru at Ballast Point. Try to avoid as much of the white pith as you can. I just did a lemon-zest Berliner with good results.

 

Does the zest drop out, how to you prevent the transfer of the the zest into the bottle?

 

If you are using large strips of zest they shouldn't cause issues for racking. If you are bagging up dry hops you could mix the zest in with them (that's what I did when I used smaller pieces of zest).

I usually rinse the fruit with hot water and a paper towel then give them and my tools a quick dip in Star-San. Considering the alcohol and high hoping rate the risk of unwanted microbes causing issues is low. You could soak the zest in vodka and then add that tincture if you were worried and/or wanted more precise control.

You could add the flesh or juice too, but I've never found that it added much when you're talking a couple fruits for 5 gallons.

 

I do something very similar but with Blood Oranges. I usually use anywhere from 5-10 blood oranges for a 5 gallon batch. I use the zest and juice right before packaging/kegging. It really depends on the size of the oranges though, if they are the size of softballs I will use 5, if they are tennis ball sized I use about 8-10. It gives a hint of orange/citrus on the finish but isn't overpowering. Grapefruit is a lot more powerfull so I would use a little less.

 

I actually make a tea with the juice and zest prior to adding it. Usually do this when I am boiling the wort. I steep the zest in the juice at roughtly 120-150 so it kills anything. Cool and bottle it into a sanitized ball jar. I actually have some frozen in the freeze so I can make it year round because I cannot get Blood Oranges all year.

 

Did you read the recipe and tasting notes for the beer I linked to?

 

I seem to be some subtle sometimes, people often miss the links on the blog because I don't tag RECIPE or TASTING. I just like the flow.

 

Quick question about grapefruit as I am going to do my first homebrew soon. I wanted to add some grapefruit zest to my batch, however I am unsure when to add the zest. I assume I would add this during the last 5-15 minutes of the boil? Also, should I use juice as well? If so, when do I add this?

 

There is no right answer. It all depends on what you want the results to be. If you're targeting the vital oils from the zest then zesting (stripping off small parts) is a good way to go. This can be added at flame out, primary, secondary, or just for the last few days. Again depending on what results you want. Juice is another option if you want that flavor in your beer. It will ferment out so take that into consideration. It's also not the same flavors as the zest. So you may want both.

I just made a white Belgian wheat beer and added orange, lemon, lime, n tangerine zest at flame out. Also some crushed coriander seeds. Blows Shock Top away. I used 2 of each fruit n 1 tsp of crushed seeds.

I've also tried just dropped the entire fruit in at flame out. Almost the same results as zesting. Less surface area exposed so little less flavors came out.

Most important thing is to document everything you do so you can do it again or figure out what you want to change for the next batch.

I would also recommend you spit the batch in at least 2 parts for testing. Why use the entire batch on something you never tried before?

Good luck n Happy brewing

Jay

 

Thank you very much for your help, I appreciate it!