Adding Flavors?

For many years when i was still doing Mr Beer ,, I added oranges a lot...i sanitized the outside and used a sanitized grater and shred the outside not to far down in the peel.. put them right in the fermenter..Maybe some of you remember the first beer i brought to a meeting?? thats was the way i did it..but now i use the dehydrated sweet orange peel that i buy and sell here..as the recipes i used it in is what called for..
When i added cherrries from a can for my christmas beer i would just empty the can right in the fermenter..never boiled any of the fruit i used.. Jeff

motorcyclelvr77 wrote:

So far I have tried adding honey, works very well. But when adding a fruit flavors I notice that a person can buy orange peel or whatever. Is that the same as if I were to peel off the orange peel & boil or ferment that? Or how about saving the peels, dehydrating them, then blend into a powder? The batch I just finished, I peeled off the peels, threw them in the last 5 min of boil & then threw a few into the fermentor. I hope it works or at least doesn't ruin the batch?

When adding zest of orange or any other fruit, it's best to add it in the last 5 minutes of the boil, just as you did. However, if you add any in the fermenter that weren't from the boil, be sure to kill any bacteria on them first by boiling them, either in the wort or on the stove. Another option for fruit flavor is to add boiled fruits to the fermenter after primary fermentation is done. This will begin a secondary fermentation and instill your beer with a fruit flavor and aroma.

So far I have tried adding honey, works very well. But when adding a fruit flavors I notice that a person can buy orange peel or whatever. Is that the same as if I were to peel off the orange peel & boil or ferment that? Or how about saving the peels, dehydrating them, then blend into a powder? The batch I just finished, I peeled off the peels, threw them in the last 5 min of boil & then threw a few into the fermentor. I hope it works or at least doesn't ruin the batch?