Best way to prepare Grapefruit Peelings?

[JayMc]

My plan is to start brewing a few grapefruit style pale ales using actual grapefruits. I've tried Magic Rock Brewing Company's Grapefruit Pale and would like to do something similar tasting but with preferably fewer ingredients.

MALTS: Acidulated, Golden Promise, Munich, Vienna
HOPS:Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Citra, Columbus, Magnum
- See more at: http://www.magicrockbrewing.com/beer/high-wire-grapefruit/#sthash.H0LvQjXZ.dpuf

So far I have a nice tasting grain bill of my own 70% Pale Malt 15% CaraRed and 15% Wheat. I plan to use Citra and Grapefruit peelings and see how it turns out.

I have heard that even small amounts of peelings give enormous flavour and I am not sure whether they should be used at the start of the boil at flameout or used in primary or secondary. Also would I be ok just cleaning the grapefruits peeling them and soak them in vodka in the fridge for a day?

So the question is what is the best way to prepare grapefruit peelings and roughly how much should I be using?

[Will_D]

Do you just want the zest or the juice as well?

I am sure theres a lot a grapefruit flavour in the flesh.

When its comes to the skins I would be tempted to zest the outer layer using an old fashioned grater or a more modern zester. Add the zest to small amout (?) of white sugar and leave in air tight jar. You should end up with a sterile very grapefruity syrup that you can add to taste at a blending stage.

Never tried this but it might just work

Note that in cooking they always say to exclude the white pith under the skin as its "very bitter" but hey we use hops for this! So would some pith bitterness be acceptable?  Don't know!

HTH

Will

[mr hoppy]

Peel from bitter oranges (curaçao, seville) was added to traditional wits to add bitterness.

[nigel_c]

I brewed a grapefruit pale for a charity night a while back and it went down well.
Based it on Brew Dog Elvis juice.

4.00 kg Pilsner (Weyermann) (3.3 EBC) Grain 1 85.1 %
0.50 kg Amber Malt (50.0 EBC) Grain 2 10.6 %
0.20 kg Crystal Malt - 385 (385.0 EBC) Grain 3 4.3 %
55c for 15
64c for 60
75 mash out for 10

Sparge Water Acid:
Fly sparge with 23.27 l water at 75.6 C
First Wort Hops Amt Name Type # %/IBU
20.00 g Magnum [17.00 %] - First Wort 60.0 min Hop 4 38.0 IBUs

Add water to achieve boil volume of 30.82 l
Estimated pre-boil gravity is 1.050 SG
Boil Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU
15.00 g Cascade [5.57 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 5 6.5 IBUs
15.00 g Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 6 15.2 IBUs
8.00 Items Grapefruit Peel (Boil 5.0 mins) Flavor 7 -
6.00 Items Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 mins) Spice 8 -
25.00 g Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 9 0.0 IBUs
25.00 g Mosaic (HBC 369) [11.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 10 0.0 IBUs
15.00 g Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 11 0.0 IBUs
15.00 g Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min

Zest of 8 greapfruit and 6 oranges came to 77g into boil
Primary 7 days.
4 days 2nd then dry hopped for 7 days
zest of 4 grapefruit & 2 oranges added to 2nd for 4 days + 1 gelatine

Turned out really well. One or 2 slight changes.
Lower the crystal color.
If kegging add the juice of the "dry hopped" grapefruit to the keg to give it some extra zing.

Hope this helps.

[JayMc]

You should end up with a sterile very grapefruity syrup that you can add to taste at a blending stage.

I have never added anything extra to beer apart from hops and sugar so when is the blending stage? 

@ nigel_c, I think I may have tried that at one meet. I will be attempting that recipe with BIAB. What yeast did you use for this?

[nigel_c]

My go to yeast. Nottingham.

[Will_D]

You should end up with a sterile very grapefruity syrup that you can add to taste at a blending stage.

I have never added anything extra to beer apart from hops and sugar so when is the blending stage? 

For experimental flavoured beers, some time during secondary you take out 500 mL.

Split into 5 100 mL samples and add say 1 mL of your flavouring mix (like the Grapefruit syrup or Grapefruit vodka). Taste and see if its too much or too little. Then you know how much to add to your bulk beer/wine/cider.

Also some brewers like to blend beers: So for example if your stout is a bit too rich and big, blend with an Ale or a light IPA.