Grapefruit in pale aurora ale

[benna]

Hi there,

Just wondering whether anyone has tried putting grapefruit in beer? When I search all I can find is post of people describing hop characteristics of grapefruit, I'm sure someone must have done it though... Basically I'm going to make a beer (5 gallons) with:

2kg Lager malt
2kg Golden Promise pale malt

with a hop schedule something like:
20g Aurora 90mins
20g Aurora 15mins
30g Aurora 5mins
30g Aurora 0mins (steep for 30mins)

So yes obviously it might be a good idea to not add anything else so that I can get a good idea of what aurora's like.. but I bought some grapefruits today to make some elderflower wine with and my wife asked whether I was going to put them in my beer, she reckons she's had some nice summer ales which have been brewed with grapefruit, I can imagine it would work, but would just like to know what other people think? and if I do add them should I use one or two or even three?!

Also what are people's experiences with aurora? will the above hop schedule be good? or should I take out the 90 min hops and stick them in at the end? also I have some EKG, which I might dry hop with, would they complement it or am I just being stupid! I'm sure there will be very different opinions on all of the above, but please enlighten me with all your wisdom as this will be only my 3rd all grain.

Cheers!

[EliteEvil]

I have done 0 all grains but I don't think you would ever need to add actual grapefruit, SNPA tastes almost entirely of grapefruit from its hops?

[GARYSMIFF]

Bobek in a wheat beer, YES grapefruit going on.

Grapefruit whole and zest in a wheatbeer also yes.

Last brew Aurora super Styrian and Styrian Bobeck viewtopic.php?f=24&t=41934

zesty Man

[deanrpwaacs]

Hello.
You could give this a go but add a bit more citra as i did.
Yummy grapefruits.
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=41009&p=435251&hil ... me#p435251
Regards Dean.

[benna]

yes both of those recipes look really nice,

still though I'm tempted to give it a go, St. Peter's do do a grapefruit beer http://www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk/store/ ... p?P_ID=160 based on a wheat beer admittedly, still I reckon I might stick the juice from a couple of grapefruits in, maybe about 15min before end of boil? can't do too much harm anyway!

but if anyone has tried this then I'd love to hear about results etc!

cheers

[GARYSMIFF]

go for it, I would

[HighHops]

Orange peel or zest is often added to wheat beers. I've never used it but Randy Mosher in Radical Brewing says "The only part of the orange you want is the oil contained in the coloured outer rind of the peel....The zest may be dropped into the kettle at the end of the boil, added to the secondary or soaked in vodka for a few days and dosed in to the beer at bottling or kegging."
So I wouldn't add the juice as it will drop the pH and could make your beer taste sour/acidic rather than fruity.
Randy also says that "Grapefruit's pungent aroma blends well with American hops." So should go well with Aurora. The most grapefruity hop I've used is Amarillo, but I've got an Aurora brew that's been in the fv for the last week. I'm going to transfer it to secondary and dry hop with Citra tomorrow. Click!
The only other thing I'd say is use a neutral yeast like us05 or WLP001 to let the hop flavours shine through.

Good luck benna and keep us updated! I'm interested to see how this one turns out.

[benna]

Highhops, yes interesting point about acidity, thats a good reason not to put any juice in I reckon, maybe I'll put the peel in at flame out and reduce 90min hops to compensate for the increased bitterness added with the grapefruit peel, which is very bitter.

Also I was going to go for nottingham for the yeast? what do you reckon? i've not used it before but saw it recommended for a brewer's gold recipe which is what I got the idea of this from (loosely!).

cheers

[HighHops]

You should be fine with nottingham.

[chivelegs]

I went on the St. Peters brewery tour last year. Highly recommended if you're in the area. The grapefruit beer on the other hand is not recommended whether you're in the area or not. The guy taking the tour admitted there was no real grapefruits in it, only extract/flavouring. Same goes for their honey beer as well. And the coeliac 'wheat-free' beer. Not pleasant.
Beautiful packaging though...

[EliteEvil]

Gimmick beer + beautiful packaging = money.

Some of their beers are pretty good though. I like the porter and my ex liked the wheat beer, although subconsciously that might be because the bottles are so nice. If only they came in dark brown.

[benna]

well i'm not sure i've tried the honey beer and I definitely haven't tried the grapefruit, although that's interesting that they don't actually use grapefruits!

I do like some of their beers though, the Ruby Red in particular, but also their organic ale is really nice. but certainly it is their bottles that swing it! it's all marketing for sure.

Yeah I'd like to do a tour, I know someone who had their wedding there, they've got a really nice big old hall haven't they?