Blue Moon Beer Cupcakes

I wanted to do something, different, for my husband's birthday. I found a recipe for these cupcakes, and got inspired, to do these:
 Blue Moon Cupcakes
24 paper liners for cupcake pans (2 1/2-inch size)
cake mix
1/2 cup applesauce
3 large eggs
1 cup Blue Moon beer plus some set aside to brush on top of baked cupcakes
1/2 orange zested, set some aside for frosting
1/2 orange, sliced and cut into 8ths (I squeezed the second half into the beer to add more orange flavor.)
 Cupcakes: 1.Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners and set the pans aside. 2.Place the cake mix, applesauce, eggs, beer, and orange zest in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 11/2 to 2 minutes longer, scraping down the side of the bowl again if needed. The batter should look well blended. 3.Spoon or scoop a heaping 1/4 cup of cupcake batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) 4.Place the pans in the oven and bake the cupcakes until they are golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed with a finger, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of the cupcake cups, lift the cupcakes up from the bottom of the pans using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the pans carefully with your fingertips. Brush tops with beer. Place the cupcakes on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes longer before frosting.