Lime brew tips

[prushik]

Hi everybody
I love limes, they are one of the most underrated fruits, always living in the shadow of the inferior lemon. There are a few commercial brews that are flavored with lime (Bud light, etc..) and they are all light beers. Since I am not a fan of light beers, I don't purchase those brands, but I still long for a beer with a nice lime flavor in it. So, now that I am getting better at this homebrew stuff, I want to give a lime brew a shot. I'm just wondering, anybody have any tips?
This is going to be a lager, I just converted a mini-fridge to a lagering fridge, so I'm going to use it, and besides, lager is awesome. So, that part I am sure of, but everything else is in question, I have never brewed with fruit before (besides in my wine making days). Should I use lime zest or lime juice or some of both? How much? When should it be added?

p.s. Just because I mentioned bud light with lime does not mean I want to make a bud light with lime clone.

 

[Lurch69]

I made a lime beer for Cinco de Mayo. It was a 2.4gal batch, I used 0.5oz lime zest and 2fl oz lime juice, basically whatever I could obtain from 2 limes. I boiled the zest for the last 5 minutes of the boil and added the juice at flameout. It turned out really well, nice lime flavor after a few weeks in the bottle. I'd make it again.

 

[hillhousesawdustco]

I was reading something on here the other day about some hops with a limey/lemony kind of thing going on for them. Something from New Zealand? I don't remember exactly, but if you calculate that into your brew then maybe you'll get an extra lime punch from something other than a lime.

 

[lumpher]

Matueika hops add a lemon/lime flavor. you can also add lemongrass you can get from health food stores

 

[musick]

... anybody have any tips?...

I made a lime/mint pale ale. Drop a shot of whiskey into the pint and you have a 'Cuban Car Bomb'....:rockin:

Use clean/sanitized rind (no pith!) at flameout and again during 2ndary. When bottling, add some of the juice. Amounts depend on your perspective.

Makes an excellent summer drink.

 

[ztanner25]

I just recently brewed up a lime pale ale, and it is absolutely fantastic. depending on your tastes (you mentioned you're not a fan of light lagers) maybe an amber lager with a similar lime addition as I did in the pale ale. I only used citra hops, and I used the zest and juice from 6 limes for a 2.13 gal batch. I squeezed the juice into the wort and boiled the zest (No pith!! Only the green stuff, not white) for 5 minutes at the end of the boil and then left it in the wort during fermentation. This gave me a very pronounced lime flavor, it's not subtle, more in your face kind of lime flavor. It's not harsh, bitter, or acidic, just a very smooth drinkable refreshing ale for the summer time. For five gallons I'd suggest 10 limes if you want really in your face lime flavor, but if you want it to be more subtle, then shoot for 6 or so.

 

[firebird400]

I would not boil any part of the lime, only adding it at flameout or even only to secondary.

Cooking lime changes its flavor from that fresh intense kick to a bitter dry.

 

[ztanner25]

I would not boil any part of the lime, only adding it at flameout or even only to secondary.

Cooking lime changes its flavor from that fresh intense kick to a bitter dry.

Perhaps if boiled for an extended period of time; however, with only 5 minutes in the boil I attained a very clean lime flavor.

 

[firebird400]

Yeah I guess 5 min is that short of a boil that it does not brake down.

I have never used it in brewing, only in cooking, I guess the same applies there.

 

[BeerLogic]

I think someone already mentioned Motueka hops (one of my favorites!). New Zealand Hallertau and Sorachi Ace will also give you some lemon / lime zip. I would be weary of using citrus juice in a beer; I've seen too many perfectly good brews ruined by it. Fresh zest, on the other hand, in the last five minutes of the boil or in the secondary, sounds like a great idea.

 

[saltydawg]

My research indicates that the juice not be used. Just ends up as being bitter, IIRC... But thats just based on what I've read, not actual experience. YMMV. What I did was to peel a bunch of limes, all green, no pith. Soak the peels in vodka for a week or two. Then add the tincture (I think this is what Mosher calls it in "Radical Brewing") to the finished beer at bottling/kegging time. It's easy to gage the amount of flavor, and no problems with off flavors or sanitation. It did work good the one time I did it. If you get a chance, read Mosher's book Radical Brewing. Good Stuff!

 

[prushik]

Alright, thanks guys. I have heard that citrus does become bitter when cooked, I have even heard of experiments that used citrus zest as a bittering herb in place of hops.
I will probably be adding some lime zest in the last few minutes of the boil, that seems like the best option, I have never had any luck with adding things to a brew after fermentation, although the lime extract made with vodka sounds intriguing. It will be a few days before I can try this, I have to wait till I can put my lager into secondary.
Thanks guys!

Oh. by the way: Any idea how much I should use? I heard of somebody that said lime zest is very potent, and that one lime was too much in a 5 gallon batch. What do you think?

 

[samc]

I'd take a PA and squeeze a drop of Lime juice into it, taste and adjust. Then do some math on it if you still want to go with it. Otherwise keep some fresh limes in the fridge and repeat as needed.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Before I ever add fruit to the fermentor, I play with blending fruit juice or tinctures (zest soaked in a neutral spirit) at serving time. I find that four out of five times, this produces a better result than actually fermenting the fruit. If I really like a combination, then I'll start playing with fermenting some of the fruit for added complexity.