Citrus Ale?

[agroff383]

Looking for recipies of maybe a light pale ale with lime lemon and orange citrus zest/flavors in it?

I don't want wheat, just a clean finish, no hefe yeast and would want it to be clear, should I just make a Centennial Blonde (making that per the recipe right now) and add zest or flavoring? Any suggestions would be helpful, I couldn't find much on search function.

 

[carnevoodoo]

Either that or make a pale. I think it'd be a nice, easy to drink beer if you did that.

 

[agroff383]

How much zest or dried peel is typically used in another recipe? I think with lime lemon and orange it might be a pretty good summer ale. Of course with Cascade it would also impart a citrus aroma/flavor.

 

[carnevoodoo]

How much zest or dried peel is typically used in another recipe? I think with lime lemon and orange it might be a pretty good summer ale. Of course with Cascade it would also impart a citrus aroma/flavor.

I would just use the typical amount used in a Belgian wit. I think it all depends on how much citrus flavor you want to impart and if you're using fresh vs. dried.

 

[DRoyLenz]

From personal experience, I would be careful with the lemon zest, it definitely shows up, moreso than the orange zest.

I brewed up BierMuncher's Wit (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/just-another-brew-day-pics-99893/) but used a little bit of lemon zest on top of the orange. I used probably half the amount of lemon than I did orange, and the lemon came through much more than the orange. It was still drinkable, but too much lemon, and you could turn a good beer in to a bottle of corona with a lemon in the neck....

 

[Bendbiker]

This HBT recipe looks like a pretty good citrus ale. I have been meaning to brew this one for a long time and it sounds like what you are talking about making.....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/cascades-orange-pale-ale-84558/

 

[rollermt]

For what it's worth, I'll add to this old post for anyone doing research on making a summer beer with this idea. I was trying to make a similar beer. My goal was an American Wheat with a more noticeable "lime in the corona" flavor and less hoppy than a pale ale.

I added 2.75 oz of fresh citrus zest (1.5 oz orange, .75 oz lemon, .5 oz lime) and it was WAY too much. It smelled great at first but by the time I drank one, it tasted sour in a bad way. I would add about 25% of that next time.

I agree with DRoyLenz that it might have been the lemon (or lime) that made it so sour. Next time I'll probably just put a piece of fruit in the beer if I want it to taste that way. Hard to beat fresh slices of citrus.

 

[acidrain]

I just kicked a keg of citra pale ale. No fruit added, and yet it had so much citrus flavor, you would swear it had grapefruit added. This will be one of my "go-to" summer beers:

Citra Pale Ale
American Amber Ale
Type: All Grain
Volume: 6.00 gal

Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
11 lbs 10.1 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 87.0 %
9.3 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 2 4.3 %
9.3 oz Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 3 4.3 %
9.3 oz Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 4 4.3 %
0.50 oz Magnum [14.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 22.5 IBUs
0.25 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 6 1.6 IBUs
0.25 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 7 3.5 IBUs
0.25 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 1.0 min Hop 8 0.2 IBUs
0.25 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min Hop 9 0.4 IBUs
0.25 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min Hop 10 0.0 IBUs
0.25 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min Hop 11 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35.49 ml] Yeast 12 -
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 13 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 14 0.0 IBUs

Beer Profile

Measured Original Gravity: 1.057 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 6.2 %
Bitterness: 28.2 IBUs
Calories: 189.3 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 6.8 SRM

 

[day_trippr]

I was going to suggest not using any actual fruit, but using Cascade, Citra and Simcoe for a cornucopia of citrus...

Cheers!

 

[seigex]

How much zest or dried peel is typically used in another recipe? I think with lime lemon and orange it might be a pretty good summer ale. Of course with Cascade it would also impart a citrus aroma/flavor.

I made what I thought would be an IPA using lots of cascade hops (my own attempt at a recipe) years ago and ended up being a very citrusy high-abv pale ale.. turned out great .. blew the keg playing beer pong with some very impressed neighbors

 

[Bamsdealer]

Make your house pale and sub in.5 lb honey malt for crystal and all your hops from 20 min on should be a combination of citra centennial and cascade. Dont be shy with them either. Safer than toying with zest or fruit. If you want the fresh citrus use a lime or lemon wedge when serving... a la corona