National Margarita Day...In a beer

[N7KMS]

I'm pretty new to brewing so thats why I'm putting this question in this forum. I've got 2.5 one gallon extract kits under my belt (one kit is still in the fermenter and is getting bottled in a couple days). I'm feeling bold and daring and want to try a recipe of my own design. Since today is National Margarita Day and my liquor cabinet is dry as a bone, I decided to try a margarita beer. I'm basing it on a blond ale and used the Tasty Brew recipe calculator to make sure it fits within the specs for that type of beer.

What I'm thinking for this recipe is this:

1 gallon batch volume
1.25 gallon boil

1.125 pounds light DME
.25 pounds 20L Crystal malt steeped
.125 pounds dark amber agave nectar (actually part of my question)

.25 ounce Cascade @ 30 minutes
.25 ounce Citra @ 1 minute

bitter or sweet orange peel in secondary
lime zest or lime juice in secondary

So I've got a couple questions:

1. How does one substitute agave nectar for honey? When I did the recipe calculator agave wasn't an option but honey was so I used that. I searched google and found that in cooking it is a direct one to one substitution (one cup for one cup).

2. When do I put it in during the boil, at the beginning or towards the end or at flameout?

3. Would bitter or sweet orange peel be better in the secondary, and how much should I use? Then should I use lime zest (organic so that it doesn't have pesticides and junk on it) or lime juice, or even leave it out all together?

4. Do my hops look ok? More or less bitter, or different varieties?

If Buttweiser can make a lime-a-rita beer then so can I! Only this one is going to be good. I'm open to suggestions.

 

[billl]

1. 1-to-1 is close enough for horse shoes - or brewing.

2. Add right at the end of the boil to sanitize.

3. Zest works well in the last 10 minutes of the boil or in the fermenter/secondary. If you are using it in secondary, take a taste every day or so to make sure it doesn't become overwhelming.

4. Hops are fine. Citra is kinda melony, so you might also consider more cascade or amarillo. All 3 could also work as a dry hop for extra citrus aroma.

 

[N7KMS]

Thanks! When I did the calculator for this recipe I put in Chinook instead of Citra for the second hop addition because the alpha acids are pretty close. I think my second choice would be Simcoe or Sorachi Ace, I kind of want to stay with the citrus-like flavors, but from what I can tell looking up Amarillo that would fit the bill too.

I had another thought. Would it hurt anything to put a shot of tequila in right before bottling? I'm mostly going for the flavor and not for alcohol content so it wouldn't take much, like literally one shot or less for the whole gallon batch.