13 replies to this topic

[djinkc]

Whatcha mixing?  Grapefruit juice is still a fave here.  Never thought I would like this.  Boulevard makes a really nice one with a little ginger.

 

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

My lemon grisette won peoples choice at my club's keg only comp. 5% Saison with juice and peel of 5 lemons in the keg plus a bit of citric acid. Super tasty and refreshing.

[djinkc]

My lemon grisette won peoples choice at my club's keg only comp. 5% Saison with juice and peel of 5 lemons in the keg plus a bit of citric acid. Super tasty and refreshing.

 

That sounds really tasty.  It was a year or two ago we mixed some Saison I made with some citrus for  afternoon patio/pool suds.  Sadly, no Saisons since then..........

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

It can be quick. 1.045 to 1.008 with 3724 and a heat wrap @80F for 7 days.

[Big Nake]

I had a few Radlers in Europe and noticed they came in orange, lemon, grapefruit and lime as well as "citrus" which suggests a mix of one or more. We tried making some when we got home but we couldn't get the "mix" right. We tried lemonade, Lemon La Croix, Squirt and a few other combinations and we weren't crazy about any of them. I have done lemon zest in a blonde ale which was nice (zest in the secondary and you could squeeze a lemon wedge into the glass too). We can get Stiegl Radler at one of the better bottle shops here so there's that too.

[Big Nake]

My apologies to DJ if I derail this thread... 

I was standing in my LHBS on Friday afternoon and saw a small bottle of citric acid.  I rubbed my chin a little and noticed that it was by some other bottles of 'stuff' that looked like it was more for wine than beer.  But it got me thinking... what applications are there for citric acid in the beer world?  Would it instantly turn your beer into a lemon bomb or could you use it in some amount to just give a slight tartness and refreshing snap to something like a blonde ale or something?  What amount of citric acid should be used in 5 gallons of beer if you just wanted a hint of it? 

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

I used 15 grams in 5 gallons to give the beer a sharp/tart lemonaid like quality.

[TAPPER]

2/3 "blonde" beer (blonde ale, weiss beer, lager, etc.)

Just a splash under 1/3 7-up (sprite, whatever)

splash of lemonade

[Big Nake]

2/3 "blonde" beer (blonde ale, weiss beer, lager, etc.)Just a splash under 1/3 7-up (sprite, whatever)splash of lemonade

Mmm, sounds like a winner.

I used 15 grams in 5 gallons to give the beer a sharp/tart lemonaid like quality.

Okay so when did you add it and what impact did it have on pH? 15 grams sounds like A LOT of citric acid to me but I don't know, clearly. Thanks for the reply.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

Mmm, sounds like a winner.Okay so when did you add it and what impact did it have on pH? 15 grams sounds like A LOT of citric acid to me but I don't know, clearly. Thanks for the reply.

 

I didn't check the pH, I was only concerned with taste. I did a test run with 500 ml of beer and extrapolated from there. The citric acid was dissolved in a quarter cup of warm water then added it to the keg. It was pretty tart but more like a nice lemon-aid than a sour beer.

[Big Nake]

I didn't check the pH, I was only concerned with taste. I did a test run with 500 ml of beer and extrapolated from there. The citric acid was dissolved in a quarter cup of warm water then added it to the keg. It was pretty tart but more like a nice lemon-aid than a sour beer.

Interesting. Was the citric acid in powder form? I seem to remember it that way but now I can't remember. I may try this on a beer coming up. I'm envisioning a sort of "summer wheat" beer which might be 50% 2-row and 50% wheat, clean hops like Santiam or something and then a shot of the citric acid. Would it just be better to soak some lemon zest in some vodka and call it a day, use the citric acid or use both? I've been looking for something like this so I'm interested, for sure.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

Powdered/crystals really, I probably got it with some wine making stuff. Lemon zest will give you a nice lemon aroma but if you want the flavor to pop, you'd need the acid. Pull off a 2 litre of the finished beer and experiment with it.

[Big Nake]

Powdered/crystals really, I probably got it with some wine making stuff. Lemon zest will give you a nice lemon aroma but if you want the flavor to pop, you'd need the acid. Pull off a 2 litre of the finished beer and experiment with it.

Roger that.

[djinkc]

The citric acid sound interesting.  For me, I'm more interested in diluting the ABV down to 2.5% or so with citrus/water and what ever else sounds good at the time.  Kind of like low ABV Mimosa's late morning.