Lemon Zest in an IPA

gcdowd · Jul 11, 2011

I am in process of crafting my own IPA recipe and wanted to add some sort of flavor. I thought lemon would give it a nice refreshing taste for summer, though I don't want it to be overpowering. Anyone use lemon zest at all? If so, how much would you use? And would you add it to the boil or throw it in the fermenter once FG has been reached? Any thoughts would be great. Thanks!

JoePro · Jul 11, 2011

Soak a quarter cup of lemon zest in 3/4 cup of vodka for a week or so. Then either rack you beer onto the zest or just add it to primary.

But for an IPA? I'm not too sure that works out so hot.

Irrenarzt · Jul 11, 2011

How about dry hopping with some Sorachi Ace instead? That's a lemony hop.

McGarnigle · Jul 11, 2011

Maybe add it to the bottles on bottling day, and do it only for some of them just to see how it goes.

gcdowd · Jul 11, 2011

JoePro said:
Soak a quarter cup of lemon zest in 3/4 cup of vodka for a week or so. Then either rack you beer onto the zest or just add it to primary.

But for an IPA? I'm not too sure that works out so hot.

Why don't you think it'll work? Any suggestions on what flavors might work better?

gcdowd · Jul 11, 2011

McGarnigle said:
Maybe add it to the bottles on bottling day, and do it only for some of them just to see how it goes.

Not a bad idea. I assume there is little to no fermentable sugars in the zest that would create a bottle bomb, correct?

JoePro · Jul 11, 2011

gcdowd said:
Why don't you think it'll work? Any suggestions on what flavors might work better?

The primary thing you're gonna get out of lemon zest is bitterness-- and I would search for something that would maybe round out that bitterness. A drop or two of lemon juice, in my opinion, would make for a tastier, better beer. Also, some lemony hops would be a great idea too. I would just be hesitant about showcasing the bitterness of the beer.

gcdowd · Jul 11, 2011

JoePro said:
The primary thing you're gonna get out of lemon zest is bitterness-- and I would search for something that would maybe round out that bitterness. A drop or two of lemon juice, in my opinion, would make for a tastier, better beer. Also, some lemony hops would be a great idea too. I would just be hesitant about showcasing the bitterness of the beer.

Good point. Maybe I mis-spoke when I says zest. I wanted the lemon taste, not the bitterness. How should I add lemon juice?

JoePro · Jul 11, 2011

gcdowd said:
Good point. Maybe I mis-spoke when I says zest. I wanted the lemon taste, not the bitterness. How should I add lemon juice?

It really depends on your baseline IPA character. I would take a few small sample volumes of your beer before bottling and add precise amounts of lemon juice to your beer and whichever tastes best I'd scale it up and go with that one!

I've had some IPA made with a tiny touch of lemon juice. It was a delicious combination. Be sure not to use too much. Ingredients should enhance the beer first and foremost, so if the lemon doesn't contribute to the beer profile, you might want to consider another route.

But it would be easiest to add the lemon juice when you boil the solution with the priming sugar-- that way it's boiled off and sanitized. Let us know how it turns out!

gcdowd · Jul 11, 2011

JoePro said:
It really depends on your baseline IPA character. I would take a few small sample volumes of your beer before bottling and add precise amounts of lemon juice to your beer and whichever tastes best I'd scale it up and go with that one!

I've had some IPA made with a tiny touch of lemon juice. It was a delicious combination. Be sure not to use too much. Ingredients should enhance the beer first and foremost, so if the lemon doesn't contribute to the beer profile, you might want to consider another route.

But it would be easiest to add the lemon juice when you boil the solution with the priming sugar-- that way it's boiled off and sanitized. Let us know how it turns out!

Thanks. I think I'm gonna try that!

gcdowd · Jul 11, 2011

Are there fermentable sugars in lemon juice? Probably need to account for that....

JoePro · Jul 11, 2011

gcdowd said:
Are there fermentable sugars in lemon juice? Probably need to account for that....

I think there are only sugars in lemon juice that's from concentrate. Otherwise, they're too small to take into account. Plus it's not like you'll be adding a considerable amount of lemon juice to your beer. You don't want to overpower it =)

gcdowd · Jul 11, 2011

Rock on. Thanks!

Zamial · Jul 11, 2011

Lemon juice IMO is a BAD idea. Here is why...It raises the acidity in the fermentation and that can stress the yeast. You can end up with some sulfurous smells in your finished beer. Unless you plan to force carb, degas and then recarb it you may be stuck with it, if it happens. (Check out Skeeter Pee, it is a lemon wine for more lemon info than you ever wanted to know...)

If this was me, I would zest up a lemon and drop in the zest @ 15 and another lemons worth of zest at 0 (flameout) let it ferment and taste it. You can always add more lemon into a secondary if it is not lemony enough for you.

I recently did an IPA with grapefruit zest as I mentioned above. I would tell you how it tastes but it is still fermenting...

Tinga · Jul 11, 2011

never heard of lemon but i have heard of using grapefruit to accent the grapefruit hop flavors of cascade and centennial

gcdowd · Jul 11, 2011

Zamial said:
Lemon juice IMO is a BAD idea. Here is why...It raises the acidity in the fermentation and that can stress the yeast. You can end up with some sulfurous smells in your finished beer. Unless you plan to force carb, degas and then recarb it you may be stuck with it, if it happens. (Check out Skeeter Pee, it is a lemon wine for more lemon info than you ever wanted to know...)

If this was me, I would zest up a lemon and drop in the zest @ 15 and another lemons worth of zest at 0 (flameout) let it ferment and taste it. You can always add more lemon into a secondary if it is not lemony enough for you.

I recently did an IPA with grapefruit zest as I mentioned above. I would tell you how it tastes but it is still fermenting...

Well I don't plan on doing this anytime soon so I'd love to hear how your grapefruit went when it's done.

bovineblitz · Jul 11, 2011

I've had excellent success with fresh zest added at 5min left in the boil

gcdowd · Jul 11, 2011

bovineblitz said:
I've had excellent success with fresh zest added at 5min left in the boil

Was it too bitter? How much did you use?

bovineblitz · Jul 11, 2011

gcdowd said:
Was it too bitter? How much did you use?

Wasn't really bitter at all. It was a 50ibu wheat, wanted it to be fairly hoppy but I don't think the zest contributed to the bitterness at all. I used a TON:

3 minneola oranges, 3 blood oranges, 2 limes, 2 honey tangerines, 3 lemons, 3 navel oranges, 1 white grapefruit

I zested it myself so it shouldn't really contribute bitterness, there's no pith like with the dried stuff you can buy.

gcdowd · Jul 11, 2011

Wow, pretty intense. I applaud your efforts.

Lemon Zest in an IPA

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