Berliner Weisse - w/Lime Zest?

I'm doing a 10g batch. Thought I'd use lime zest in half the batch.

Comments?

I'd say go for it. I think the style lends itself to flavoring. Another option that I would suggest before you commit 5 gallons is to make some schuss (syrup) with lime zest. Probably just simple syrup, lime zest, and maybe some lime juice. Add a shot of that to a glass of the Berliner Weisse like they do with raspberry and woodruff syrups in Berlin.

Well, I have two carboys with lacto now. I did not add the zest yet.

I tested with a commercial BW and it tasted great, but (oddly) the slight lime taste seemed to completely kill the sour... odd. So, I don't know if I'll do lime or not. Maybe need to do some more small-sample testing.

If you try a couple more, let us know if you get that same result. It seems like such a great idea, I wouldn't have imagined it would kill the sourness.

What commercial did you try? I have a really hard time getting any commercial examples.

drummerguysteve said:

If you try a couple more, let us know if you get that same result. It seems like such a great idea, I wouldn't have imagined it would kill the sourness.

What commercial did you try? I have a really hard time getting any commercial examples.

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I know. I don't know how the sour can hide, but I went back and forth and it's true. I hardly added any lime (just a couple drops from a fresh lime). Frankly, I want the sour in my berliner weisse, so if I do this test again and get the same result I'll probably just skip the lime.

1809 is the only one I can find. It's 5% ABV, which is odd for a BW.

That's the only one I can get too. It's very tasty, but 5% is ridiculously out of style.

It seems like no distributor want to bring in low ABV beer to the US.

Bummer about the lime. It seemed like such a great idea. I'll pick up a couple bottles and try zest tea or something tonight and report back. There's got to be a way to do it.

Tried it last night with juice and zest. I'd say try the zest, it worked a little better.

It does feel less sour though, which is wierd. I can't really explain it but I taste what you mean. I wouldn't say it killed the sour though. More like muffled the sour/crisp bite.

I pitched lacto a full 36 hours before the yeast. Both carboys were RIPPING by that time, so I'm hoping to have some good sour going.

I'll zest one of them, what the heck. I can always make more (man, this is a CHEAP beer to make).

Maybe Key limes tend to have more bite, and pretty cheap in season, post recipe I'd try it....

Just noticed your close if you would like second opinion happy to try1 or 2....

beaksnbeer said:

Just noticed your close if you would like second opinion happy to try1 or 2....

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If I remember (or you do), you're invited for the tasting. Can't say when exactly... not sure how fast these things sour.

So should be ready sometime after the 4th?

beaksnbeer said:

So should be ready sometime after the 4th?

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No, probably closer to the end of July. I've got 7 carboys full of beer right now that need to finish and be bottled. I won't get to these BW till later in July sometime. And, if I see a pellicle develop, I'll just let them go for while. So, the final, final answer, is I don't know.

I just added half a lime, sliced thin, to one of the BW carboys. Will test in a week and possibly add more.

passedpawn said:

I just added half a lime, sliced thin, to one of the BW carboys. Will test in a week and possibly add more.

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So any updates since the 10th?

do you think that the limes sourness is just overpowering the clean crisp tartness of the berliner weiss?

OLDBREW said:

do you think that the limes sourness is just overpowering the clean crisp tartness of the berliner weiss?

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Don't know yet. I was really shy about this so I didn't add much. There isn't much to a BW. I don't want to end up with sprite

I have 2 carboys of this, so of course I had to change one of them up a bit. You know what I mean? Gotta tinker.

I'll bottle this soon I think. I'll definitely post back here with pics and tasting comments.

Here they are (on right). Flanders Red on left.

Had a taste of both. Mild sourness, not pronounced. No pellicle, but it's only a month old.

The one with lime has a slight lime taste, not too much at all. Seems just right, but it's hard to tell before the sour develops, and before carb.

I'm vacillating on whether to bottle early and let it sour in the bottle, or leave in fermenter and sour there. I'd like to whip up some more of this... I can tell already it's gonna be fine!

The lime version of my BW turned out very nice. I can't imagine anyone not liking it. Medium sour notes in the aroma, but the lime/citrus mixes with that and makes it much more accessible to non-sour drinkers. I could drink this all day long in the summer. I've kegged a batch.

Did you ever get a pellicle? How long did you leave the BW carboys before packaging?

I'm on my phone so no link but if you go to the recipe section and look
For Lemon-lime Hefe there's a purty good recipe. <--FYI

You may have already seen it.