Help....needs lemon

I just pulled a pint off of my newly carbonated wheat beer and realized that it needs something else. It tastes good but a little too "plain" so I added a slice of lemon to my pint and nailed it on the head. My question is how do I go about adding lemons to my 5 gallon keg without getting an infection? Soak in vodka?? How many lemons do you think it will take? One slice (1/8) of a lemon was good for a pint. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Just kinda guessing here, but if you would like to add some lemon to your keg...I vote go for it. I would simply bleed off the pressure in the keg, maybe a few times over a few hours. Chill a couple of lemons, cut them in half and squeeze them into the keg, at this stage in the process, i feel that the risk of infection is low. the beer is cold and fresh lemon juice I would guess is fairly "bug" resistant.

Additionally, if the keg is kept cold this should keep any nasties in check. How long do plan on serving this stuff anyway?

If you are looking for a citrus type flavor, how about dry-hopping your wheat beer with a citrusy hop? While dry hopping mostly affects aroma, aroma affects taste. I put 1/2 ounce of Amarillo in my wheat beer, and it smell good (still needs another week in the keg until I taste it).

Don't add citrus fruit or juice directly to your keg. It will taste great for about a day, then probably go a little rancid.

Instead, either try McK's suggestion, or boil about 1 Tbsp of lemon rind in 1 cup of water for about 5 minutes. Cool, and add this "tea" to the keg a little bit at a time until you reach the desired flavor profile.

Yuri_Rage said:

Don't add citrus fruit or juice directly to your keg. It will taste great for about a day, then probably go a little rancid.

Instead, either try McK's suggestion, or boil about 1 Tbsp of lemon rind in 1 cup of water for about 5 minutes. Cool, and add this "tea" to the keg a little bit at a time until you reach the desired flavor profile.

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I agree, or you could add the lemon peel to some vodka and wait a few days - but the boil method should be quicker.

I don't think the peels would go rancid though, they would be in a refridgerated keg right? I've added them, for too long though, directly into a saison in secondary and it turned out fine(needed time to mellow though).

Lemon peel alone should be ok. It's just the flesh of the fruit or the juice that you want to avoid.

Thanks guys, looks like I'll be boiling some lemon peels tonight!

Lemon extract? Never tried..but was going to add some to my first wheat ale...I would suggest to GO SLOWLY a drop at a time...

-JMW

I'd be tempted to buy a new bottle of lemon juice and use that. It in all likelihood has been pastuerized. I'd crack open a fresh bottle, measure some into a glass and add your beer. Try this several times to adjust the flavor to your taste and then scale it up.

I've never done this but I'd bet you could just add the zest of few lemons to the fermenter after fermentation has subsided.

pjj2ba said:

I'd be tempted to buy a new bottle of lemon juice and use that.

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Have you ever tasted that stuff? IMHO, it's AWFUL. I wouldn't put it in my beer. If you like the way it tastes when added to iced tea or other beverages, by all means, give it a shot.

Why not buy some lemons, slice one up and put in a plastic baggy in the fridge. Add a slice to each pint as you drink. It'll be fresh and make a nice presentation on the glass.

Yuri_Rage said:

Have you ever tasted that stuff? IMHO, it's AWFUL. I wouldn't put it in my beer. If you like the way it tastes when added to iced tea or other beverages, by all means, give it a shot.

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I know, I rarely use it myself. I only use it for emergencies when I need a lemon, but don't have any fresh lemons around. BUT, if one was particularly nervous about infection, this is probably the safest bet, and it would be easy to test with. If it weren't already primed, it might be interesting to prime a beer with frozen lemonade concentrate (undiluted)