Would you like a lemon with that?

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Baron von BeeGee said:
Touched a nerve! Espresso sucks with lemon in it, but bad espresso can be made palatable with a squeeze of lemon. Kind of like I can drink instant coffee at my in-laws' house if I hold my nose and chug it (purely out of necessity).

Sorry...I was a coffee snob even before I was a beer snob :D

True, good espresso needs nothing, and I'm a coffee snob too. I generally don't put anything in my espresso every week or two when I get around to making some after dinner. Although I don't roast my own beans yet, I do have a blend for regular coffee and a blend for espresso prepared to my specifications by a local coffee specialty store. I plan to buy a roaster eventually.

My main wish was to give examples to counter the idea that adding lemon to beer necessarily means that the beer must be bad. Posole and menudo are great soups, are they not? And are they not made better by the addition of lime?
 
Posole sometimes is...I ain't eatin' no menudo with lime or not! ;)

BTW, I roast my own coffee with a hot air popcorn popper I bought at a thrift shop for $0.75. Might not be as fancy as one of the purpose built ones, but it gets the joob done! Besides, with what I spent on my espresso machine there's no way my wife would go for an actual roaster.
 
I love Weizenbiers, but I never put fruit in my bier. It's not in accordance to the Reinheitsgebot (German Beer Purity Law) dating back to 1516.

However, living in Texas, I will put lime in my Dos XX's, but fruit in my German Wheat beers, NEVER!
 
My espresso machine is a Starbucks Barista Athena. It works quite well, except that the frothing wand (which I seldom use) is too short. What I'd really like, though, is a commercial Faema E98 with a plumbed-in filtered water supply. Then I'd be making espresso all the time!
 
Yeah, I used to have the Gaggia version of that Starbucks machine and the wand is definitely to short (har har). I used part of my bonus a few years ago to get an Isomac Millenium which I love. I tried to buy a commercial Gaggia machine (2 group) from a campground in the mountains, but they decided to keep it. It would have dominated the counter, anyways.
 
Baron von BeeGee said:
Yeah, I used to have the Gaggia version of that Starbucks machine and the wand is definitely to short (har har). I used part of my bonus a few years ago to get an Isomac Millenium which I love. I tried to buy a commercial Gaggia machine (2 group) from a campground in the mountains, but they decided to keep it. It would have dominated the counter, anyways.

That Isomac Millenium is one sweet hunk of metal Baron!
 
I read all 13 pages to date of this thread, and I'm quite certain that I'm not going to sway many opinions. However, I'll share mine anyway.

Given the choice, I'd like to sample any beer, including weizens, wits, and wheats (oh my!), without fruit or other additions. After that, I'll decide if I'd like to include the fruit. Some beer IS so bad that it's better to just squeeze a bunch of lemon, lime, or orange juice into it.

Generally, though, I enjoy a thin slice of lemon floating on top of a wheat beer and ESPECIALLY a thin slice of orange floating on a wit. It gives a fresh citrusy nose to the beer, but if you keep the slice thin and avoid squeezing, it won't impart much flavor.

IMHO, most Mexican lagers almost NEED a substantial hunk of lime, squeezed. I like them that way. However, I will try any of them ONCE without the lime, just to make sure I'm not missing out on a great standalone beer.
 
EdWort said:
I love Weizenbiers, but I never put fruit in my bier. It's not in accordance to the Reinheitsgebot (German Beer Purity Law) dating back to 1516.
Isn't a weizen, by definition, not in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot? I thought wheat in bier was verboten...
 
The lemon in beer discussion was previosly settled during the "men of the square table" discussion in late 2006. According to Sir Burt Reynolds, you might as well pour a beer into a coconut, stick a straw umbrella into it and call it a "beerocolada". The verdict came through as "DON'T FRUIT THE BEER"........man law...
 
If it's a Choice between beer with fruit and no beer... No decision, fruit it up, Baby!
For the record, Blue Moon is one of my Favorite commercial beers (I had it served at my wedding, in the dark days before the homebrew era came to my house), but I've never tried it with an orange or anything else in it. However: Every time I have had a beer with lemon in it on tap, I tend to get a nasty acidic reaction in the corner of my mouth after a few (and let's face it, who ever has just a few???) Makes it hard to enjoy, so I usually skip it. And don't get me started on Corona...
 
If I receive a beer with fruit that I didn't ask for I will send it back. Admittedly, my girlfriend rolls her eyes when I do this so to prevent the charade I usually specify, "No fruit". Sometimes they still bring it. <groan>

The next step is to go to a 'real bar' instead. Y'know, the one where ya hafta check yer guns at the door. Seriously. My philosophy is; If you like fruit in your beer, fine. Just don't assume everyone else likes it any more than they'd like a paper umbrella in their straight-up Tequila.

I'm really pretty mellow. Just don't put any g*dd*m* fruit in my freakin* beer.

Peace, Love, Music
 
:off: from the coffee talk...

Here's my espresso machine (Cuban coffee maker):
coffee02.jpg


and my greek coffee maker (not Turkish, the wife is Greek! Cypriot to be precise.)
greek_coffee_measure.jpg
 
No fruit for me, put it on the side if you must.

I remember back in the 80's when Tecate, Corona and all the other MexiSwills were making a big marketing push into the Anglo market. At the time a buddy of mine in Texas said that they served these beers "with a lime to kill the bad taste!" That comment has always stuck with me!:)
 
orfy said:
Quite a few people in the UK drink crappy draft larger with a dash of lime in it.

MMMMMM. Wonder if that's why Brits are called Limies?

A long time ago (wooden ships and iron men) they figured out that limes prevented scurvy (vitamin C)...
 
I like my wheats with and without lemon. If I am at a bar, I'll take the lemon. I don't keep lemon on hand at home so I do without, much like last night. :cross:

Curious question for the fruit peeps. Lemon in a dark wheat? I've never tried it and am afraid to.
 
The thing I don't like about the lemon in the Hefe, is it seems to kill that nice ice cream cone head which is one of the things I love about it. I read in Germany they sometimes add a sprig of some odd herb, although I cannot recall the name of it. It tastes good (the lemon) but for the head reason, I don't like it.
 
The purists, especially those who brew the stuff in Germany, tend to frown upon the addition of lemon, as they feel the beer needs no additional flavor. I always drink my wheat beers sans lemon so I can enjoy the intended product.
 
ayrton said:
The purists, especially those who brew the stuff in Germany, tend to frown upon the addition of lemon, as they feel the beer needs no additional flavor. I always drink my wheat beers sans lemon so I can enjoy the intended product.


Hey central PA, whereabouts? I work for Penn State (University park).

Personally, It has been a very long time since I've had lemon in mine. The last time was in a Club Weiss years ago.
 
For those of you who drink wheats and Hefeweizens but think it is "unmanly" to put fruit in your beer, aren't you contradicting yourself? Don't those styles have a banana flavor to begin with?
 
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