Adding lime juice to beer

Thinking of a trying a lime beer. Still using beer kits. Went to LHBS and they did not have lime extract. Would the lime juice that comes in the plastic bottle shaped like a lime work? Thinking of splitting a 5 gallon batch so it would be 2.5 gallons. Any suggestions on how much to use? Should I add it to primary, secondary or at bottling?
Was going to make Mexican cerveza. Would this make a decent lime beer?
Thanks.

Like zest and or the skin would be best. I've added fresh lemon skins at flameout and directly into the fermentor with good results

Yes, I would avoid using the juice- fermented citrus juice can taste a little acidic or bile-y. Zest is where it's at! I like to soak mine in a bit of vodka to sanitize and extract flavor before adding to the secondary, bottling bucket, or keg.

For a 5 gal batch, I used the zest of 7limes (no skin), and after primary fermentation, added a bottle of Limeade. I soaked the lime zest in a little bit of rum to sterilize. Lime flavor was great, although maybe a little on the strong side, but that's what I was aiming for. There is a recipe for a lime wheat in the database that was my inspiration.

Thanks for tips. About the lime zest, will it just sink to bottom? Just wonder wondering when it comes time to bottle, will there be bits of the peel in the beer?

I cold crash for 2 days, and I didn't get bits of zest in my beer.

daksin said:

I would avoid using the juice- fermented citrus juice can taste a little acidic or bile-y.

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I don't know about in beer, but I've got a wild ferment going on with freshly squeezed Rangpur (tangerine-lemon hybrid) juice, and once the sugars were fermented, the stuff tastes like straight stomach acid. Blech!

The zests are definitely what to use here, and I'd use them right at flameout. Just make sure to use enough. In my Rangpur wit, I used 60 grams of peeled zest in 7 gallons, and it barely came through. It was about a softball-sized mound of pure zest, 12 fruits if I remember correctly. I'm going to triple or quadruple it for next year's harvest.

Get a potato peeler and peel only the green from the fruits. Shoot for about 4 oz. You can dose the fermenter later if it isn't enough. Use other people's advice as far as sanitation, cold-crashing, etc.

No juice, only zest. Zest a few limes, then soak the zest in a couple ounces of vodka for a day, then add the flavored vodka to your beer. Voila.

dmtaylor said:

No juice, only zest. Zest a few limes, then soak the zest in a couple ounces of vodka for a day, then add the flavored vodka to your beer. Voila.

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Would doing that with lemons give you the same effect of a Lemon Shandy?

I have a request by my wife to produce that, and I'm looking for a simple recipe. I'm thinking a simple wheat or maybe pilsner with that lemon flavor added?

I also like the lime zest thing. Lime shandy? I was on a brief vacation to Mexico recently and the Corona plus Lime wedge is a nice refreshing hot weather drink.

PS: I'm neither a lemon NOR a lime shandy drinker.

+1 on the zest and vodka.

Shandys are made to order by mixing beer with juice, or beer with lemonade.

mongoose33 said:

Would doing that with lemons give you the same effect of a Lemon Shandy?

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Well, a shandy contains actual juice. The zest thing works even better if you ask me -- all of the flavor without the tartness. If you want the tart shandy thing, go for it. If you want a citrus flavored beer, then just use the zest.

Zest & vodka tincture will work great with any citrus. My friends and I have done this with lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit, etc. Works great.

dmtaylor said:

Well, a shandy contains actual juice. The zest thing works even better if you ask me -- all of the flavor without the tartness. If you want the tart shandy thing, go for it. If you want a citrus flavored beer, then just use the zest.

Zest & vodka tincture will work great with any citrus. My friends and I have done this with lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit, etc. Works great.

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I'll experiment with this. Next time I have a suitable beer I'll put it in a small keg 1.75-gallon keg I have and see how I do with the zest/vodka tincture.

By the way, the vodka tincture thing works for all sorts of other ingredients, too. I have also used it for herbs, spices, and my locally famous jalapeno porter. Been doing this for many many years.

I have the imperial (lime) blonde ale, from the recipe section, in secondary right now.
Added the zest of 2 limes during boil, and racked onto limeade and the juice of 2 limes.
When racking I siphoned into my 5 gal glass carboy and wound up with more beer than would fit in the carboy, was also expecting a secondary fermentation from all the new sugars so I left some head space. Found an empty vodka bottle and filled that.
Still had beer in the primary, wound up siphoning into a glass and enjoyed the leftovers. tasted great for a warm, flat, green beer.

dmtaylor said:

No juice, only zest. Zest a few limes, then soak the zest in a couple ounces of vodka for a day, then add the flavored vodka to your beer. Voila.

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How many limes would suggest to get subtle lime note in a 5gal batch? Can the tincture just be added to the bottling bucket?

mattdee1 said:

How many limes would suggest to get subtle lime note in a 5gal batch? Can the tincture just be added to the bottling bucket?

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Yes, you can just add the tincture at bottling. The last time I made a lime beer I used the zest from just half a lime in 6 gallons. I don't know how I came up with that because needless to say, it really wasn't enough. If I did it again I would use probably 2-3 limes worth in 5-6 gallons. Somewhere in that ballpark will give you a subtle flavor, not overpowering. If you want a lot of it, then use a little more, maybe 3-4 limes worth.

Added the lime zest last night when I racked to the secondary. I split the batch, added the zest of 4 limes to about 2.5-3 gallons.
Just a couple quick questions. Most people said soak it in vodka for a night. I only had a drop of vodka, so I added that but also used some rum. Will this make any difference?
My other question is when it comes to racking to the priming bucket. If there is still lime zest floating, is it ok to use a cheese cloth or some other type of cloth over the siphon hose to keep it out of the bucket?

Rum will work great.

If a little zest ends up in the bucket or even in one of your bottles, don't worry, it should be just fine.

The most important thing: How does it taste with the lime rum in there?!?

AAAIIIEEE! Lime juice in my beer! (the purist in me screams and runs away)

Do you add the vodka to the fermentor as well or just the zest?

I have to admit, I have a certain affinity for the worst beer in the universe - Bud Light Lime. Every time I see these threads about limes it makes me want to try and brew my own clone.

I'll admit that sometimes when it gets crazy got here I like to put a little lime in my lager. I've tried to do it to a whole keg and the flavor is never right. So, the best way to do it is to pour a beer, slice a lime, and introduce the two. You'll have the best results this way.

If it's too much work to cut a lime each time, well that's what children are for.

search citra cerveza billy. no need for those ****ty fruits when u got good hops.

Lemon juice added at bottling worked awesome for me for a sort-of-shandy recipe. It was 6 lemons juiced in a 3 gal batch for reference. I also did lemon zest at flame out and dry hopped with lemon drop hops.