Would you like a lemon with that?

[Rhoobarb]

... The waiter comes back and it's got an orange in it . Now that one I've never had....

I have seen that recently and thought it odd. Then, I thought, "Well it might be an interesting twist (no play on words intended) for those who like a lemon with their beer."

 

[kenmc]

As for lemon slices...I saw this done in Germany many years ago, but ONLY WHERE AMERICAN'S WERE STATIONED!!! DUH!!! The Germans don't do it!!

Well in The Netherlands, both Hoegaarden and Wikse Witte come with lemon by default. They even have little masher tools to stamp the lemon slice in the bottom of your glass to extract the juice. The locals and tourists alike get the same treatment.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Then it's a Belgian thing?

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

either way, fruit in beer just doesn't jive w/ me for some reason. guess that's why i'm not to crazy about belgian ales......
my brother works w/ several German's @ BASF and they all like their wheat brews w/ a slice of lemon....except the dunkel weis.

sorry for the rant. just pushed the wrong buttons at the right time.

no more, i promise! :~)

 

[homebrewer_99]

No problem here.

I've seen both ways. I prefer my beer plain.

If I want fruit, I'll eat fruit.

 

[loopmd]

Well, Fellas

Here in the state of Nebraska your Hefe comes with orange in it unless you request lemon. Might just be a Nebraska thing. Then again, we have such a thing as a Nebraska Martini....IPA with about half a dozen olives in the glass.

cheers, loop

 

[homebrewer_99]

I bet it's a "Bartender thing"...like you're not in the know or hip if you don't push the fruit?

I see it like all the fast food places...one comes up with a good idea the other does the same, over and over, again and again, then comes the day (we're way past it already) when they all offer EXACTLY the same.

If I want chicken I'll go to a chicken place. If I want burgers (which I RARELY do - they are made of the finest USDA scrap meats and soy), I'll go to a burger place.

Sure, the "made with 100% USDA approved Grade A beef" sounds good until all the fillers are added.

Same goes for the big beer companies and all the extra ingredients they add to their "beers". We, as homebrewers, know exactly which chemical we brew with. If I want a certain chemical I'll add it myself.

 

[Sir Sudster]

(I used to work on 8", but now that I'm older it's shrinking...don't tell anyone... )

I feel your pain Man! Yeah, bring the best ya got.

 

[El Pistolero]

I thought this topic was dead...who knew it would turn into a discussion of who has the biggest bullets...and shrinkage

 

[Toilet Rocker]

check please!

 

[JillC25]

I have to say: I LOVE my wheat beers with an orange slice. Mmmmmm. Pilsner glass w/ big slice off juicy orange...

 

[andre the giant]

If you guys want to have a little political discussion, www.patriotdebate.com is a pretty fun site. I think the membership is a bit more heavily weighted towards the conservatives, but the liberals on the site are pretty outspoken. There's always someone there who's willing to be the devil's advocate.

As far as wheat beers go, I like mine sans fruit. But to each his (or her) own.

 

[beergod35]

Well guys and gals (?) I was holding off on this one. But, I decided what the heck. Most of you are talking local customs when it comes to what fruit goes in which beer. Since I am not really a local anywhere but have been all over the country. I thought I would add a cent or two.
I don't know why you would put an orange slice with a Belgian Wit, it already has orange in it. If I want orange soda I'll order a Crush, thanks. And as a wise man once pointed out to me, lemons are not native to Bavaria so when did we start putting that in a wheat ale?
Personally I think Hefe is the last beer I would add citrus fruit to. There are so many other flavors happening there, if it was made right that is. However, I am not averse to adding a slice of lime to a lawnmower beer like fill-in-the-blank mass market lager. But, while in the Philippines I noticed some of the local guys pulling fruit off a tree and putting it in their San Miguels. They are called Calamanci (sp?). It is a like a cross between a lime and an orange. Goes great with lighter beers.
What about all the other odd things that people do to beer? The half beer, half tomatoe juice concoction called the Colorado Bulldog? Or the half lemonade, half beer drink called the Shandy? There is also the half cider, half lager thingy that I don't recall the name of right now.

 

[Wayne Havens]

When I was in Germany, no one there added anything to my Hefeweisen. They added that to Crystal weisen, not hefe. And I drank hefe by the case. It was cool, I had beer guy that would come to my apt twice a week just like the old style milk man. He would take my empties and leave me a fresh case. The oddest thing I have seen was the German girls liked to drink cola-beer. Half coke and half beer. It is not bad with German pilsner. Not my type of drink, but still drinkable. A friend of mine got drunk once and tried that with bud. VERY NASTY!!

 

[Cheesefood]

This summer in Amsterdam, they put a lemon in each White we ordered, and gave us an ingenious plastic muddler. Now, I'm not one for fruit in my beer. I'll tolerate the orange as it gives me something to snack on, but as for a lemon? Sorry, I'll order a Mike's if I want a fruit flavored hooch, and trust me: I don't like hooch.

I think that fruit shoudl be allowed to ferment IN the beer, so as to add to the character, but not be added to it posthumously. If you put fruit in wine, you have Sangria which is delicious in it's own right, but it's not wine. If you order a brandy and they put fruit in it, you have an old-fashioned, not a brandy. So what should we call a beer with tasty bits of fruit in it? It's not fair to call it beer, since under Reinheingsjdihfihweirngwijjadgfoahdsfbot, beer can only have barley, water, yeast and hops. We need a new name for this new-fangled cocktail.

 

[Wayne Havens]

How about sissybrew?

 

[Dragonfly]

try takin a pitcher of extra-black java porter n add a whole diced mango....



mmmmm

 

[AlaskaAl(e)]

If you need to add fruit to a beer to make it drinkable, then you shouldn't drink it at all.

 

[Somerville]

I also went to Amsterdam this summer and got the slice of lemon in a Hoegaarden with the masher...you know...Hoegaarden really isnt very..."beery"..its very citrusey...Im not going to lie to ya, on a hot day, a glass of ice cold Hoegaarden with a lemony taste to it really quenches the thirst...Its not very traditional, but not being traditional is how you discover new great things...some ideas die, some ideas grow
Uh...yeah...

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

i need to make a correction to my post. they guy's my brother works with that i thought were from Germany, are actually Belgian (from the Bruge area). hence the lemon w/ the whit (not weis).

sorry guy's!

 

[Rhoobarb]

... The oddest thing I have seen was the German girls liked to drink cola-beer. Half coke and half beer....

I used to work with a man originally from the UK who was in his 70's. He drank a 50/50 mix of either 7-up or ginger ale and beer - usually a pale ale or light lager. He said there was a name for it in the UK, but I can't recall what he told me it was.

 

[AHammer16]

When I was in Germany they wer drinking coke w/ beer they called it diesel. They also drank beer and sprite and called it a raddler i think. I just couldn't get past the flavor of the 2 combined. But they drank it like water.

 

[snaproll]

I usually get upset when they put lemon in my beer and tell them please don t do that again. If I wanted lemonade I'd have asked for it.
and don't get me started on Bush. ( what a weasel)

 

[andre the giant]

I agree Snaproll, Busch sucks. I never drink the stuff...

As for our president, I'd say he's no better or worse than anyone in the last 100 years. Our government is comprised of weasels, on both sides of the aisle.

 

[El Pistolero]

I'll drink to that...without the lemon, please.

 

[gijake1]

when i was in germany they always served hefewiesen with an orange slice, never seen it with a lemon slice until i came back to the states. I think i like the orange better. they also made colawiesen with about 3/4 hefe and 1/4 coke or bananawiesen with banana juice. colawiesen is good stuff, never could get used to the bananawiesen though.

 

[reinkingg]

In Spain you can ask for a "Cañita with soda" and you´ll get Half Lager beer and half lemon soda this tastes great and is quite refreshing.
In Mexico we drink "Chelada" and "Michelada" this is a glass with salt and chilli on the edge kind of like the margarita thing, then add ice and lemon juice and lager beer for michelada. For the chelada we use the same as above plus also we add maggi sauce, worchestershire sauce, tabasco sauce and pepper and lager beer. We end up with a very poppular refreshing-hot drink. When ever you come to Mexico try at least one.

 

[SteveM]

Once when I was in Germany, a guy I was travellling with, not mindful of the minor language barrier, ordered a cold beer. It was his first time there and he was concerned that they served beers warm (despite my reassurances). While the rest of us were sipping our Altes, Pils or Hefes, he was trying to suck down a half coke. half beer. The waitress had mistaken his order for a cola beer. Experience can be a good teacher!

Oddly enough, though, I had never been served a Hefe with lemon, either here in the states or in Germany, until yesterday. My wife and I were out to eat and the place we were eating had Paulaner (sp?) Hefe on tap. Served in the authentic German half liter glass, too. With lemon. No thanks on the lemon, but it obviously varies from place to place.

 

[Wayne Havens]

The weirdest thing happened to me friday. My wife and I were checking out a new restaurant in town called Smokey Bones BBQ and Grill. I was delighted to notice they served Blue Moon on tap. That is an american made Belgian White. When they brought me the glass it had an orange slice in it.

 

[Kephren]

That's normal for Blue Moon. I do the same with my Wit I have on tap now. It makes sense since they use orange peel in the brew. I think it compliments it nicely. Other's hate it. I hated it the first time I tried it, but I guess the same can be said for beer in general

 

[snaproll]

I spent 3 1/2 years in Germany and I don't ever recall drinking a Hefe Wiesen beer, but I was young and dumb ( yes even dumber than now) and probably wouldn't have known the difference anyway, I mean it was beer. Paulaner is one of my favorites now, and if you know of a place to get it on tap I can't imagine going anywhere else to eat, at least IMHO
I have managed to brew a batch or so that closely mimics it, needless to say it didn't last long.

 

[El Pistolero]

The weirdest thing happened to me friday. My wife and I were checking out a new restaurant in town called Smokey Bones BBQ and Grill. I was delighted to notice they served Blue Moon on tap. That is an american made Belgian White. When they brought me the glass it had an orange slice in it.

Hey Wayne...what did you think of SB? We tried it thursday...it was nice they had Blue Moon and Killian's on tap, and the BBQ was as least adequate.

 

[Wayne Havens]

We really liked the place. I liked the fact that the whole place is non-smoking. The waitstaff did a great job.

 

[El Pistolero]

Yep, the service was excellent, and with the big screens everywhere and no smoking, I may just have to watch some football there. My only complaint...there were three different sauces on the table, and not one of them was even fit for a yankee.

 

[SwAMi75]

My only complaint...there were three different sauces on the table, and not one of them was even fit for a yankee.

I've eaten there once, and I thought the same thing. The ribs were dry and sticky.....and this was in Alabama! Note that they're owned by the same outfit that owns Red Lobster and Olive Garden.

 

[El Pistolero]

I've eaten there once, and I thought the same thing. The ribs were dry and sticky.....and this was in Alabama! Note that they're owned by the same outfit that owns Red Lobster and Olive Garden.

Bummer! I hate red lobster ...almost as much as spammers.

 

[SwAMi75]

Bummer! I hate red lobster ...almost as much as spammers.

So do I. I haven't eaten at an Olive Garden recently enough to have an opinion.

What sucks is Smokey Bones started out as a little BBQ shack in Georgia, if memory serves. They had quite a reputation. Just goes to show that just as in the beer world, big business can screw up anything good.

 

[Wayne Havens]

Yep, the service was excellent, and with the big screens everywhere and no smoking, I may just have to watch some football there. My only complaint...there were three different sauces on the table, and not one of them was even fit for a yankee.

The sauce left a lot to be desired. The best thing was, they had to change the keg before I got my first Blue Moon, so I got a fresh beer!

 

[kneemoe]

My only complaint...there were three different sauces on the table, and not one of them was even fit for a yankee.

geeze, our sauces suck, we apparently put fruit in our beers (tho you wont see that round here) damn glad we done *something* right round here
oh wait, that hasn't even been acknowledged!

 

[El Pistolero]

I've acknowledged your pizza.

And by the way...I didn't say that was your sauce...just said it wasn't fit for a yankee. A met might like it just fine.