adding Lime to an American Ale

[JediMaster77]

I want to infuse lime in my next extract batch of an American ale.

my previous Grapefruit Pale Ale came out nicely by using the zest of 3 grapefruits in the boil for 50 min. no secondary in that recipe.

im inclined to use this method again however ive read that I can add juice at time of bottling instead as long as I account for the sugar content against my priming sugar.

is one better than the other? do any of you have a preference based on past experience?

 

[klinus]

I can imagine they add different types of lime taste. I made a super small experiment batch (5L), and added little less that the zest of one small lime, just grated with a cheese grater @5 minutes.
It was way too much, now after about two months in the bottle it kind of mellowed, but its still kind of a hard, spicey lime taste. I imagine lime juice would be softer, like what you get from a wedge of lime in a corona... 😬

 

[JediMaster77]

well the verdict is in. I added the zest of 4 limes for 75 min of a 90 min boil, 1 week in the primary then added 16oz of lime juice to the secondary for a week, then bottled.

it came out to my liking, nice lime flavor on the back end. it can definitely be refined but as a first attempt surpassed my expectations