Blonde Ale Squeeze My Lemon Summer Blonde

[echeshier]

I have a Lemon Brewing question - this weekend I brewed up a batch using a recipe I made for a Honey-Lemon Blonde ale. I used 2 fresh picked lemons. What I did was cut each lemon in half, squeezed the juice into a cup of water, added a teaspoon of sugar and boiled it. Also I added maybe a teaspoon of zest from the peel. Then strained it and added to the wort during last 2 minutes... Fermentation started the next day and smelled a little bit off - very lemony, not the best smell.

After reading this thread I think maybe using the Lemon Juice could have been bad instead of using only zest.. thoughts anyone?

 

[malagabeer]

BlindLemonLars,

I have read that you add a kind a limoncello in your second fermenter. how much or how many oz. do you exactly add to your second fermenter?

Kind Regards.

 

[msa8967]

Has anyone tried any of the following small changes with this recipe?

1. Using 0.5 oz Centennial First Wort Hops in place of 60 min boil?

2. Adding or substituting some flaked rice for some of the corn?

My swmbo likes our home brew with a bit more hops than the original posted recipe. I like the look of the original but I need to keep swmbo happy in order to keep brewing.

 

[cfry526]

Just brewed this beer, and wow did the fresh lemon zest come alive. My O.G. came in a little low, but that was just because I had to add some water to bring the primary up to where I wanted it. I am not worried about it though, I can always make another one !! I cant wait to give this a try.

 

[cfry526]

Just transfered this to the secondary and it is already very clear. Its not going to be long and this is going to be in the keg.

 

[mwhc22]

I made an extract version of this last spring and let it keg condition in the fridge for 2 months for a work party. It turned out well and It was a good summer drinker. It didn't get the praise that my other brew did... but it got drank a lot faster.

that could have something to do with the fact that my other brew was a 9% Imperial IPA and they put a skull and cross bones sticker on it to warn people of its alcohol content. :rockin:

Tasting notes on my attempt:

The extract version ended up tasting a little unbalanced in my opinion. I may try some different hops next time and maybe change up the process to get a partial mash version going as I think the grains will help the flavor balance. Don't get me wrong... the extract version i derived from this thread turned out more than decent for the average beer drinker. But as us beer snobs know... the next batch will be better!


Will report back in a few months after i get this one going in the next week or two. I may end up doing a double batch as well since i just got me a new Blingmann 15 gallon boilermaker for x-mas from SWMBO

 

[basement_brewer]

Tasting notes on my attempt:

The extract version ended up tasting a little unbalanced in my opinion. I may try some different hops next time

I'm thinking about doing an extract version of this myself since this would only be my 3rd brew. I was just wondering if you followed the extract recipe posted in this thread or if you made up your own. Also was wondering what you meant by unbalanced? too hoppy? too lemony? too malty?

Also I'm thinking of adding 1lb of rasberries and 1lb of blackberries to the secondary. Thanks for the info

 

[jpm2024]

Hi Everyone,
Going to give this beer a try (AG), it looks great! What would you think about using the following lemon peel for flavor:
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_21_75&products_id=11732
Thanks!
John

 

[FermentedTed]

Brewed the extract version of this and just tried my first pint. Very tasty! I agree with some of the comments here about the extract recipe being a little unbalanced. A little more hoppy in flavor than what I was expecting, and I lost a lot of the lemon... Pretty hard to find, actually. Still, a very tasty brew that probably won't last long. I will definitely be trying the AG version as soon as I finish my setup. Thanks for posting this recipe!

 

[Thekeez]

Brewed this on Friday AG and it went well! It was my first AG so we will see how it turns out! I hit the OG dead on so fingers crossed! I had a hard time weighting out the lemon zest so it could be real lemony or not there haha who knows!

 

[PaulTheGhost]

So I'm definitely going to make a batch of this along with a Nelson Sauvin Pale Ale for my summer drinking.
I have difficulty getting my fermentation chamber (my closet) down to 62-65 (water bath+t shirt), would you recommend using S-05 if my temps are gonna be closer to 65-68?

 

[cracked1]

Thank you for this recipe! It has been a huge hit with my BMC loving neighbors and I'm loving it on yard work days! This has been the quickest one of my beers has "disapeared" from the fridge. I think it may become a house standard.

 

[Toivo]

Made this for the first time and it is a great summer drink. some friends think it is a bit too tart from the lemon, but i like it so that leaves more for me.

 

[Joshaw50]

Just brewed a similar version of this tonight.

I used 1.5 ounces of fresh lemon zest (about 3 medium size lemons) and changed the hops and hops schedule. I used Centennial and Falconer's Flight for Bittering @ 60 min. Cascade @ 30 min and Amarillo @ 10 min for aroma. Kept about the same IBUs. OG came out to 1.049 on 10 lbs grain bill with similar ratios with an 80% efficiency. Smells very lemon like, I just hope that it doesnt completely overpower the hops and malt flavors.

Looking forward to giving it a try in a few weeks!

 

[ennis2000000000]

Did not finish out very dry... finished at 1.020

 

[Joshaw50]

Did not finish out very dry... finished at 1.020

Which Yeast did you use?

 

[tate]

just brewed this over the weekend. i went with 1oz of microplaned zest. didn't seem too bad in the overpowering lemon smell. we'll see how it finishes out.

 

[ennis2000000000]

04

 

[Joshaw50]

04

Ahh Ok. I used US-05

 

[Fpmurphy]

Just kegged my first batch of this. It turned out a little stronger than the original recipe. My OG was 1.060 and FG was 1.010. Hopefully it's not too strong.

 

[devanmc]

2 things
can i secondary condition this in the keg? or do i need to do it in a fermenter.
after the 1month brewing time is it ready to drink or should it be left to age?

 

[cracked1]

2 things
can i secondary condition this in the keg? or do i need to do it in a fermenter.
after the 1month brewing time is it ready to drink or should it be left to age?

I don't see anything wrong with keg conditioning this.

This was one of the first brews I kegged after building my keezer so I was in a bit of a hurry to give it a try. After 4 weeks in primary I kegged and force carbed. 48 hours at 30 psi then down to serving pressure at about 10 psi. After two days at 10psi I started drinking... Even young it was great. It did get a little better after a couple weeks but I don't think most people would have noticed.

 

[devanmc]

good to hear. i have 1 month till a weekend party and plan on brewing this tomorrow to bring down.

 

[dwroll300]

Just got done making this batch. It turned out great. Good lemon flavor, but not overdone. Planning on making this for next summer now.

 

[HopLife]

Brewed it today. Will get back to ya'll in about a month with photos and report.

 

[psusoccer21]

Please post your report and pics.

Brewed it today. Will get back to ya'll in about a month with photos and report.

 

[HopLife]

My batch was not good.

I dumped it.

I think I may have had a contamination problem. The beer had a horrible chemical taste. I used commercial lemons with the zesting technique. I think I may have leached out some sort of chemical treatment they do to the skin or some pesticide residue or something. I also managed to scorch some grain during the mash. So overall, I think this goes down as my worst executed beer. I think I will have to try it again. I don't think my experience make any real reflection on the recipe, but I might consider buying organic lemons or finding some that are homegrown.

I did save one beer that I can post a picture of. It is absolutely beautiful. Just tastes like a laboratory.

Good Luck

 

[dwroll300]

We used the dried lemon peel my LBS was selling instead of fresh zest. It worked great and may address any contamination risks.

We're brewing an IPA this weekend, then doing the Lemon Blonde right after in time for late spring.

--Dave

 

[happypanties]

I just brewed this yesterday and am a little concerned about how bitter it tastes when I took my OG reading. I used a cheese grater to get the lemon peel, which was a pain in the ass. I had a lot of juice in the bowl with the peel, and maybe took off a little too much of the white part.

 

[cracked1]

I just brewed this yesterday and am a little concerned about how bitter it tastes when I took my OG reading. I used a cheese grater to get the lemon peel, which was a pain in the ass. I had a lot of juice in the bowl with the peel, and maybe took off a little too much of the white part.

I've often noted a very bitter flavor in my samples of this too. However, it has always smothed out a tasted great once it was finished. This is one of the most difficult beers for me to keep around. Once my friends, family and neighbors find out it's on tap the keg gets drained super quick. Now they like to buy the ingredients for it and help brew just so it's on tap more often.