I've not done cream ale with lime, but I have a recipe I love for a Belgian double with orange zest. I've tried lots of methods on this beer. My favorite so far to really infuse the aroma into the beer is to use a tincture to extract the flavor, then hang the remaining zest in the corny keg. This has the benefit of sanitizing the zest in vodka as well. (If you don't keg, maybe you could try adding the tincture to the bottling bucket.)
My method for oranges is:
- Zest 2-4 oranges 1 week before you are going to add them.
- Put in a sealed jar with 1/2 cup (or to cover) of vodka.
- Leave out at room temp until you add it.
If you prefer you can just add this at secondary at this point too. The vodka has most of the flavor in it already. If you want to try my keg method...
- Pour the mixture into a voile or mesh bag over the mouth of the keg so the vodka runs in and you capture the zest.
- Hang the bag up high on the dip tube. I used a sanitized plastic zip tie. This will allow it to soak in the beer until you drink enough to drop below the level of the bag.
- Then purge the keg and rack on top of the tincture as you normally would.
I've used the tincture method many times. The hanging in the keg thing is something new. I've only tried it once, but I am certainly going to be doing it again. The advantage seems to be both a flavor infusion and a great citrus aroma.
