Adding Flavourings(Lime, etc.)

Camilo

Ahoy all.

In order to spice up a beer brew im wondering if it is possible to add types of flavorings, like Lime or Lemon zest, orange, anything really.

How would one do this? Pour in lime concentrate(Mi Wadi) or simply just dump in a couple of limes or whatever? Surely it must be sterilised and im wondering how this would be done and how much flavoring to use.

Mashtun

if you wanna add juice or zest you should do it at bottling. I done an orange honey hefeweizen recently and what i did was soak the zest of 4 oranges in some voldka in one of those airtight lunchboxes while it was fermenting (2 weeks). I sieved this into the batch when bottling. This way what ur adding is sterilised. i imagine tho that when fermentation is finished you dont have to worry too mujch about infecting the batch.

You can also add things like marmalades and honeys at flameout (end of boil). Obviously this doesn't apply for kit beers tho. If you are doing a boil you could add some of that lime marmalde u see in shops, might be nice.

Finally, i have seen recipes where the beer is poured on top of fruit when racking to secondary, think it was a cherry beer of some type

Saruman

If I am adding lime, lemon or orange zest to a witbier or something I would add it near the end of the boil. This does not apply if you are a kit brewer as there is no boiling, however there is nothing stopping you boiling some of your beer for 10 minutes and adding in the zest before adding this back to the rest of the colder wort.

If adding fruit to make a fruit beer I would add it after primary fermentation. Rack to a secondary container and add the fruit. Leave for a couple of weeks before bottling/kegging.

irish_goat

I added the zest of 2 oranges to a coopers real ale kit at the start when I was boiling. Haven't tasted it yet but it smelt lovely anyway.

I'd avoid using Mi Wadi or anything like that and stick with the real stuff. Definitely sterilise either by boiling or soaking whatever it is in vodka.

Saruman

irish_goat wrote: »

I'd avoid using Mi Wadi or anything like that and stick with the real stuff. Definitely sterilise either by boiling or soaking whatever it is in vodka.

Sage advice there. Never put any artificial much in to a beer. Beer is all natural ingredients and should never have anything processed crap put in to it.

Mashtun

Never a truer word spoken. Believe it or not they add silica gel to lagers (e.g. bud n carlsberg etc.) in the breweries to clear them up. Yes, silica gel or desicant. The little sachets that come in the box with your runners, same stuff. I'll take the cloudy beer any day!

BeerNut

Mashtun wrote: »

Believe it or not they add silica gel to lagers (e.g. bud n carlsberg etc.) in the breweries to clear them up. Yes, silica gel or desicant. The little sachets that come in the box with your runners, same stuff.

If it all processes through I don't see any difference between using this and using the seaweed or swim bladders that everyone else uses.

Mashtun

BeerNut wrote: »

If it all processes through I don't see any difference between using this and using the seaweed or swim bladders that everyone else uses.

I was talking to a brewer who said ground down fish bones are used for clearing stouts & ales. Are you saying they process a fishes swim bladder and use it to clear beer! Still, prefer that to desicant in me pint

BeerNut

Mashtun wrote: »

I was talking to a brewer who said ground down fish bones are used for clearing stouts & ales.

Really? Gelatine (cow bones) yes, but I don't know what's in fish bones that would work as a fining.

Mashtun wrote: »

Are you saying they process a fishes swim bladder and use it to clear beer!

Isinglass. It's very common, especially in cask beers because it's extremely effective, though rather pricey. Diageo also use it in Guinness, which is why you won't see them claiming it's suitable for vegans (I think they might try and get it past veggies since it's a process aid rather than an ingredient, but I can't find a reference).

GeorgeCostanza

BeerNut wrote: »

Really? Gelatine (cow bones) yes, but I don't know what's in fish bones that would work as a fining.

Bones from some varieties of fish also contain considerable amounts of gelatine.