MLTZER Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Just bottled my first ever brew (lager) and as soon as this melbourne weather cools down i wanna try brewing some Mexican Cerveza with my own custom touch. But seeing as I'm still a newbie I thought id run it past you all first Coopers Mexican Cerveza 500g Honey (from my neighbour who has his own hives) 1kg Light Dry Malt Lemon & Lime Zest* *now I'm unsure how much zest to put in? and is it better to grate the citrus skins or put them in whole? I'm assuming its better to grate them but i wanna double check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Hey mate im sure you will get many different opinions on here or sometimes like today not much at all when no one is coming on. But me personally i wouldnt by a light style kit like a Mexican Cervesa just to add a whole kg of light dry malt which would make it very heavy and dark anyway. But thats just me i see people on here have already done similar things and its all up to you. But adding that much malt to an already low hopped beer would mean really not being able to taste any bitterness or ballance at all maby try 500 grams each of dextrose and LDME and a hop tea of some sort as well as the honey. BUt in the end u can experiment and try what you like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS2 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 I've done a similar recipe to you but with 500gm LDME and 500gm honey. Grate the zest of 3 limes and boil for 1 hour in 1 litre of water. However I prefer the Cerveza without the lime added to the brew. Doing Cerveza with honey is the way to go. If you ilke lime just add it to the glass of beer. Else you have 23 litres of lime flavor beer to consume! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Hey Gang, Try this recipe. It makes an great ginger beer! Gringo Ginger Ale 1.7Kg Mex Cervesa 500g LDM 500g LME (Amber) 500g Honey 500g Fresh ginger root (pounded & boiled for 20mins) 2 Whole lemons (halved, squeezed and boiled for 20mins) 7g Cooper's kit yeast (ale/lager blend) 25L water 8g Chinook (20mins) 22g Cascade (20mins) 200g Dex (bulk primed) This one is a real easy/early drinker. I bottled mine June26 and after 6 months it is really fine![love] too bad I only have a few bottles left. Time to make some more. This recipe makes the cut for "Log Cabin Brewery's 10 Brews of 2011"[cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I'd leave the lemon and lime out and just add it to the glass when you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mud Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 +1 for adding the lime when you want to drink the beer. My Father in Law insisted on buying Miller's Chill when he was last over from Tasweigia - if you don't already know this is a light style beer with a lime flavouring. Give me a Sol or a Corona with a fresh wedge of lime any day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Lime zest added to the brew (off 1 lime) and the honey set mine off, going to be a summer favorite for years to come. Millers and a few other just use a lime flavoring [pinched] not even close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mud Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Millers Chill claims to use "natural lime flavours", though granted that's a bit ambiguous and I suppose it doesn't need much fresh lime for them to be able to say that. How would you say the lime zest compares to s fresh squeeze of lime just before drinking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLTZER Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 Thanks for the input guys but i do want to add the lime to the brew. so would the best way to do this to grate x amount of lime skin and then boil them in water? do you then strain the water before you put it in the fermenter or do you just put in the whole lot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Millers Chill claims to use "natural lime flavours"' date=' though granted that's a bit ambiguous and I suppose it doesn't need much fresh lime for them to be able to say that. How would you say the lime zest compares to s fresh squeeze of lime just before drinking?[/quote'] I had a mate lived in mexico and he says they put the lime or lemon in the neck of the bottle to keep the flies out [biggrin] True Story. I havent sqeezed lime into the beer, only put some in the neck so i cant tell you, but the zest works a treat for me anyway. Just do the same as you would dry hopping, into a bag or a cloth and throw it in the brew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Thanks for the input guys but i do want to add the lime to the brew. so would the best way to do this to grate x amount of lime skin and then boil them in water? do you then strain the water before you put it in the fermenter or do you just put in the whole lot? Some people add it late in the boil i add the zest in a bag to the wort before i top up with chilled water. Both methods seem to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Personally if I was to add lime or lemon zest to a brew I would certainly ensure it was sterile. You may get away with it a few times but it will sooner or later bite you in the bum. It's inevitable [pinched] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Personally if I was to add lime or lemon zest to a brew I would certainly ensure it was sterile. You may get away with it a few times but it will sooner or later bite you in the bum. It's inevitable [pinched] Star San is your friend!! spray some on the lime wait a minute or 2 then zest your lime [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLTZER Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 yeah thats a good point.... I'm thinking of boiling the zest and juice for about an hour and then add that into the fermenter before i top up with the cooler water..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 yeah thats a good point.... I'm thinking of boiling the zest and juice for about an hour and then add that into the fermenter before i top up with the cooler water..... I have never bothered to boil lime zest or its juice The low pH of the juice makes it antibacterial in itself anyway. I only quickly wash the skin in cold water spray some star san on the lime and my zester wait a few minutes wash the lime undercold water (no need to realy i just do it) and away you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 LMAO... good ol' Starsan. I never thought of that [innocent] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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