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Author Topic: Lemonade in beer  (Read 5202 times)

Offline Wort-H.O.G.

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Re: Lemonade in beer
« Reply #15 on: May 08, 2013, 11:05:10 am »
If you want full on radler experience you'll want to stop the fermentation after primary. You could use potassium sorbate and transfer the beer to secondary. Wait a few days at chilly temps and then add your lemonage.

IME drinking these concoctions in Germany, is that they are mixed on the spot - not fermented with soda or lemonade.  i was slipped one of these by accident in munich - took a huge gulp of what i thought was going to be beer, and coughed it up when the sweet taste hit me. I thought it was a joke but quickly learned about the radler...cant say i every grew to like this brewfoolery :o
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Lemonade in beer
« Reply #16 on: May 08, 2013, 01:01:35 pm »
This thread has me thinking of an idea I had a while back that I wanted to try. I was thinking of trying to brew a hard lemonade using DME as my sweetener. By using a yeast that doesn't attenuate very well (like a wine yeast) you could keep it from drying out completely but still be able to bottle prime. I'm curious how much lemonade character makes it into the finished beer at this ratio of lemonade to beer.
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Offline denny

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Re: Lemonade in beer
« Reply #17 on: May 08, 2013, 01:08:21 pm »
This thread has me thinking of an idea I had a while back that I wanted to try. I was thinking of trying to brew a hard lemonade using DME as my sweetener. By using a yeast that doesn't attenuate very well (like a wine yeast) you could keep it from drying out completely but still be able to bottle prime. I'm curious how much lemonade character makes it into the finished beer at this ratio of lemonade to beer.

Do you think you'd get a low pH from the lemonade that would adversely affect the yeast?
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Offline nateo

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Re: Lemonade in beer
« Reply #18 on: May 08, 2013, 01:14:22 pm »
Do you think you'd get a low pH from the lemonade that would adversely affect the yeast?

Probably not. I've used wine yeasts to ferment pre-soured wort to make sour beers without issue. Wine yeast is pretty hardy.

I should add, I've made 100% fermented grapefruit juice, and it was pretty undrinkable by itself, so I wouldn't ferment 100% lemon juice. Diluted in the ~50% range the fermented grapefruit juice was pretty good.
« Last Edit: May 08, 2013, 01:27:42 pm by nateo »
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Offline tcanova

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Re: Lemonade in beer
« Reply #19 on: May 08, 2013, 01:39:34 pm »
This thread has me thinking of an idea I had a while back that I wanted to try. I was thinking of trying to brew a hard lemonade using DME as my sweetener. By using a yeast that doesn't attenuate very well (like a wine yeast) you could keep it from drying out completely but still be able to bottle prime. I'm curious how much lemonade character makes it into the finished beer at this ratio of lemonade to beer.

That is an interesting idea. 

I'm anxious to see how much comes through as well.  I like to do this every once in a while since I started brewing 10 gallon batches.  Keep one carboy true to the recipe and then experiment a little with the other. 
What's the worst that could happen?  Beer?


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