So ...on a hunch, I took it upon myself....and mashed in with 1/2 pound of quartered lemons for my 2.5 gallon batch. (Sounds like a lot, but it was 2 lemons). This was a Saison. Don’t ask what my mash pH was, I didn’t bother. I didn’t want to know and I wasn’t going to make adjustments anyhow. I was on a mission. (I stuck a pH strip in there and it looked like they always do.)
The lemons in the Mash smelled absolutely wonderful!! For the first 45 minutes or so. Now I had it in my mind to mash this Saison for 90 minutes at 150 in order to create as fermentable a wort as possible. By the end of the mash, the lemon aroma had dissipated substantially. Pre boil gravity was on target so I discarded the spent grains and lemons and away I went to the boil. 90 minute boil. Uneventful. O.G. came in 1 point low, but I had a smidge extra volume so I call it a wash. Transferred and pitched.
The post boil sample I took had a noticeable but subtle citrus/lemon aroma. No “wow” factor, but a little something for the effort. I thought it also had a bit fuller mouthfeel, but I have no idea what that’s about. Whether any lemon makes it past the Belle Saison...Yeah, at this point, I highly doubt it. But...I think lemon-mashing could lead to something if the mash and boil were kept to reasonable times. Maybe 45-60 minutes max each. And probably not with an expressive yeast.
I’ll post back in a few weeks and let you know how it turned out. Visual signs of fermentation took off in about 3 hours.
Topic: Cut-Up Lemons for Mash pH adjustment? (Read 5041 times)
