[SIZE=12pt]Hi All,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Here’s my experiences. I've been playing with various citrus the past few months in my brews. I’m an extract brewer as well. All my brews are generally 23 litres batches.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Originally did a pale ale recipe using 2 x oranges + 1 lemon very late in the boil, which was OK while it was young – then the citrus taste disappeared after about 1 month, though the aroma was still there a little.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Then did my Grapefruit IPA, which has been my best citrus experience so far. I did my usual IPA recipe and added the zest of 5 ruby grapefruit very late in the boil. I’ll be doing this again real soon, as I’ve nearly run out of stock. Grapefruit and the IPA bitterness just work so well together.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Then did my Tangerine Dream Ale, which I used the zest & the juice of 6 tangelos in my pale ale recipe, which I added late in the boil. The colour was magnificent but again the fruit flavour dissipated about 1 month after bottling but the aroma lingers.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]My next brew will be a Mexican Cerveza and I’ll try doing my first Tincture using the zest of 4 small limes. I made it up yesterday – put the zest of 4 limes in a sealable jar and added enough vodka to cover the zest and sealed the lid and hid it in my dark brew room. I’ll strain the liquid into the brew 3 days out from bottling. If this goes well, I’ll use this technique in my next couple of recipes, which will be: (1) Grapefruit Pale Ale and (2) Grapefruit IPA recipe.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]I’ve also just bought some of the Grapefruit Experimental Hops, which are 16.6%AA. I’ll use some of these in the 2 grapefruit brews as well.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Cheers,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Pete[/SIZE]