Lemon Wheat = boiled

It's been colder than usual lately. I don't mind it- to me, it feels comfortable.

On occasion, during this damp Florida winter, I've thought about the upcoming disgustingly-hot summer with a bit of anticipation. Summer time is beach time.

I love the beach. It is, by far, the best thing about living here. You could easily argue that it's the only good thing about living here.

Of course, cold beer and summer days at the beach go together like burgers and fries, peas and carrots, batman and robin, whatever.

The beer that is probably most commonly associated with the beach is the lime-laden Corona. Mass produced corporate-light beers also work beach scenes into their ads, but it feels even less authentic coming from them.

I don't consider those to be ideal beach beers. Of course, I wanted to make my own.

I knew I wanted my beer to be light, refreshing, and flavorful. I also wanted it to have a lemon flavor. Lemonade is my favorite non-beer beach beverage, and lemon drinks typically fit the criteria I described in the first sentence of this paragraph.


A few weeks ago, I was buying beer at a convenience store near my home. This particular store has a decent selection for a low-key corner place. I decided to try Samuel Adam's "Coastal Wheat". This was an uncommon choice for me, because I'm not a big wheat guy. But then, it's also uncommon that I buy beer at all these days.

I was pleasantly surprised. This beer had a huge lemon presence up front, but overall was very mild and crisp. Usually I find that fruity beers are sort of obnoxious, but that wasn't the case here.

I knew this was the direction I wanted to move in with my summer beer.

I located a recipe for a traditional wheat beer, and boiled the wort this past Tuesday. The beer is infused with lemon zest. Primary fermentation has begun, and there is already a lemony aroma in my garage. I have high hopes for this one. Hopefully, it will hit the spot on the hot, sunny beach days that I'm looking forward to in a couple weeks.

Oops, I just realized it won't be ready in time for spring break. That sucks.