Experimental Black Currant Ale... - Page 2

**Atonk** · 01-24-2012, 12:12 AM

Please post the results - I've been toying with using currants as well.

gratus fermentatio · 01-24-2012, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acidrain23

I am having trouble sourcing the jars of black currants that are usually readily available. I may go with black currant nectar or black currant syrup, depending on what I can get.

I think this is going to be good beer!

I've used this juice in wine:
http://www.rwknudsenfamily.com/products/just-juice/just-black-currant/
It works well, but it's pretty tart. Not sure how to convert the weight of actual berries to correct & equal amount of juice.
Regards, GF.

acidrain23 · 01-29-2012, 08:08 PM

So fermentation seemed to be slowing down (the T-58 really powerhoused its way though the brew!), I decided to add my fruit. Since I couldn't find the jarred black currants I was looking for, I went with these products.

Tymbark Black Currant Nectar 67.6 oz
Lowell Black Currant Syrup 16.9 oz
Sweet Home Forrest Fruits Syrup (chokecherry, cranberry and blueberry)
Cracovia Black Currant Jam 13.4 oz

The jam was heated with a little water and 1/2 tsp of pectic enzyme and allowed to steep for abou 30 minutes. The syrups and nectar was added directly to the fermenter. In addition 1 lb of raspberries and 1.5 lbs of mixed berries were added as well.

I must admit, I wasn't expecting the brew to smell as "belgiany" as it did. If that is any indication, this is going to be some wonderful beer!

**GuldTuborg** · 01-29-2012, 09:07 PM

Wow, that's going to be a seriously strong beer. The fruit flavors ought to come through very nicely, given the size of those additions. Keep the updates coming.

acidrain23 · 01-29-2012, 11:45 PM

With the alcohol theoretically approaching 11%, how long should I secondary this for?

acidrain23 · 03-28-2012, 03:41 PM

So...I checked the fermenter last night and there is still airlock activity happening. I suppose I need to take a hydrometer reading, but my numbers are already off (last reading was lower than my predicted FG)- I think because of the volume of liquid added when I added the black currant juice. It does smell really wonderful!

Anyway, its been over two months now. I'm used to meads taking 6+ months to ferment, but is this unusual for a beer? I'm fine with letting it ride, but just wanted to make sure its not sitting on the cake too long.

**GuldTuborg** · 03-31-2012, 03:40 AM

The largish amount of currant juice probably lowered the overall density of nutrients, and increased the acidity, so (like some meads) it's not surprising that this is taking a while to complete. With the weather warming in many places, you may just be seeing off gassing, and not continued fermentation, unless you have really excellent temp controls. I'd say it's time to take a gravity (and taste!) sample. Let us know how it's faring.

**passedpawn** · 03-31-2012, 03:54 AM

I wish I could find black currants locally. Apparently they were banned for a long time in this country, and never gained popularity (unlike Europe, where they were a wartime replacement for citrus fruit).

I did find a great-looking place online. I'm considering getting a bunch of the dried currants there. http://www.currantc.com/

I'd love to get them for my sour beers.

acidrain23 · 04-06-2012, 01:59 AM

Ok, I took a hydrometer reading and tasted a sample finally! It looks to be done- got 1.016 SG which is below where I predicted it to be, and it is crystal clear. Needless to say, it is a little...unbalanced. Really smakin you in the face with the black currant! Considering the amount of fruit product I put in there, I guess this is not surprising lol. I thought a little more of the dark malts might shine through but the fruit is dominating everything. It is almost like a melomel. I can't say it tastes bad though, and I will reserve judgement until this carbs up. It does have a beautiful color, a nice reddish brown. I will post pics and report back when I get this bottled and carb'd. We'll see if this comes out beer or a wine cooler!

\

Oh yeah, plenty of alcohol in there too!

acidrain23 · 04-19-2012, 05:59 PM

After a disappointing first taste, I cracked another one open last night. It still hasn't fully carb'd so will give this a while longer in the bottle before my next tasting. I think instead of beer, I am going to call this a 'malt beverage'. I wasn't expecting much, but...Damn, this is tasting pretty good! Its like a sparkling black currant mead, and I think given more time it will mature into something quite good. Its just not very "beery". The malts are just starting to peak through.