Guanabana sour beer, other werid fruits? - Page 3

ryane · 07-30-2010, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Almighty

Have you guys tried dates, figs, grapes, raisins? And with each of these there is a huge range of varieties.
I'm planning to try to ferment out a Dubbel and then add dates and bugs and try a gallon batch. I was thinking the dates will provide the extra sugar for the the bugs and also help bring out that dark fruit taste I really like in Dubbels.

Ive played around a bit with dates, they lent a very fruity nose to the beer, I havent tried it carbed (still aging in bottles), but tasting it still there was a nice but fairly subtle flavor, I do think they could be a wonderful addition to any dark belgian

I would try to get fresh dates, Medjool are good eating but dont have as much flavor as others like Halawy, if you can I would suggest getting some halawy, deglet and medjool dates for the full complement of flavors, I also highly suggest heavily caramelizing them for additional flavor

Oldsock · 07-30-2010, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryane

Ouch 50$ is a lot for that bottle, they have it for 45$ here

http://www.desertusa.com/web_cart/db/pages/9066D.html

Ill have to look to see if they sell small bottles locally to try it out, have you tasted the concentrate or the resulting beer made with it? Im really curious to hear how the flavor comes through from it?

I have not tried the concentrate or the beer, but I've tried his beer and one of his recipes before (both were excellent). He said his issue with the fresh was a "green-vegetable type" flavor despite different methods of using it, every run into that?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Almighty

Have you guys tried dates, figs, grapes, raisins? And with each of these there is a huge range of varieties.
I'm planning to try to ferment out a Dubbel and then add dates and bugs and try a gallon batch. I was thinking the dates will provide the extra sugar for the the bugs and also help bring out that dark fruit taste I really like in Dubbels.

I’ve done raisons and dates (dried and date sugar), the date sugar was the best of the bunch (rehydrated in some hot water and added to secondary). I’ve tried adding wine and grape juice as well with varying results, but I’m hoping to get my hands on some grapes this fall.

ryane · 07-30-2010, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldsock

I have not tried the concentrate or the beer, but I've tried his beer and one of his recipes before (both were excellent). He said his issue with the fresh was a "green-vegetable type" flavor despite different methods of using it, every run into that?

No, I havent come across that, although Id bet that the ones that you get are picked very unripe relative to the ones I get (walks outside and picks off a cactus....) There are quite a few varieties as well, most of which are not really sweet, and are used in stews like a vegetable

If your interested, when they are in season around here (sept-nov) I could poke around and see whats available locally and if you want I could ship them to you

also, if your interested there is a traditional drink called colonche, where the juice/pulp is boiled to a thick syrup and fermented, unfortunately i havent come across it yet....

Oldsock · 07-31-2010, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryane

No, I havent come across that, although Id bet that the ones that you get are picked very unripe relative to the ones I get (walks outside and picks off a cactus....) There are quite a few varieties as well, most of which are not really sweet, and are used in stews like a vegetable

If your interested, when they are in season around here (sept-nov) I could poke around and see whats available locally and if you want I could ship them to you

also, if your interested there is a traditional drink called colonche, where the juice/pulp is boiled to a thick syrup and fermented, unfortunately i havent come across it yet....

Sebastian lives in Tuscon, so I assume he is getting them plenty fresh/local.

We'll talk in a couple months, I'd love to get my hands on some fresh/ripe examples.

Colonche sounds odd good luck tracking some down (or making some).

jessup · 08-02-2010, 08:01 PM

the strangest fruit i've used was kiwi's. it didn't turn out as i'd hoped so i bottled about 2 gal and put the other 3 gal on a coupla lbs of organic blueberries. i've been thinking about tying other strange fruits like starfruit. mango's sound excellent but i'm yet to try. i love guarana so that might be a good place to go next

from wiki:
As guarana is rich in caffeine, it is of interest for its potential effects on cognition. In rats, guarana increased memory retention and physical endurance when compared with a placebo.

^^maybe it'll help with memory loss while drinking

Almighty · 09-03-2010, 06:24 PM

So with all that talk about prickly pears I had to try it. I guy from my brew club brought in his mead and it was great. And then he said that he has a bunch left over from this year's crop. He gave me a few pounds and I made syrup out of it as he suggested since once you pick them they can go bad very quickly.
It wasn't too difficult to make and the flavor is unique. I just found another variety that I'm going to try to see if there is a difference.
I posted on my blog about the syrup making process.
http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2010/09/prickly-pear-syrup.html

Oh and I was reading the description of the commercial stuff:
"Prickly pear extract has also been shown to reduce the severity and occurrence of hangovers if taken in advance of drinking" - well I hope it works if mixed in with beer.