fruit in primary?

broo_dood · 02-16-2009, 12:44 PM

hi all. long time reader, first time poster of your highly informative homebrew forum.

i just got quick question. i made this( Recipe: Razzing Wife Wheat ) all-grain wheat beer recipe this weekend. I didn't notice until i was half way through that recipe calls for 4lbs. rasberries(duh-hence name of recipe) in primary. it was late, i didn't have rasberries so i threw in 40ozs. frozen sour cherries. will this be ok? it is fermenting nicely now, but i'm concerned of maybe mold in the cherries, off taste?

RICLARK · 02-16-2009, 01:23 PM

Usually You should crush a camden tablet in a bowl with the fruit and water to steralize it. I dont think your in trouble just wait and see how it looks in a week.

vespa2t · 02-16-2009, 01:26 PM

It is better to add fruit to the secondary, and this is for two reasons (atleast in my book). When in primary, there is alot of CO2 generation, which grabs on to that beautful Raspberry aroma and carries it out the airlock, resulting in less aroma and flavor in the final beer. The other reason is that once you are ready for secondary, you have an environment that is much less freindly to mold or other 'infections' that may be on the fruit.

Most likely, you are ok with how you did it. Just let it ferment out, give it some time, and check it. Its all about letting nature take its course and then seeing if it works out the way you wanted