Guava beer suggestions?

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teucer

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I want to brew a beer with guava.

I don't want it to be a generic American fruity wheat thing, because I think the base beer for most fruited American wheats is pretty boring and if I didn't want the beer half to be exciting I'd be making a liqueur or a mead instead of a beer. It also seems a little overdone. (Note that this is base style being a wheaty 6D that I'm prejudiced against, not all wheat beers ever.) But other than that, I'm wide open. Hit me with your interesting ideas.
 
I'm assuming you are wanting to use guava paste and not fresh fruit. The paste will give you more of the flavors I think most people associate with guava. You might want to consider something with a little "funk". Try researching a lambic recipe and work it in that way. But again assuming you are using the paste I would make sure you cook it in some water to loosen it up into a thinner paste instead of big ol' hunks of jelly that will take forever to break down in your kettle of fermentor.

Or you could do a Saison like Cigar City Brewing has done. I've yet to try it but here's a link. It looks like they use a secondary and add the beer to the puree.
http://www.cigarcitybrewing.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=15&Itemid=33


You could possibly use a product like this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000280UPA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 but it would be a bit pricier than using guava paste.
 
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I'd do a Belgian pale, along the lines of a patersbier , that way no worries about the funk or infection. Or having to worry about extended fermentation, and you can still allow the fruit to shine through....
 
Shorts did a collaboration with Half Acre called Spirit of '78 (I think that was the name). It was an IPA with guava. I didn't get to try it but my friends who did loved it. My be a good idea.
 
I recently did a passionfruit guava pale ale. Diced up passion fruit and tossed it in the boil with about 10 minutes left and then aged it in the secondary on fresh guava also diced up, and it came out great
 
I've been having similar thoughts here in NZ. I've frozen 5kg taken off a tree in the backyard. My fruit have a tannic flavoured skin and some sourness but have a real depth of flavour that could work well with a less roasty porter. I'm thinking Marris Otter, Pale Choc and light crystal mashed high for dextrins and sweetness with a less attenuative English yeast for fruity character and sweetness to balance the fruits inherent tartness. The hesitation I have is that if I get the dark malts wrong then the tannins will clash big time.
 
image-1805977430.jpg

Just found this guava pulp at a Latin grocery store for about $1.50 for a 14oz package. I recently bottled a Saison that used WLP566 and pulled aside a gallon for something like this. I'm thinking of throwing in a package of this and maybe some bottle dregs of something with Brett. I want it to stay very dry and just have an accent of the guava in the background. The pulp is pasteurized so I think just defrost & sanitize the outside and scissors and throw it in.
 
How did that guava pulp turn out? At which stage did you put it in and how much did you use?
 
bjbancroft said:
How did that guava pulp turn out? At which stage did you put it in and how much did you use?

So far so good. I used one 14oz package and ended up tasting it after a few months with Orval dregs and decided to switch gears and add some sour dregs to it as well. Last I checked it was coming along nicely but needs a lot more time now. I'm thinking of racking it on a new 14oz pack in a few months to revive any lost fruit character.
 
Hey, I'm curious how this guava experiment turned out. I am considering making a Belgian pale ale with citra as my aroma hop, and I'm considering adding to the secondary exactly this kind of guava pulp from a Latin grocery. I was going to reconstitute it briefly in boiling water, then dump it in; I figured this has more of a chance of retaining some of the flavor/aroma as compared to adding it to the end of the boil.
 
motorneuron said:
Hey, I'm curious how this guava experiment turned out. I am considering making a Belgian pale ale with citra as my aroma hop, and I'm considering adding to the secondary exactly this kind of guava pulp from a Latin grocery. I was going to reconstitute it briefly in boiling water, then dump it in; I figured this has more of a chance of retaining some of the flavor/aroma as compared to adding it to the end of the boil.

It's still a work in progress. I finally bottled it, but it may take awhile to carb and condition being a sour now. I say give it a try.
 
Just curious, anyone try Breakside's Guava IRA. Saw it on their website and sounds awesome. Would love to try to attempt an IPA/IRA with guava, or even passion fruit.

Wondering how the OP's is coming along as well.
 
I'm also wondering the same thing.

Type of Guava added; Paste, Juiced Fruit, Solid Fruit.
When was it added?
How much was added?

I have a heavier IPA right now that I would love to get that Guava / Grapefruit citrus to it to set me up for a go to beer in our nice hot August here in Michigan.

Any suggestions? :mug:
 
I personally prefer fruits in sour beers. Local brewery here just did a Florida Weisse (fruited Berliner Weisse) with passion fruit, guava, guanabana and mango.....they also do a raspberry mojito Florida Wessie that is an awesome, light, refreshingly sour and fruity drink. I love heavy beers like stouts, porters, doppelbocks, etc......but also love sours and think they are the perfect way to use fruit in brewing.....just a personal opinion and like of course
 
I went ahead and threw in 2 cups of Guava Juice, after boiling it for about 8 minutes, into the secondary of my IPA. I hope to let this sit for 2 weeks until I keg it. Brewed on 6/27/15.

OG 1.061
FG 1.007
IBU 82

14 LB's 2 Row
1 .5 LB CaraPils
3 LB's Victory
1.5 LP's Crystal 40

.50 oz Chinook, Simcoe @ 90
.25 oz Chinook, Simcoe @60
.25 oz Chinook, Simcoe @30
.75 oz Chinook, Simcoe @ 15
.5 Equinox @ 15
1 oz Cascade @ 10
.50 oz Chinook, .75 ozSimcoe @ 0
Dry Hop - 2 oz Equinox, 2 oz Cascade, 2 Cups Guava Juice
Other Additions - Irish Moss 1 Tsp @15
Yeast - US 05

I hope to make it a a little close to Shorts' Freedom of 78', which I absolutely love! But I don't know when to add the Guava. Any suggestions to this recipe is completely welcome. Thanks!

IMG_4415.JPG
 
Mine is still currently kegged.

It has an good guava taste to it, but I think it loses or glosses over the bitterness. I shouldn't have messed around with such a light addition so early. I wish I would have kept everything the same except maybe a full ounce of say... Warrior for the first addition. Really increase those IBU's. Other than that the color looks great.

Good luck:mug:
 
I added frozen guava to my gose one time and was pleased with the results. Guava goes well with salty notes (hence why it's often paired with cheese), so I figured this would be a natural.
 
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