Abita Strawberry Harvest, Extract Recipe?

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Korben

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Location
Memphis (Mud Island)
I have never been a fan of fruit taste in beer all that much until I grabbed on of these in a mixed pack.. I came in after a long day of studying and decided to sit out on the patio to have a beer and relax on a rather warm memphis night. I cracked this bad boy open not expecting much.. It is GREAT very subtle strawberry over a great but thin wheat beer. I am loving this stuff and would love to make a clone for my summer lawn mower brew.. Anyone got a suggestion on a good extract recipe?
 
Korben,

I haven't had that brand, but I made this extract batch last year and it was really good. Very subtle and refreshing. Maybe you can use this recipe as a reference if you end up having to develop your own.

The berries were stemmed, sliced in half, steeped in 170F water for 10 minutes, frozen, and then thawed before adding them to the secondary.

I don't remember where I got the recipe, but it was a big hit. I just did an all grain version of it that is in primary right now.

Good Luck!
 
Nice but i was thinking about using oregon puree (but can't find strawberry)... how was the sweetness level of this brew.
 
It was understated - more of a background flavor. However, my guess is that could vary quite a bit depending on the strawberries themselves.
 
This from the Abita website concerning one of my all time top 5 favorite beers "Abitas' Strawberry Lager". Please note; I never liked another fruit beer before this one and not many since. I now keep a stash of this through the winter to make it through until the next years strawberry harvest.

I believe it would be impossible to replicate this beer as an "extract brew" because it is a very delicate beer.

I have visited Abitas brewery many times and I also recently visited the Vintner (Amato's Winery Independence, LA) who prepares the Strawberry's for this beer on harvest week. He (Mr. Amato) told me some details but was not forthcoming with the secret of this brew that won "best fruit beer" from the Beer Of the Month Club last year .

Strawberry Harvest


Strawberry Harvest Lager is a wheat beer made with real Louisiana strawberries, picked late in the season when they’re at their sweetest. This brew has earned quite a reputation in a short time, causing the brewery to up their production year after year. When this brew is found, emails and phone calls fly to friends informing them of the store’s location. Strawberry Harvest is a crisp, light lager with just a hint of strawberry sweetness. It is wonderful with desserts or lighter fares such as salads and pastas. Fresh cheeses such as Burrata, chevre, Creszenza, mozzarella or Teleme pair well with Strawberry Harvest.
ABV
4.2%
IBU
13
Color
5

Nutrition Facts
12 oz serving
Calories
128
Carbs
11g
Protein
1.7g
Total Fat
0g
 
This from the Abita website concerning one of my all time top 5 favorite beers "Abitas' Strawberry Lager". Please note; I never liked another fruit beer before this one and not many since. I now keep a stash of this through the winter to make it through until the next years strawberry harvest.

I believe it would be impossible to replicate this beer as an "extract brew" because it is a very delicate beer.

I have visited Abitas brewery many times and I also recently visited the Vintner (Amato's Winery Independence, LA) who prepares the Strawberry's for this beer on harvest week. He (Mr. Amato) told me some details but was not forthcoming with the secret of this brew that won "best fruit beer" from the Beer Of the Month Club last year .

Strawberry Harvest


Strawberry Harvest Lager is a wheat beer made with real Louisiana strawberries, picked late in the season when they’re at their sweetest. This brew has earned quite a reputation in a short time, causing the brewery to up their production year after year. When this brew is found, emails and phone calls fly to friends informing them of the store’s location. Strawberry Harvest is a crisp, light lager with just a hint of strawberry sweetness. It is wonderful with desserts or lighter fares such as salads and pastas. Fresh cheeses such as Burrata, chevre, Creszenza, mozzarella or Teleme pair well with Strawberry Harvest.
ABV
4.2%
IBU
13
Color
5

Nutrition Facts
12 oz serving
Calories
128
Carbs
11g
Protein
1.7g
Total Fat
0g

I do the same... I walked out with 5 sixers one day from a local gas station (i never thought I would see it there).
 
This is the beer that made me go ahead and start home brewing. Strangely this years batch has been very inconsistent. Some six packs are great and some are barely decent. And I have had quite a few six packs of it this year.

I wish the would keg some of it to serve as draft at the brewery/brewpub. It would mean a few more weekend runs to Abita Springs each year.

Bottled my Strawberry Wheat today. Hopefully I will enjoy that enough to make time fly until next berry season.

My home brew batch was a standard wheat with 5 lbs of fresh, halved, and frozen strawberries added to secondary in a grain bag. Between the thorugh washing, aggressive halving, and freezing no uninvited infections made their way in. Taste is definitly strawberry infuenced but not sweet at all. Will have to see if that is still the case after carbonation.
 
This is the beer that made me go ahead and start home brewing. Strangely this years batch has been very inconsistent. Some six packs are great and some are barely decent. And I have had quite a few six packs of it this year.

I wish the would keg some of it to serve as draft at the brewery/brewpub. It would mean a few more weekend runs to Abita Springs each year.

Bottled my Strawberry Wheat today. Hopefully I will enjoy that enough to make time fly until next berry season.

My home brew batch was a standard wheat with 5 lbs of fresh, halved, and frozen strawberries added to secondary in a grain bag. Between the thorugh washing, aggressive halving, and freezing no uninvited infections made their way in. Taste is definitly strawberry infuenced but not sweet at all. Will have to see if that is still the case after carbonation.

Just a follow-up.

When bottled the strawberry flavor was very strong and sour. Everyday it sits in the bottle the beer part strengthens. I actually expected the opposite with the strawberry flavor being the part that would get stronger over time. The beer started out a little disappointing but now is absolutely perfect.
 
This is what I did this year;

I made a "Honey Wheat Kölsch" which I first lagerd 3 months (35f), then I juiced 1 flat (about 12lbs) of strawberries in a juicer. I boiled 1qt of water in a 2 gallon pot dumped in the strawberry juice, and bagged dry hops and let sit 15 mins with the flame off. Then I added it to half (5gals) for 16 days @ (35f) then keg or bottle if FG is appropriate (this is important because fruit tends to slowly ferment over a long period of time which can lead to bottle bombs if you are using thin regular bottles).
I keg and naturally carb in champagne bottles only because I have had fruit beers explode in regular bottles!

This was my best strawberry to date! I believe I have made 6 or 7 attempts over the years. I think it is the best because of the cleanness of the lager and the lack of fiber/cellulose/seeds from juicing the Fruit instead of trying to filter out whole pieces.
Cheers and beers! Jacob



Honey Wheat Kölsch_12_2_10

Selected Style and BJCP Guidelines
6C-Light Hybrid Beer-Kolsch

Minimum OG: 1.044 SG Maximum OG: 1.050 SG
Minimum FG: 1.007 SG Maximum FG: 1.011 SG
Minimum IBU: 20 IBU Maximum IBU: 30 IBU
Minimum Color: 3.5 SRM Maximum Color: 5.0 SRM


Recipe Overview
Wort Volume Before Boil: 5.00 US gals Wort Volume After Boil: 4.50 US gals
Volume Transferred: 4.50 US gals Water Added To Fermenter: 5.00 US gals
Volume At Pitching: 9.50 US gals Volume Of Finished Beer: 9.50 US gals
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.065 SG Expected OG: 1.054 SG
Expected FG: 1.010 SG Apparent Attenuation: 80.9 %
Expected ABV: 5.9 % Expected ABW: 4.6 %
Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 19.9 IBU Expected Color (using Morey): 7.4 SRM
BU:GU ratio: 0.37 Approx Color: 5ish and PINK!
Mash Efficiency: 65.0 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 64 degF


Fermentables
Ingredient Amount % MCU When
German Munich Malt 6lb 0oz 32.0 % 3.5 In Mash/Steeped
US 6-Row Malt 4lb 0oz 21.3 % 0.8 In Mash/Steeped
US White Wheat Malt 2lb 0oz 10.7 % 0.5 In Mash/Steeped
Canadian Honey Malt (Gambrinus) 12.00 oz 4.0 % 1.8 In Mash/Steeped
German CaraMunich I 8.00 oz 2.7 % 1.8 In Mash/Steeped
US Flaked Oats 4.00 oz 1.3 % 0.1 In Mash/Steeped
Extract - Golden Light Liquid Extract 3lb 8oz 18.7 % 1.5 Start Of Boil
Sugar - Honey 1lb 8oz 8.0 % 0.3 End Of Boil
Sugar - White Sugar/Sucrose 4.00 oz 1.3 % 0.0 Start Of Boil


Hops
Variety Alpha Amount IBU Form When
US Nugget 11.0 % 0.75 oz 10.5 Bagged Pellet Hops 70 Min From End
US Nugget 13.0 % 0.16 oz 2.3 Loose Pellet Hops 60 Min From End
US Mount Hood 4.5 % 1.25 oz 5.3 Loose Pellet Hops 30 Min From End
US Mount Hood 4.5 % 0.16 oz 0.4 Bagged Pellet Hops 15 Min From End
German Perle 8.0 % 0.16 oz 0.7 Bagged Pellet Hops 15 Min From End
US Mount Hood 4.5 % 1.00 oz 0.2 Bagged Pellet Hops 1 Min From End
German Perle 8.0 % 0.50 oz 0.2 Bagged Pellet Hops 1 Min From End
US Simcoe 13.0 % 0.25 oz 0.2 Bagged Pellet Hops 1 Min From End


German Perle 8.0 % 0.30 oz 0.2 Bagged Pellet Hops dry hop (only S.berry)
US Simcoe 13.0 % 0.25 oz 0.2 Bagged Pellet Hops dry hop (only S.berry)


Other Ingredients
Ingredient Amount When
Yeast Nutrient 2tsp 15min


Yeast
Wyeast -Kolsch II
 
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