Just racked my Belgian Blonde onto strawberries

I just finished racking my Mind Killer Belgian Blonde onto six pounds of frozen strawberries. I halved the berries and also racked onto four ounces of lactose (boiled in 1.5 cups of water.) I'm pretty excited. I'm thinking I'll let them go for 5-7 days on the berries before racking off to another secondary or bottling, still not sure. I added the lactose to offset a small amount of the bitterness/tartness that the strawberries should add. I'm definitely excited to see how this turns out. Should be a good summer beer for the lady.

Looks heavenly! Make sure to report back how it comes out!!!

Just an update: Racked off strawberries into another secondary today to let it clear, and I plan to bottle later this week or this weekend, depending on how it looks.

It smells amazing, and tastes pretty awesome. It's definitely tart, but not too tart. The lactose helped I think, especially since I did more than a pound of fruit per gallon.

It's in a carboy right now, and it looks almost like five gallons of light orange/pink V8 juice. It was significantly less orange/pink in the hose when siphoning, though, and I think it should still have a nice color when poured.

I'll have the girlfriend sample it at bottling, and if I need more lactose, I'll add then, but I don't think I will.

Just added 6 lbs of cherries to my Belgian Dubbel

Cheers!

What's the purpose of the lactose? Unfermentable sugar to sweeten and balance against the tartness of the fruit?

jaytizzle said:

What's the purpose of the lactose? Unfermentable sugar to sweeten and balance against the tartness of the fruit?

Click to expand...

Exactly. Just to offset the tartness of the berries. Not enough that it's noticeable or sweet, just to take the edge off the sour from the fruit.

jaytizzle said:

What's the purpose of the lactose? Unfermentable sugar to sweeten and balance against the tartness of the fruit?

Click to expand...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Lactose

Just bottled this beer on Saturday, 3/31. Tasted incredible, a bit tart but not too much. The strawberry taste and aroma were both very, very present in this beer. It was a reddish/pinkish color and very light looking. I can't wait to sample it.

Just wondering how it turned out? I normally keg but bottled my strawberry Belgian ale today which is three weeks since brewing. Using carb tabs for the first time. Probably sample first one in a week.