Pineapple IPA

Hi Everyone,

I am making a Ruination Clone and plan to add 1-2 pounds of fresh pineapple in at 5 minutes before the end of the boil. Then I will strain the wort before pitching the yeast. Has anyone tried to use pineapple before? Do you think it will turn out ok? I am really thinking about placing the pineapple in a grain bag instead of just dumping the fruit in the wort. THis will be the first "fruit beer" I have made. So, any suggestions would be awesome:rockin:

Fresh pineapple has acids that can kill yeast depending on concentration.

A better bet would be to use the pineapple in the secondary when the OG is close to your desired FG.

I would add the pineapple to the secondary instead of the boil. The boil will kill alot of the flavor that you are attempting to get from the fruit. I'd ferment the beer first and then taste it and see if that's what you want to be putting pineapple into. Personally I can't imagine Ruination with pineapple but that's the beauty of what we do. You can do your one thing.

Well, I am trying to make the pineapple very subtle. The only reason I am trying it is because my brother will be in town and he loves pineapple. The only beer I could think it would taste ok in would be an IPA. I know that 3 Floyds puts mango in the Dreadnaught and maybe that's why I thought IPA right away.

I think pineapple might be one of the beers that taste ok with extract. You might want to do that. I know John Palmer uses an eyedropper and puts 2-3 drops into each bottle when he bottles that way he doesn't have to do the whole batch. Something to think about.

Yeah, that may be the way to go. I'd hate to waste a batch of beer....hmm....what to do? what to do?

I've done a few pineapple beers, and I've found the best way to add them is either in secondary or later. I've written a blog about using a Randall the Enamel Animal to filter beer through fruit, hops, or whatever else I feel like.

I've done both American and Belgian Wheat beers that tasted great with pineapple. Wheat beers are a great base for just about any citrus.

I've also done an IPA, but I added oranges and hops in the Randall at the same time. Pineapple is such a delicate flavor that it's hard to get right.

If you're doing an IPA, I would suggest adding about 3-4 fresh cored pineapples directly to your fermentor. Ruination is an aggressively hopped beer, so you'll need to spike up the pineapple content just to taste it.

That seems like a good plan. I may add it in the secondary. I do not want there to be a strong pineapple flavor. So, I may stick with 2-3 pineapples.

why not split the batch and add pineapple to half? Also if you have a juicer that may be a better bet than dicing and adding to secondary. If you decide to dice them just make sure to taste along the way and when the flavor is right- rack off the fruit to a tertiary ferment...