Not sure on how to add fruit flavors to a beer

I'm thinking about doing a fruit infused beer but I'm a little hazy as how you get the fruit flavor in the beer. Do you guys boil the fruit down and add it in as a syrup? I'm thinking of experimenting with a Pumpkin ale infused with cranberries. Tell me what you guys think. Cheers!

fruit added to secondary, often frozen and thawed back out since this damages cell walls in the fruit which helps release sugars (especially in berries).

that is only one way to do it, but don't boil the fruit, as that'll just make a mess and release more pectin, and thus haze up the beer.

For an easy way, you can buy some fruit extract from your homebrew store and add it per the directions.

I wouldn't do extract unless you're feeling super lazy, personally. They often taste more candied (or like cough syrup, in the case of cherry). Definitely go the fruit in secondary route. Oregon Fruit makes some really high quality purees if you want to check that out.

whatsleftofyou said:

I wouldn't do extract unless you're feeling super lazy, personally. They often taste more candied (or like cough syrup, in the case of cherry). Definitely go the fruit in secondary route. Oregon Fruit makes some really high quality purees if you want to check that out.

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A lot of craft brewers use extract, and they don't seem to have a more candied flavor, I guess they could use a higher quality extract.

One time and one time only, I used the LD Carlson fruit flavoring. It was kiwi/strawberry. It was not good at all. There was no kiwi or strawberry flavor. It was as if I had made a beer using chalk, Equal and Sweet and Low.

Sterile Puree in the secondary is the way to go. I haven't heard a strong case for any other method being more effective. Althought the lazy can always add an extract or a liqueur. Since you are talking about berries I'll only add this as a side note: Any time I do Citrus, in addition to puree in the secondary I add it's peel (sans pith) to the boil that lets the citrus play with the hops a bit more IMO.

lunchbox said:

A lot of craft brewers use extract, and they don't seem to have a more candied flavor, I guess they could use a higher quality extract.

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Maybe "candied" isn't the correct descriptor, but it definitely doesn't taste like fresh fruit. A lot of craft brewers may use it, but IMO a lot of craft brewers also make crappy fruit beers. To each their own if you like it, though.

I've tried to find a fruit extract for cranberries but no luck. I like the idea of trying to use the fresh fruit and breaking it down to use in the secondary. what's the puree? do you actually puree the cranberries and put them in the secondary or boil? sounds messy

I used a raspberry extract in a chocolate stout and I was very unhappy with the results - it tasted nothing like raspberry. The taste before I added the extract was pretty much what I expected but the result after adding the extract was sort of like a "perfumy" taste. I won't do that again...

I have had very good luck adding frozen/thawed fruit to secondary, I recently made a stellar strawberry blonde, a watermelon wheat and am in the process of making a blueberry pale ale, all with fresh fruits used in secondary and the flavor came through quite nicely, as for extract use, I prefer fruit, based mostly on the Sam Adams cherry wheat "cough syrup" taste.