First off, I've been lurking here a few months and am amazed by all the great info & advice around here.
About a week ago I brewed up a 5gal partial mash american wheat recipe. In my effort to understand flavors, I want to split it up 5 ways and add different fruit to each 1gal batch for secondary... Here is the plan in my head:
1gal "Control" batch with no additions.
1gal with ~1lb fresh Raspberry
1gal with ~1lb fresh Strawberry
1gal with ~1lb fresh Blueberry
1gal with ~1lb fresh Cucumber
Some questions:
-I'm thinking 1lb might be a little too much, based on what some other people have said and tried. Would anybody recommend dialing it back to .75lb? I'm also sure different fruit will flavor differently at the same weight, so that's something to consider. Maybe 1lb of cuke but only .6lb of raspberry. Might just wing it here as a first timer and keep notes, then adjust... but I'd appreciate some advice.
-I'm thinking puree (or otherwise mush up, finely chop the cuke) the fruit, add to .5cup water and hold it at ~160* for 20 minutes, then add to secondary, then rack on top. Is this sanitation step completely necessary for secondary ferm? Do I really need to mash up the fruit? What about concerns with seeds? Do I need to filter before I bottle?
-I'll let sit on secondary for 7-10 days... thoughts here?
-Should I rig up all these on blowoff tubes, or is airlock fine?
Sorry for all the questions but thanks for advice!
About a week ago I brewed up a 5gal partial mash american wheat recipe. In my effort to understand flavors, I want to split it up 5 ways and add different fruit to each 1gal batch for secondary... Here is the plan in my head:
1gal "Control" batch with no additions.
1gal with ~1lb fresh Raspberry
1gal with ~1lb fresh Strawberry
1gal with ~1lb fresh Blueberry
1gal with ~1lb fresh Cucumber
Some questions:
-I'm thinking 1lb might be a little too much, based on what some other people have said and tried. Would anybody recommend dialing it back to .75lb? I'm also sure different fruit will flavor differently at the same weight, so that's something to consider. Maybe 1lb of cuke but only .6lb of raspberry. Might just wing it here as a first timer and keep notes, then adjust... but I'd appreciate some advice.
-I'm thinking puree (or otherwise mush up, finely chop the cuke) the fruit, add to .5cup water and hold it at ~160* for 20 minutes, then add to secondary, then rack on top. Is this sanitation step completely necessary for secondary ferm? Do I really need to mash up the fruit? What about concerns with seeds? Do I need to filter before I bottle?
-I'll let sit on secondary for 7-10 days... thoughts here?
-Should I rig up all these on blowoff tubes, or is airlock fine?
Sorry for all the questions but thanks for advice!