Fruit beer question

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MgMt_Home_Brew

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So this past summer I tried to brew an apricot black berry wheat ale from extract. Here is the inventory:

-6 lbs. Wheat Malt Syrup
-1 oz. Willamette (60 min)
-1 oz. Cascade (15 min)
-Wyeast #1010 American Wheat Yeast
-3.3 pounds of peal/pitted apricots
-2.25lbs of black berries

I did a full boil so I did about 50% less bettering hops then what was provided in the kit. I moved it to the secondary 9 days after I started and added the fruits into a mesh bag. The fruit stayed in until I bottled 12 dyas later.

I want to try and brew it again because it was pretty good however it was too tart. My thoughts were:

the yeast started breaking down the sugars in the fruits so they were as
sweet?

or

the fruit was just too tart?

Next time I am thinking I will use the oregon fruit purees to ensure the fruit is good for brewiwing and not too tart but should I add the fruit at a different time? Some kits I see instructions to add the fruit (pumkin in the case I saw) during the last 10 minutes of the boil?

Should I have used more bittering hops?

So I guess I just need to know what is me or the fruit? or both :drunk:

thanks guys
 
I find that blackberries are a pretty tart fruit. I would think that you aren't going to get away from tartness when it comes to that fruit. Maybe if you used a lower attenuating yeast you could keep some residual sweetness from the malt but that's just a thought not a recommendation.

My only way of adding fruit would be to secondary. But, again, that's just my way.

:tank:
 
I made a strawberry wheat over the summer. I added 1# of strawberries the last 15min of the boil and 3# of strawberries to the secondary for one week. After the first week in the bottle the strawberry taste was prominent and it had a tart after taste. After the third week the tartness was gone and the strawberry taste had mellowed. I had one last weekend and I get just a hint of strawberry. I think the tartness came from the boil, next time I make this I will probably add all the fruit to the secondary.
 
Well im not sure if your tartness came from the boild since I had it too and did not add during the boil. I am wondering if the Oregon fruit purees are sweeter/riper fruits so maybe using those would help with the tartness.

When you added your strawberries were they fresh strawberries or a pureethat you bought?
 
I made a raspberry pale wheat this summer with 4lbs frozen raspberries in the secondary and I entered it into a regional comp. The judges thought it was too tart (one of whom was a pro brewer) and suggested I cut the raspberries in half and then add half the recommended amount of extract when bottling/kegging. It seems like a good idea. I didn't add any crystal to the bill either so I'll add a little of that and try the half and half method and see how it turns out next summer.
 
Try balancing before bottling with an unfermentable sugar-I like lactose.

May the Yeast be With You!
 

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