Adding Fruit

If I want to add a fruit puree or bitter orange (considering doing so for the wheat I'm making this week), is it absolutely necessary that I use a secondary? I only have a bucket and a carboy at this point, and would prefer to use both as primaries. So far I have not used secondaries, and prefer no to, but really want to give these peels a try.

its better to rack the beer to a secondary and add your puree in the secondary due to the amount of yeast and trub in the primary. you can clarify much better in the secondary. also you stand less of a chance of having pectic haze if you add the fruit to the secondary.

When I do fruit beers, I not only use a secondary, but a teritary fermentor. After primary fermentation is complete I usually rack to secondary and add fruit. After the beer sits on the fruit, I rack to the teritary fermentor to get the beer off of the fruit and clear up a little bit.

If you don't want to use more fermentors, go ahead and try it in one and see what happens. You will still have a good beer.

I have a few, maybe simple questions about adding fruit. I'm planning on doing a wheat beer soon, and want to add frozen raspberries to the secondary. How much should i add? 1lb? 2lb? more??? Also, when racking to the secondary, is it better to put the fruit in first, then rack....or rack the beer over, then add the berries? Thanks in advance...

i read in beer magazine (this months issue) that usually you add 1 pound for each gallon (ei 5 lbs for 5 gallons, 3 lbs for 3 gallons). next check and make sure the berries are in someway sterilized. the mag says do not boil the fruit it sets the pectins and will cause hazy beer. i have used canned whole cherries in the past and pureed them myself but i found the fruit kept jamming my bottling hose and thats even after i had it in a secondary. i am going to try using a cocktail muddler and just lightly crushing the fruit. it says freezing the fruit first is best because it breaks down the cell walls that will release the sugars of the fruit better.if using fresh fruit it says to steep in 160 degree water for fifteen minutes then cool in ice bath. then add. i would freeze then add. it says if you add it to a primary you get a much more mellow flavor. if added in the secondary you get even more flavor. but i was planning on using a tertiary system for the blonde ale fruit experiment i'm doing in a few weeks. i'm going to try 2 types of fruit and adding them at different times in the brewing process. well i hope this long winded response was helpful.

ps. use a wide opening fermenter like a bucket its a lot easier to get all the fruit out that way.

-nick

you use one pound of fruit per gallon. frozen fruit is best because the cells are broken down, but i would still boil. the reason is because frozen fruit is unpasteurized and you dont want the wild yeast that is found naturally in the skin of the fruit to add some zesty flavors to your brew. just boil for 15 minutes and thats enough. then cool. in an ice bath and smash it up really good and add to the secondary, yes youll have a pectic haze but, keeping the boil to a low amount of time will keep it to a minimum, also using a secondary fermenter will also help.

Ok, this helps alot.Thank you all... So using the plastic bucket for a secondary with fruit is better than a glass carboy?...i usually use the carboys for secondaries...i guess it would make it a bit harder getting the fruit in and out....hmmmm..

well the carboy is always optimal for a secondary, but remember, you have a lot of extra volume in fruit and water going in. so if you have a 5-gallon carboy, its a no go. use the bucket. you want to add quite a bit of water so that when you go to bottle, you dont end up with only about 4.25 gallons in the end. the other thing you might try is after your all done in the secondary, sanitize a strainer and pour your beer through it into another sanitized bucket and let that settle for a few days to clarify further and also to make sure you dont clog your racking cane with fruit trub.

brewmasterpodunkarizona said:

well the carboy is always optimal for a secondary, but remember, you have a lot of extra volume in fruit and water going in. so if you have a 5-gallon carboy, its a no go. use the bucket. you want to add quite a bit of water so that when you go to bottle, you dont end up with only about 4.25 gallons in the end. the other thing you might try is after your all done in the secondary, sanitize a strainer and pour your beer through it into another sanitized bucket and let that settle for a few days to clarify further and also to make sure you dont clog your racking cane with fruit trub.

Click to expand...

Why would you tell someone to pour their already fermented beer through a strainer?

Please do not do this unless you like the taste of wet cardboard.

If you have not done so already, check the fruit beer recipes. Mine has an extensive discussion about adding fruit:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f75/raspberry-ale-55316/

double_e5 said:

Why would you tell someone to pour their already fermented beer through a strainer?

Please do not do this unless you like the taste of wet cardboard.

Click to expand...

He's recommending it as a way to strain out the fruit chunks.

i suppose this might oxidize the beer and cause some adverse flavors...... hmmmmmmmmmm..... i stand corrected. dont do that. the only way around it then is to make sure you have plenty of water with the fruit so that you can get 5 gallons of beer off of your secondary. the floating fruit will take up about .75 gallons of space and make it impossible to get your last .75 gallons out without clogging your cane.

What if I wanted to just add the peels, maybe for some aroma? Could I open up the primary, put them in and leave it for an extra week or two?