SurlyBastard
Active Member
I figured I might as well throw my 2 cents in on this one because it is one of the beers that constantly goes, and it seems I am brewing a new batch of this every 2 weeks.
First, If you want this beer to completely clear, you will have to go to extremes (and if you puree the fruit it will never clear ^^). Whirflock in the boil, gelatin in the secondary and cold crash at 35-40. Honestly, its a lot of work to get this beer to clear. I went through the steps to clear it once, but most people don't even care about the clarity, just the taste (im the only beer snob out of my friends ^^).
Anyway, onto my process. I never rack onto the strawberries. In order to get the most out of my yeast and let the yeast clear as much of the beer up, I place 4 lbs of frozen strawberries directly into my primary. The longer you leave the strawberries in the bucket, the more flavor will be imparted into the beer. However, I rarely let them sit for more than 2 weeks. At 4 weeks, a thin film usually develops on the top of the beer. Doesn't affect taste, but isn't very nice to look at.
My process is 1 week for primary fermentation. 2 weeks of strawberries in the primary. Then ill rack to a secondary with some gelatin just to clear it a little. Leave it for one week usually due to time constraints and then ill bottle. 4 weeks usually for the conditioning on this one. 2 weeks it is certainly drinkable, but 4 weeks seems to be the best spot to start drinking (and boy do they go fast).
I have yet to get mine exactly like Pete's, but I believe they use flavoring agents, not fresh fruit, and they also Lager it, so they won't be identical no matter how much you try. Besides, im not a real fan of flavoring or lagering. I think that about covers it ^^
First, If you want this beer to completely clear, you will have to go to extremes (and if you puree the fruit it will never clear ^^). Whirflock in the boil, gelatin in the secondary and cold crash at 35-40. Honestly, its a lot of work to get this beer to clear. I went through the steps to clear it once, but most people don't even care about the clarity, just the taste (im the only beer snob out of my friends ^^).
Anyway, onto my process. I never rack onto the strawberries. In order to get the most out of my yeast and let the yeast clear as much of the beer up, I place 4 lbs of frozen strawberries directly into my primary. The longer you leave the strawberries in the bucket, the more flavor will be imparted into the beer. However, I rarely let them sit for more than 2 weeks. At 4 weeks, a thin film usually develops on the top of the beer. Doesn't affect taste, but isn't very nice to look at.
My process is 1 week for primary fermentation. 2 weeks of strawberries in the primary. Then ill rack to a secondary with some gelatin just to clear it a little. Leave it for one week usually due to time constraints and then ill bottle. 4 weeks usually for the conditioning on this one. 2 weeks it is certainly drinkable, but 4 weeks seems to be the best spot to start drinking (and boy do they go fast).
I have yet to get mine exactly like Pete's, but I believe they use flavoring agents, not fresh fruit, and they also Lager it, so they won't be identical no matter how much you try. Besides, im not a real fan of flavoring or lagering. I think that about covers it ^^
Took me until around 4 am since i started at 11 at night but it was worth it... I'll post an update later when i am not at work 
However, when i was brewing this, it smelled great, i mean really, really good. I might try this, minus the berries next.
