Adding Concord Grape Juice to a Saison?

[GWSenese]

I've got about 2 gallons of frozen concord grape juice left over from making Jelly and am thinking about using it in a beer-wine hybrid. I know concord grapes aren't recommended for wine making and thus may not be great in a beer, but since I have it i'd rather give it a try then let it go to waste.

I'm thinking of doing a 4 gal batch of saison and then 2-3 days into fermentation, adding all 2 gallons of the juice.

Would love any advice others may have.

Thanks!
Gary

 

[Brewmex41]

I've got about 2 gallons of frozen concord grape juice left over from making Jelly and am thinking about using it in a beer-wine hybrid. I know concord grapes aren't recommended for wine making and thus may not be great in a beer, but since I have it i'd rather give it a try then let it go to waste.

I'm thinking of doing a 4 gal batch of saison and then 2-3 days into fermentation, adding all 2 gallons of the juice.

Would love any advice others may have.

Thanks!
Gary

I cant say anything about concord grapes, but I have used organic white grape juice in the past. I made a 4.5 gallon batch of a double ipa, then added 2 half gallon jugs of grape juice. Added 1 at a time starting right around the time fermentation started tapering off. Came out so good it's one of the few beers i actually brew more than once. So i say go for it. Maybe you could try a small batch first?

 

[botigol]

Concord grapes are used quite a bit in wine making, so no worries on that front. Which saison yeast are you thinking to use? I am having a hard time imagining the jamminess of the Concord going with the spiciness of WY3711 (my preferred saison yeast), but they may complement each other quite well. Conceptually, I think that one gallon might work better since the concord flavor is strong. Either way, it is definitely worth the try!

 

[stpug]

I made a 5G sour-mashed amber saison about a month ago to which I added a quart of fresh-squeezed muscat grape juice (23 brix) on day two of fermentation. I've since moved the beer from primary to secondary for bretting and wine-cube oaking, but I was able to grab a sample. I feel as though it could use more grape juice to give the initial impression of "wine", however the remaining aftertaste are definitely wine notes. I think in my case where I'm aiming for a (hopefully) complex, sour, aged saison that the minimal approach is probably best, however if I were looking to really showcase the grapes/wine then I would definitely up the ante with more grape juice than my measly quart .

Concord have a fairly dominant foxiness to them that can overwhelm other flavors if not balanced. I might actually look at a possible double-addition schedule, on an as-needed basis. Basically, something like adding 2-4 quarts on day two of active fermentation and on day 4 taste a sample; if you want more grape character than add another 2-4 quarts, or if you're please with the level of concord flavor then don't add anymore. It's an idea anyway.

 

[GWSenese]

Thanks all for the great suggestions. I'll be splitting the juice additions in two and tasting in between.

My usual saison is with WYeast 3711 (French Saison)

 

[Xpertskir]

Concord grapes are used quite a bit in wine making

Not in any wine worth a ****.

If you want to introduce fruit into your saison(which can be a very good idea), I'd do it with whole fruit or pick a better juice.