Bottling Fruit Beers

[vsusinga]

So, I am brewing a Strawberry wheat right now. It's been in primary for two days now. I am going to add strawberry flavoring at bottling, but i'm thinking about mixing it up and adding pasteurized blackberries to secondary. I have never done a fruit beer with real fruit. If i do add the berries, what is a good way to keep from getting fruit particles in the bottles?

 

[Beernik]

If you figure it out, let me know. I had to replace a bottling wand because a blueberry skin got stuck in it.

You can put them in a mesh bag.

 

[vsusinga]

Oh cool Beernik. So i can pour the puree in a grain bag i guess? U think any particles would float out?

 

[Beernik]

Are you doing the purée or are you buying a purée?

If you do the purée & leave it a little chunky, less is likely to get out but it's also harder for the yeast to get the sugar (because of the chunks). If you buy a purée, it is very smooth and will probably pour through the mesh bag. But then, you aren't getting chunks or seeds from it either.

 

[richlong8020]

you guys are over thinking this. I make a lot of fruit beers and I always tie a fine mesh bag to my racking cane. Works great and everything is clear. Yeast sediment still gets through but nothing bigger than that. I love using those.

 

[Beernik]

I've never gotten that to work for me. Even with just hop cones. The bag always got clogged or slipped down the autosiphon.

My solution has always been to not strain and not worry too much about what gets transferred.

One clogged bottle wand in 6 years isn't much of a loss. It needed replacing anyway.

 

[mtodd22]

I've made a few raspberry brews with whole fruit. I've found it helpful to cold crash it for a long while. Helps a lot although cold crashing is not ideal for a hefe.

 

[vsusinga]

Thanks for all the tips guys. I guess i will try it see what happens. My main concern is having floaties in my bottles. I will try straining with the bag

 

[vsusinga]

Oh ,one more thing. If brewing with fruit in a glass carboy as my secondary, i should probably use a blowoff tube right?

 

[Beernik]

If you add fruit to the secondary, I wouldn't worry to much about a blowoff unless you have very little headspace for a krausen to form. Fermentation isn't going to be as vigorous unless you add a ton of fruit.

 

[vsusinga]

Cool thank you

 

[ArcLight]

I used real Blueberry puree (49 ounces of Vintners reserve). It fermented but left a sludge layer an inch and a half deep at the bottom of my Better Bottle. It wasn't solid it was just concentrated. Its as if the yeast metabolized the sugars, but the tiny Blueberry particles absorbed the beer and expanded, increasing the sludge volume.

I would certainly use a bag next time I tried that. OR else have to leave behind a lot of lost beer in the sludge layer.