fruit in beer?

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Arbe0

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If I add fruit (blackberry's) in to my sweet stout how do I keep it from fermenting more than I want? Have had problem with fruit in bottles and they sometimes become a geysers.
 
You really can't full-stop simple sugars from fermenting without killing the fermenters first.
At best you can slow them down (temperature) but that might be more dangerous than simply allowing the fruit to ferment before packaging. If you've pureed the fruit that shouldn't take long...

Cheers!
 
If I add fruit (blackberry's) in to my sweet stout how do I keep it from fermenting more than I want? Have had problem with fruit in bottles and they sometimes become a geysers.

When you pitch yeast into wort, you no longer control your beer, the yeast do. When you add fruit the yeast are still in control unless you kill them all. Add the fruit to the fermenter and let the yeast have time to eat all the fruit's sugars. When the fermentation is complete you bottle the beer with priming sugar which will be the only sugar for the yeast to eat. That way you get the proper carbonation and avoid geysers or bottle bombs.
 
Yeah, I made a dog's breakfast out of a raspberry and mango wheat a while back--didn't let the fruit finish and got gushers. Then it was too dry and I should have back sweetened with an unfermentable sugar. Smelled amazing though. I learned a lot and if I were to do one again, I'd follow the advice above.
 
Interesting... I have a sour on fruit and just commented in another thread about how it seems quite dry. I wouldn't have thought the fruit addition would dry it out, but I suppose you're only adding fermentable sugars with the fruit?

My plan is to let it sit for a week on fruit and a week off of the fruit just to make sure it's finished before bottling. Any advice on back sweetening at that point? Lactose to taste maybe?

OP, you probably won't have issues with yours drying out assuming you've added lactose to your sweet stout already. As others have said you probably just need to let it sit longer before bottling if you're having issues with geysers. Could be an issue with priming sugar maybe?
 
Another tip on fruit:
If you are not going to use a bag, i would recommend against blending/pureeing it.
The problem is the fruit will float and only part of the fruit gets exposed to the beer.
It also makes a mess of your syphon tube when you try to suck it up.

If u want to blend, use a bag. If you dont want to use a bag, then i would just either cut into small pieces or just slightly mash it. The alchohol is very good at penetrating the fruit and extracts the colour/sugar.
Also, from the bag frozen raspberries/strawberry pieces both sink.
 
Many fruits like mango contains digestive enzymes like the ones to convert starch to sugar. They can lead to dry beer. Hope you’re adding lactose etc. Without sweetness mango won’t shine through
 
Many fruits like mango contains digestive enzymes like the ones to convert starch to sugar. They can lead to dry beer.
Is there any evidence to suggest that fruit enzymes can break down the dextrins in wort or are you just hypothesizing?
 
Hello it is well known that they contain the digestive enzymes amylases.

The amylase enzymes in mangoes become more active as the fruit ripens. This is why mangoes become sweeter as they start to ripen. Amylase enzymes are also made by the pancreas and salivary glands. They help break down carbs so that they are easily absorbed by the body. Recently it was also discovered and published in science journals that even Hops contain similar enzymes. This is especially true in cases of hoppy beers like IPA etc.

It is common knowledge in India that certain fruits aid in digestion like papaya, bananas, mangoes etc
 
Hello it is well known that they contain the digestive enzymes amylases.

The amylase enzymes in mangoes become more active as the fruit ripens. This is why mangoes become sweeter as they start to ripen. Amylase enzymes are also made by the pancreas and salivary glands. They help break down carbs so that they are easily absorbed by the body. Recently it was also discovered and published in science journals that even Hops contain similar enzymes. This is especially true in cases of hoppy beers like IPA etc.

It is common knowledge in India that certain fruits aid in digestion like papaya, bananas, mangoes etc

... and pineapple. :)
 
On a very anecdotal side note... I boiled my fruit briefly to pasteurize, and like I said, my beer has dried out quite a bit.

Does boiling denatured the enzymes like amylase? If not, and one wanted to avoid the issue with enzymatic activity leading to dry fruited beer, is there any way around this besides back sweetening?
 
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