grapefruit in secondary

[mccartney]

i visited Portland recently and found a local ruby ale in a tavern that blew my mind, so i had to try to duplicate it.

i have a pale ale in primary right now that i am going to transfer to secondary soon and add some grapefruit. my concern is infection. i recently had a batch go sour in secondary while dry hopping so i might be a little paranoid.

my question is if i add some grapefruit, what steps do i need to take to prevent infection. ive read that dry hopping is safe because the hops generally kill infection just by nature, but i am not sure about grapefruit. should i boil the fruit before adding to kill bacteria? or are there any other steps when using fruit? i dont know if using grapefruit and just making sure my hands and equipment are sanitized is really enough.

suggestions please?

 

[ewebb]

... Do you need to boil citris? Its already acid enough to take care of most critters (I think) so just sterilize the rind?

This is just me asking along the same question as you, not really advice....

 

[RM-MN]

You might not need grapefruit in the secondary or maybe not even secondary. I used Citra and Cascade hops for dry hopping and the beer was a lot like drinking grapefruit juice with an alcoholic kick. That combination of hops seems to just scream grapefruit.

 

[duboman]

You can soak the rind in vodka and this will sanitize it easily. When peeling the rind be certain to not get the white pith, this can be very bitter in the final product. IME you will need at least 2 whole grapefruits for 5 gallons to achieve any flavor profile and about 5-7 days contact time.

In addition, once the beer drops bright in primary you can add the citrus directly in the primary and avoid the use of secondary completely.

 

[BigFloyd]

You might not need grapefruit in the secondary or maybe not even secondary. I used Citra and Cascade hops for dry hopping and the beer was a lot like drinking grapefruit juice with an alcoholic kick. That combination of hops seems to just scream grapefruit.

This ^^^^^. I've got a summer pale brewed 6 days ago that I took a hydro sample on yesterday. It had a really nice (balanced, not tart) citrusy/grapefruit flavor.

.5oz Warrior @ 60, 1oz Citra @ 5, 1oz Amarillo @ 0. (36.5 IBU's)

I suspect that the commercial brews (like Shiner's Ruby Red) which use grapefruit add it after they've already removed the yeast. If you add it while the yeast is still present, they'll eat whatever fermentable sugars are contained in the grapefruit (which ain't all that sweet to begin with). What they leave is probably going to be unpleasantly bitter/tart.

 

[MrBrown]

You could dry the peel in an oven or over a few days and toss it in the boil with 10 minutes left.

 

[IslandLizard]

... IME you will need at least 2 whole grapefruits for 5 gallons to achieve any flavor profile and about 5-7 days contact time.

In addition, once the beer drops bright in primary you can add the citrus directly in the primary and avoid the use of secondary completely.

Good seeing some positive directions for the amount and timing on adding citrus.
I've been experimenting for a while with adding grapefruit, and orange, but only the zest.
Yes, some hops leave a strong grapefruit flavor, like Chinook, Cascade, Amarillo, etc. But that's different from adding citrus fruit.

Are you saying to add the entire zest of 2 grapefruits after primary fermentation has finished? That sounds like an awful lot of zest, but maybe right.

I've added 1/2 ounce of zest, the yield of about 1/2 a grapefruit, using a "hop-stand" for 10-15 minutes @190°F. The hydro sample was very very grapefruity. After fermentation had completed I could not detect any of it, whatsoever, and suspect the flavors were either stripped out by the yeast or CO2, or converted, or masked. I can see using more to help retain some in the end.

Now adding zest after primary ferm has completed, and the beer has cleared a bit, the story could be different as there is far less stripping/conversion going on. More like a dry hop. Do you still advise the same amount (2 grapefruits) from your experience?

How about the grapefruit juice? Add the juice of 2 grapefruits at the same time? Any good experience with that?

I've read people adding orange juice to their beer and some reported it tasting like puke when all done. That's probably since the sugars got eaten and there was nothing left to balance the acid. Or they experienced an added infection without their knowledge.

 

[mccartney]

as bigfloyd mentioned, i was also concerned about any sugars from the grapefruit being fermented. even after you siphon from primary to secondary you cant get rid of the yeast, or even after filtering, the yeast is still present. so how do you get the grapefruit flavor to last?

i have experimented with the citrus hops too and it doesnt compare to using real fruit.

i didnt think about adding the zest, i was just going to peel it and maybe mash it up in a ziplock before throwing it into secondary. does the zest really have some citrus properties to it?

 

[IslandLizard]

The zest, the yellow or orange very outer layer is very fragrant and citrusy. Orange and lemon zest is used everywhere. Grapefruit maybe not as much, although I add it to home made raisin bread, and prefer it over lemon. I just grate it very finely and thinly. The white pith underneath is not so tasty. It is very bitter. I wouldn't put that in a beer. Now grapefruit marmalade is a delicacy, and has some pith in it.

I can live on grapefruit. And IPA. And Saison....