How long to age on fruit?

[seedubxj]

I have a 9 month old sour blonde that I'm considering racking onto peaches soon.

Anyone have a good ball park on the time frame I should let it sit?

I know I'll need to taste it to be certain, but whats the minimum time I shoudl let pass before I sample it?

 

[ChugachBrewing]

Watch out with peaches, they tend to disintegrate, making clarity a huge problem. Plus, once the sweetness is gone, think about the flavors you have left...? Have you considered apricots?

I'd let it sit 3 months, then if its still not where you want it, then go as many as 6. Wouldn't go further than that...

 

[Coff]

I usually plan for 3 months on fruit with mixed ferm beers, but like he said it may still not be done, you gotta taste and see where its at. Ive used Peaches a few times and did have any issues with disintegration but may have just been lucky. CB is right, basically all of the sweetness will be gone from the peaches, but I have gotten dry tart nice beers (mostly Saison) from peaches. Apricots would be perfect to.

I recently did a blog post on this, people got a bug up their but about the pits, they can haul ass, Ive had sucess using them and so has any Lambic producer.

http://riverwards.blogspot.com/2014/05/fruit-saisons-we-use-all-parts-of.html

 

[seedubxj]

I usually plan for 3 months on fruit with mixed ferm beers, but like he said it may still not be done, you gotta taste and see where its at. Ive used Peaches a few times and did have any issues with disintegration but may have just been lucky. CB is right, basically all of the sweetness will be gone from the peaches, but I have gotten dry tart nice beers (mostly Saison) from peaches. Apricots would be perfect to.

I recently did a blog post on this, people got a bug up their but about the pits, they can haul ass, Ive had sucess using them and so has any Lambic producer.

http://riverwards.blogspot.com/2014/05/fruit-saisons-we-use-all-parts-of.html

Thanks for the link. I'm pretty sure I follow you on IG as well.

 

[homoeccentricus]

I have a follow-up question. As I am from Belgium, I can buy lambic straight from the brewer, and recently I have done so: Girardin sells 10 liter boxes of old lambic.

I added 1.5 kg of frozen raspberries to the lambic, 10 days ago, and refermentation is now slowing down. Why the long (many months) lagering periods? Can't I bottle in a week or so?

 

[Hopinista]

I have a 9 month old sour blonde that I'm considering racking onto peaches soon.

Anyone have a good ball park on the time frame I should let it sit?

I know I'll need to taste it to be certain, but whats the minimum time I shoudl let pass before I sample it?

I'd split the batch, that way you can either bottle some long on the fruit and some young. Or leave some plain, sours are a big time investment and you might not love it with peaches.

I have a follow-up question. As I am from Belgium, I can buy lambic straight from the brewer, and recently I have done so: Girardin sells 10 liter boxes of old lambic.

I added 1.5 kg of frozen raspberries to the lambic, 10 days ago, and refermentation is now slowing down. Why the long (many months) lagering periods? Can't I bottle in a week or so?

Where in Belgium are you from? I'm from Liège

 

[sweetcell]

I added 1.5 kg of frozen raspberries to the lambic, 10 days ago, and refermentation is now slowing down. Why the long (many months) lagering periods? Can't I bottle in a week or so?

2 things need to happen to the raspberries: the sugars need to ferment out, and the flavors need to be transferred from the fruit into the beer. as you've observed, the first part is done relatively quickly. the second part, flavor transfer, takes longer. because one processes is done doesn't mean that the other is.

you can certainly bottle in a week, if you like, but i wouldn't expect all of the berry flavor to have soaked into the beer. you'll get more fruit if you wait.

 

[homoeccentricus]

2 things need to happen to the raspberries: the sugars need to ferment out, and the flavors need to be transferred from the fruit into the liquid. as you've observed, the first part is done relatively quickly. it's the second part, flavor transfer, that takes longer. fermentation and flavor transfer aren't the same process.

you can certainly bottle in a week, if you like, but i wouldn't expect all of the berry flavor to have soaked into the beer. you'll get more fruit if you wait.

Aha, ok, that's already something useful. Still: once the raspberries have become white, is there still any flavor to be transferred? In other words, if I taste a raspberry, and it has become flavorless, can I bottle?

 

[ChugachBrewing]

That is one indication, but it might be hard to get a berry without the liquid on it from the surrounding beer... I'd say just taste the beer and see if its what you are going for. If not, wait longer.

 

[homoeccentricus]

Where in Belgium are you from? I'm from Liège

From Antwerp, and still living there.

 

[homoeccentricus]

The fruit is still floating on top of the beer. Is that because of CO2 taking the fruit to the surface? And can I expect the fruit to sink to the bottom? Is that a sign that the lambic is "done"?

 

[ChugachBrewing]

It just means the fruit is less dense than the liquid. If it sinks it just means it has absorbed the liquid. Not an indicator as far as I know.

 

[Coff]

Thanks for the link. I'm pretty sure I follow you on IG as well.

Ah yes, I just recognized the username. Internets! How do they work?

 

[MileHighBrewer]

We used peaches in a sour blond. Went to 2nd round, table mini bos. Didn't medal but Damn close. Now, these were fresh Palisade peaches, some of the best in the world, and I spent a weekend tasting several varietals, and then narrowed down things like color, size, and orchards. So, not the same as buying canned, pureed or super market.

Anyways, we went 6 months before even tasting. I think too many people go too quick. Sours can last for ages. If you fruit and package at the exact taste you want, it WILL start falling off. I go past what I think is the perfect right now taste and then give it a few more weeks. That takes into account some flavor die off. Also, use enough fruit. We used close 3lbs/gal, just a bit under. Blanched, sliced, pits tossed, frozen for a few nights, racked on top