Smoked Strawberry/Rhubarb Saison

[Matthew Ault]

Hello, first time posting...long time lurker.

This recipe has been stewing for a while in my mind and I’m ready to make the plunge, but first I am curious to hear what others think...

5# Munich (10L)
2.5# White Wheat
1# Unmalted Wheat
.3# Acid Malt
.5 CherryWood Smoked Malt

1lb Rhubarb (Diced and boiled @ 10 minutes
4lb Strawberry (Frozen, Mashed up, Strained) Kegged on top of

1oz Styrian Goldings 60 min.
1oz Hallertau 15 min
1oz Belma Dry Hop 5 days

Primary: French Saison

My thinking with the Munich is more of a malt backbone to support the tartness of the rhubarb and the unmalted wheat because I would like to provide something for Brett Lambicus to chew on in Secondary. I will mash out to halt enzyme activity then add the unmalted wheat.

Has anyone any experience with something similar? Any feedback on the receipe?

 

[davidrueber]

I make a rhubarb beer using juice from frozen then thawed, uncooked rhubarb at the rate of .5 up to 1 lb. stalks to 1 gal finished beer. I add the juice to secondary. I don't have to fight the fiber, but get the flavor. The high rate beer is quite tart. The amount of strawberries I would increase.

 

[Leezer]

I made a strawberry rhubarb wheat last summer, and think your choice of Belma hops is good. I used that, a little at 60 and the rest at flameout. The rhubarb flavor dominated my beer (by design) but I think the Belma helped bring out some of the strawberry flavor and definitely added some aroma. I used 2.25lbs total fruit for 2.25G batch 60/40 rhubarb/strawberry. I froze the fruit, thawed, mushed it up, added some vodka, let sit in fridge few days and added the whole lot to primary. One of my most favorite beers.

 

[Mute_Ant_Brew]

My experience with strawberries says to add them at the tail end of fermentation and let them sit for 1-2 weeks. I kegged on them once and got some unexpected off flavors that I suspect came from the fruit. If I remember correctly it was something like a heavy sulfite type of flavor. Letting them ferment at the end of primary allows those flavors to get scrubbed out. I had the same problem when I attempted a strawberry wine that I bottled too early.