Using prickly pear (and other fruits)

[jdahl10]

Hello all,

I want to make a prickly pear beer. It's my first time using this ingredient so I have some questions I wanted to run by you all.

This is for a 5 gallon all grain batch.

1) What style beer would you recommend using as a base? Right now, I am thinking a SMASH pale ale with simcoe. Farmhouse sounds good too, but I don't want to add too many complicating variables for a first try.

2) How much juice is appropriate to use for a 5 gallon batch? Obviously there is no exact answer to this, it's a spectrum, but I'd really appreciate a range. This stuff is really strong and I don't want to put too much in.

3) When should I add it? Again, no real answer. I'm thinking secondary for maximum flavor retention. Thought?

4) How do I account for additional sugars added? I've had this same issue before with other fruits. When I add fruits in a secondary, I don't know the final ABV of the beer. I can tell you the abv of the base beer, but then I'm blind as to how much sugar I've added since taking that initial FG reading.

Thank you I appreciate any help.

Cheers

 

[xpops]

what's a prickly pear taste like? that would help figure out a base beer to start with.

personally, i usually go with a light blonde anytime i'm using fruit though.

i typically always add to secondary, but i've never used juice - always whole fruit. If you do secondary and using juice, you could always add a cup or so, then taste test after a week or so, and add more if you feel the taste isnt there. Still tough, as being cold and carbonated will change that pronounced taste.

i wouldnt worry about accounting for additional sugars. There are some graphs out there that show how much certain fruits will increase your ABV, but i woudlnt consider it anything drastic that will alter the outcome of your beer.

good luck!

 

[TasunkaWitko]

This is "in general: - I've never worked with prickly pear, but I do have some now and intend to try with a pale ale and maybe another style. I have not yet tried adding the fruit during fermentation, but intend to at some point, for comparison.

In general, I use up to 1 pound of fruit per gallon of beer - but I brew 1-gallon batches.

In general, I crush, chop or puree them (whichever the situation calls for) add them either shortly before knock-out, or right at knock-out. They steep and release their juices/flavours well during the chill-down, it seems.

In general, I strain the solids out when transferring to the fermenter.

In general, the sugars of course ferment out, leaving a beer that is initially tart; however, the fruit flavours re-assert themselves as the beer ages a bit, and gain the a fullness of flavour that is - in my opinion - far more satisfying and "authentic" than using extracts etc.

In general, the choice of yeast seems to be very important. If you use one that scrubs the hell out of the beer, I am guessing that you probably won't get nearly as much of what you are looking for.

I have used this method very successfully for several beers - the most memorable ones are an apricot wheat, a cranberry wheat and a strawberry-rhubarb strong ale. There have been others; but while they were indeed good beers, I wasn't using enough fruit for them, so the flavours were too subtle, in my opinion.

Hope this helps -

Ron

 

[NTexBrewer]

Here is my sour/Brett beer with cactus fruit. It will definitely make a light colored beer pinkish.

I brewed a 3 gallon batch of a mixed fermentation beer that was Pilsner and unmalted wheat.

I put 0.75lbs of cactus fruit in 1 gallon after fermentation was complete. Let it sit on the fruit for 3 months and then bottled.

The fruit was peeled and frozen before I used it. I then cut it into pieces to fit in the carboy and added any juice that was still in the bag.

For me cactus fruit has a great aroma and initial taste but the finish is a little astringent. For the beer I brewed all of this comes through. Since my beer has Brett it’s final gravity is 1.002 so no residual sweetness left.

I think this beer would work better in a beer with a higher finishing gravity.

If I were using cactus fruit again, I would use it in a wheat beer or cream Ale. Only use bittering hops for about 12ibu and maybe even add some lactose to boost the final gravity some. For yeast I would use california common.

 

[BlkWater_brewer]

With Prickly pear and certain other fruits, the key is low ibu's. They add a subtle character and are easily lost with with dominating hops. Like the man said a wheat based recipe or saison work best.

 

[Juno_Malone]

I've never used Prickly Pear in beer before (but I have eaten it - delicious!), so take this advice with a grain of salt, but I'd consider roasting/charring it before adding/pureeing to get some flavor going from the Mailliard reaction. I do this with my Jalapenos and it really enhances the depth of flavor they add.