Raspberry Cream Ale

Hey i just got my kit from northern brewer for the cream ale. I have been researching on this site for a week now and understand the processes of adding fruit...i think. I plan on pasteurizing the fresh berries and then adding the berries AND the water to the secondary and then racking on top. Would it be a good idea to freeze them and then pasteurize them to release more flavor when they sit in the secondary? I was also considering pureeing some to throw in the boil. Is it worth my time to put them in the boil or should i just add to secondary. If it is ok, will adding them to the boil create a different flavor then just adding them to secondary? Im looking for a fresh and slightly tart taste. Thanks as always

 

I wouldn't bother with putting them in the boil. You'll get color but all flavor and aroma will be driven off during early fermentation. Adding them after a week in the primary, or in secondary is the way to go. Freezing them is a good idea- it helps burst the cells and release flavor compounds.Then pasteurize them as you were planning and add both the fruit and the juice. Also not a bad idea to add the juice of one lemon- it seems to enhance the flavor.
2 summers ago I split a 5G cream ale batch and added 14 oz. of frozen raspberries to one 1/2. Beautiful color, and while I didn't particularly care for it, it was a big hit with mostly females. It did age very well, and a year later, even I liked it.
Good luck- it's sounds like you have a good plan.

 

I was thinking about splitting the batch as well but dont have the equipment to do it so im going for the full five gallons. Thanks for the response by the way. I did however have one more question. After i pasteurize the fruit should i puree it up before adding it to the secondary or just add whole berries? Is there any difference In taste? thanks

 

I used a puree from midwest in the secondary on a batch and it was good.

 

I believe I mashed them with a (starsaned) potatoe masher. The freeze-thaw cycle plus heating should burst the cells pretty well. To puree them just means dirtying another piece of equipment, and another possible source of contamination.

 

I would not add the fruit to the boil. As others have said, you'll drive off any flavor/aroma and you'll end up with a hazy beer.

I would ferment the cream ale as normal, and then transfer to secondary on top of your raspberries. I'm not sure if it's worth the effort to go through with pasteurizing the raspberries. When I add fruit, I'll freeze it and then add directly to the secondary.

 

Great idea with the masher! Never thought of that. As far as pasteurizing goes, I think I may stick to it . I have seen both methods mentioned on here however. And I will take the advice on not adding to the boil because I don't want hazy beer. Thanks guys

 

So I got the cream ale fermenting. After looking into some threads, the general idea is to add 1lb raspberries per gallon. Any opinions on that? And for how long? I feel like the fermentation will start up again from the sugars in the fruit so im guessing at least two weeks. Thanks


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I can tell you from experience, do not add 1lb per gal. It is way TOO much raspberry.

 

Another thing is don't expect a lot of raspberry flavor like you would get in a commercial beer just by adding raspberries. You will get the tartness alright, but the berry sweetness will ferment out in the process. If you are looking for a very slight sweet berry flavor you need to either add an extract flavor or add a little unfermentable sugar like lactose or maltodextrin. Otherwise there will be a barely hint of berry aroma and the berry tartness, but not..."Ohh, raspberries!"

 

Ahhh crap. Well I after the tart effect but I don't want it to be really sour. I'm glad you cleared that up cause I was under the impression that in the secondary, the fermentation wouldn't be strong enough to knock out the taste. I hate extracts but I guess I'll have to hunt down a good brand. Thanks folks!


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It is very tart. I made a raspberry wheat ale this past summer, and 1lb per gallon was too much.

 

Well I thank you for saving my beer haha. See, that's why I come on here!


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Any thoughts on back sweetning if it turns out too sweet? I have read about using lactose but nobody really elaborated on the process or said they have done it. Also I read that adding cherries will work also. If cherries are an option, do you just give them a quick smash after pasteurizing ? Sorry but I just read 12 pages from a raspberry beer recipe and it has the brain churning...


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Sorry , I ment too sour


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So the secondary fermentation is going good it seems. I'm curious as to how long I should let the berries stay in the secondary before bottling and should I wait a few days after I rack off the berries to bottle, so the fermentation can stop? Thanks guys. Tomorrow will be one week it's been in the secondary


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Taste it. If you have enough raspberry flavor and aroma then bottle it. I would think by a week that you would have extracted much of the raspberry flavor/aroma and you wouldn't get much more.

 

I have to disagree with those saying raspberries alone won't give you a strong flavor. I added 3.5 pounds of frozen whole raspberries to the secondary for a hefe (5 gallons) and actually found it to be too much raspberry flavor for the subtle hint I was looking for. Both the sweet and tart were very present. Next time I'm probably only going to put in 2.5 lbs. 5 pounds would likely give you something that would be more of an alcoholic fruit drink than a beer.

 

I added three pounds of fresh berries that I froze then pasteurized and smashed up roughly. We shall see what happens. I'm starting to wonder if I should repitch a pack of the same yeast I originally used during primary, when I bottle. I figure maybe the berries put the yeast to extra work and am worried about the beer carbing up. Would this hurt or is it unnecessary ?


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How did this turn out? I have a saison that I want to add 5lbs frozen raspberry to and I wonder how it might turn out.

I want some sourness so how do you think 5 vs 3 might taste?


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