Adding Fruit: Frozen or Thawed

[jalgayer]

Hey All,

This weekend I need to rack onto of 4lbs of raspberries. I have the frozen/no preservative or additive bags.

Should I thaw?

Concerns: If I do thaw = contamination...If I do not... will lower temp of beer to a difficult to ferment at temp.

Thoughts?

 

[ajwillys]

I would thaw it first. You don't need to really worry too much about contamination as you know have a substance that is about 4 ph and 4+% ABV. Certainly not what I would consider a hospitable environment. Also, freezing temperatures does not eliminate contamination. I agree that you might get a stall if you did go with frozen because of the dropped temp.

 

[Foolmonkey]

When using fruit for wine I use some potassium metabisulfate on the fruit before adding the yeast. This cleans it up, killing wild yeast and bacterias. You could thaw, mix a little water with them and add the correct amount of the potassium metabisulfate. But you'd have to wait 24 hours for the chemicals to subside or it could effect the rest of your fermentation.

Also pectic enyzme is used to break down the fruit to maybe give even more of a boost or raspberry flavor in your beer. You'd probably add this right before you mixed in your beer. However, double, triple check info on how to use these two chemicals with beer because I've never done it.

 

[ajwillys]

I do use pectic enzyme but I've never used the potassium stuff before. Doesn't kill all the yeast so the fruit doesn't ferment out?

 

[Foolmonkey]

After adding the potassium metabisulfite to the thawed fruit it should remove any bacteria or wild yeast left on the fruit, but you'll have to do this 24 hours before you plan to put the fruit with the beer or to add more yeast to your brew. If you don't wait, the potassium metabisulfite could stall your fermentation or stop it altogether. It can't completely prevent the fruit from being fermented. But again this is what I would do in the situation. Just thawing the fruit and adding it is probably just as safe.