Anyone have experience with dates (fruit) in secondary?

[BarleyStanding]

Brewing a Belgian strong dark ale and I want to split it and add dates to one half. I was thinking of chopping dried dates, freezing, thawing, and then adding for several weeks after primary had finished up (I do this with pineapple in a hef recipe and it comes out really nice). Has anyone experimented with this? What were your results and how much fruit did you use? I'm thinking I might get a second fermentation of some sort. Using WLP 500.

 

[JohnSand]

I used figs in a Dubbel last year, in the form of preserves. I thought the beer good, but I believe I used too much dark candi syrup in it. I like your plan, I'd be interested in hearing the results. I did a search of HBT, there are a few threads on dates.

 

[BarleyStanding]

I used figs in a Dubbel last year, in the form of preserves. I thought the beer good, but I believe I used too much dark candi syrup in it. I like your plan, I'd be interested in hearing the results. I did a search of HBT, there are a few threads on dates.

Yeah, I saw those threads, mainly adding to mash or during primary. I may wait till next batch and do a little more research, but I'll post when I land on a method and test it out. A local brewery made a special release BDSA with dates for a brew fest a few years back and it was absolutely delicious. Tried to get the method out of them, but no luck.

 

[BarleyStanding]

I ended up pitting and quartering a pound of Medjool dates from a local grower in Coachella, put them in a mason jar, and drowned them in vodka for a few hours. I decanted and put the jar of dates in the fridge until it was time for them to go into secondary. I let the beer age for about 2-3 weeks after primary was done and the FG was stable and siphoned it off the trub into a smaller carboy. The beer was about 8% ABV when the dates went in, and a secondary fermentation kicked off (slowly) with the addition of the fruit. The dates fermented on the top of the beer for about 10 days at around 72 F. Cold crashed the beer for a few days and then into a keg where it aged for another few weeks before trying it out. I don't know what the alcohol content is, but it seems quite a bit higher than the original 8%; I'm wondering if it got close to the yeast's (WLP 500) upper limit, maybe somewhere around 12-13%. I used 1 lb dates/3 gal beer.

The dates added a smooth layer of complexity to the overall flavor without overpowering the original beer. I'm really happy with the results and I will try this again in a few months with some modifications to the grain bill. I realize I was rolling the dice a little in my rudimentary method of sanitizing the dates, but I figured the worst that could happen is I get some kind of interesting funk; it is a Belgian after all.

Cheers

 

[JohnSand]

I'm glad it worked out. You might be able to estimate the abv based on sugar in the dates. Of course, any estimate of the sugar isn't precise either.
Next time someone searches for dates in beer, hopefully they'll find this thread.

 

[BarleyStanding]

I finally got a hold of the brewer who made the beer that started me on this kick. He told me he basically made equivalency bench tests to find the sugar content of crushed dried dates to dextrose and then used the date sugar solution as a primer in bottle conditioning his beer. I have some work to do on the grain bill/candi syrup end of my recipe, but when I think I've nailed it, I might try his method and bottle a few gallons. Equivalency bench tests; it seems this hobby always has a new horizon to conquer in the pursuit of the next great brew.

 

[JohnSand]

That's why it never gets dull!