Beer turned purple after adding blueberries

[HeisenbergBlue]

Hi, first post here!

So after reaching a FG reading of 1.010 for my American Hefeweizen, I decided to add some blueberries to the secondary and rack the beer on top of it.

I've read that 5 pounds of blueberries were enough for a 5 gal batch so I bought five (15oz Net Weight) cans of Oregon Blueberries in Light Syrup, puree them in a sanitized blender and added the puree into the glass carboy.

After transferring I ended up with 5 gallons of purple beer. And I meen really purple, like the color of a grape soda.

So my question is, will the color clear out after a few weeks? Has this ever happen to anyone before? Is it ruined?

 

[timrox1212]

The color will lighten slightly but will most likely be the same. I just brewed a raspberry lager with 5 pounds of raspberries and the beer came out really really pink. Swmbo loved it.

 

[BigJack]

I don't mean to be a jerk, but didn't you expect 5 pounds of blueberries to color your beer?

 

[Schmaffy]

I'm sure others more knowledgeable than I will respond, but I have a feeling the answer's going to be something like, "Bottle it, age it , drink it. If it tastes good, it's not ruined."

Not for nothing, but I would totally drink a purple beer. Though I think you should change the name to "Royal Hefeweizen". :-D

 

[mattd2]

I don't mean to be a jerk, but didn't you expect 5 pounds of blueberries to color your beer?

Blue obviously! (sorry misread your question - I thought you asked him what colour he was expecting )

I was going to say it is the beer Gods telling you not to add fruit to beer

 

[okiedog]

Red and blue makes purple. Not surprisingly, yellow or orange obviously create a similar color. Anyway, color is not flavor. If it tastes good, Drink it!

 

[VikingChrisColby]

The color of blueberries is conferred by molecules called anthocyanins. These molecules change color with pH. If your beer turned purple, it means the pH is somewhere in the neighborhood of 4.5-5.0 (maybe slightly high, but not so much as to be worrisome). Pretty cool, if you ask me.

http://chemistry.about.com/od/acidsbase1/ss/Edible-Ph-Indicators-Color-Chart.htm

Chris Colby
Editor
beerandwinejournal.com

 

[Brewtah]

Chuckle, still laughing. That is going to be a great conversation starter. Make sure your teeth don't turn blue :fro:

 

[bford]

Did you wash the syrup off first? I think I would have washed them and then lightly squished them in a plastic bag and added them... still might have turned everything purple... I'm no scientist!

 

[robertus]

Ship it to Baltimore, call it Ravenbrau, and you're good to go.

 

[JonM]

Blueberry skin is blue. Blueberry juice is purple.

 

[johns]

sent me some in chicago and call it "brews brothers" beer

 

[HeisenbergBlue]

Hi

Thanks for all your answers.

Now I have a blueberry high krausen thing going on in here!!!

I'll let you know how it turns out

 

[Clonefan94]

Violet Heferegarde.

I'd make the label with an Oompa Loompa (original movie) holding a giant Blueberry.

 

[Darwin18]

My blueberry kolsch looked like last year. It won 1st place in the fruit beer category at three separate competitions and 3rd BOS. My point is that the appearance isn't as critical as the aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel of the beer. Bet it turns out just fine!

 

[Marmike600]

If you are super worried about it, I have a solution for you.


Send it to me, I will drink it.


See, problem solved. You are welcome.

 

[dannyjed]

I made a Blueberry Wheat beer last fall and it did the same thing. I called it "Purple Drink" and it was kinda weird drinking purple beer, but it tasted OK.

 

[skuhn2004]

Hi

Thanks for all your answers.

Now I have a blueberry high krausen thing going on in here!!!

I'll let you know how it turns out

Please do. I have a Weihenstephan I put in the primary last Sunday. I want to rack it on top of a 3lbs can of BB puree. I want to dry hop it but I don't know when I should add the hops since the BB puree is going to start another round of fermentation.

 

[fuzzy2133]

Violet Heferegarde.

I'd make the label with an Oompa Loompa (original movie) holding a giant Blueberry.

Violet you are tuning violet and blowing up like a blueberry!

 

[Hello]

You can send some here and I'll check it for you.

I'd call it purple haze. Not an original name for a beer but it works.

 

[btienk]

The color will lighten slightly but will most likely be the same. I just brewed a raspberry lager with 5 pounds of raspberries and the beer came out really really pink. Swmbo loved it.

Can you post a picture of it? I would love to make a pink ale for my fiance sometime. She would love it!!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[HeisenbergBlue]

Ok. So after weeks of frustration and impatient waiting, here is the final result. The beer, not only came out beautiful, it turned out to be one of the best brews I've made. Perfect balance of fruit and wheat with a light hop presence and a nice tart aftertaste. Very refreshing and clean.

 

[finsfan]

Did it turn your mouth purple?

 

[Brewser_]

Looks really cool, I'm thinking of adding blueberries to a blonde ale soon. My question is from 1-10, 10 being high, what was the fruit flavor. I know you said it was well balanced but I'm not sure if you were shooting for a hint of blueberry or a lot of blueberry flavor

 

[HeisenbergBlue]

Nope. It didn't turn my mouth purple

 

[HeisenbergBlue]

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'll say like a 6. But more like a tart berry flavor.

 

[Paradigm]

Perhaps boiling the fruit ahead of time might lessen this effect next time?