Brewing with Sorbet

[Chandles]

Hello, complete novice here, just about to embark on my third kit brew and I'm thinking of putting my own spin on this one in the laziest and lowest risk fashion as possible.

Basically I've got a Double IPA brew kit from extract, and I'm wanting to introduce a bit of fruitiness to the flavour. I've been looking up purees online and find they can be pretty expensive, and I've been looking about how to make my own and it looks like a pretty easy way to invite an infection unless I sterilise pretty much everything in my kitchen.

Here comes my lazy, cheap proposal; supermarket sorbets are like 33% fruit puree and the rest is just sugar and water. If I substitute the approximate sugar content of brewing sugar with completely melted room temperature Sorbet at primary ferment... Is that going to lead to a lovely Mango and Pineapple DIPA or are preservatives just going to kill off the fermentation?

 

[Chandles]

I can't find the ingredients for the specific sorbet I was thinking of using online, but here's the ingredients of one that's similar.

Mango Purée (48%), Water, Dextrose, Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Invert Sugar Syrup, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Maltodextrin, Emulsifier (Mono- and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids), Modified Maize Starch, Citrus Fibre, Stabiliser (Xanthan Gum), Glucose.

 

[LuukGx]

Probably won't kill off the fermentation, but you're adding a lot of stuff to your beer that doesn't add anything. I'm sure you kind find a higher quality sorbet somewhere. I have the luxury of working in a restaurant and I have worked with sorbets in my beers before, but those are just fruit puree & sugar.

 

[Chandles]

Yeah I did think that after reading the ingredients, I was surprised how many additives there were. I'll shop around and see if there's anything a bit more purist. Failing that I'll cough up and buy the puree, just trying to avoid investing too much money in a brew when I'm still finding my feet. Cheers.

 

[LuukGx]

Yeah I get that, that's how we started too. I just brewed with mango puree from Boiron, came out really well.

 

[AzOr]

An even cheaper easier method would be to look in the freezer section of grocery store and browse the frozen juice concentrates.
you may be surprised at how many fruit concentrates there are. Try several stores. I’ve found a huge variance in the assortment at different stores. Mango, pear, peach, berry, grapefruit, guava, grape, pineapple, apple (of course) are all concentrates I’ve seen in stores.
Make sure to check ingredients for things that are not friendly to yeast, such as preservatives etc. Citric and ascorbic acid is ok.

 

[AzOr]

The juice concentrates are also a good way of adding flavor without adding volume as well.
I’ve thrown in an apple concentrate into a light lager for a good summer lawnmower beer.

 

[mashpaddled]

You could make a puree at home and freeze it before using it. Freezing isn't a method of sanitation or sterilization but it will kill off a lot of microorganisms. Between that, the ph and alcohol of your beer, the likelihood of infection is fairly low.