Dumping fruit into the primary

[jaycount]

The more I rack, the more likely I run into oxidation so with that in mind:

Why can't I just let the beer sit in the primary for 7 days, dump the fruit in (frozen peaches in my case), let it sit in this "secondary mode" (in the primary fermenter) for another 7 days, then rack to a 2nd fermenter for clarity. Instead of going from the primary to a secondary to a tertiary...

Just thinkin, I need to minimize my risk

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

Whatever works...

If the total time in primary is under 4-6 weeks, then I usually add the fruit to primary. If it's going to go longer than that, then I'll rack to secondary before I add fruit. I don't use a secondary on normal beers. There shouldn't really be a need to move it to a third vessel though. You'll probably want those peaches in the beer for more than 7 days, so that should be plenty of time to clear it. I'd say 14-21 days for the peaches.

 

[jaycount]

So maybe go 7 days in the primary, then add my fruit and let it sit for another 14 days then go straight to the bottling bucket?

I figured it would need to sit in a tertiary without fruit for awhile to clear up but if not, that's even better.

 

[breez7]

a secondary does NOTHING for clarity, if anything it can make it worse. The yeast is what clarifies the beer by cleaning up after themselves, removing the beer from most of the yeast wont help clarifying. There are lots of other threads on here about that so I wont babble on too much.

 

[josiahcox]

Do IT!!!!!! I'm with comfrt on this. If it's not gonna set for longer that 4-6 weeks then don't hesitate. Your beer will be fine and taste great.
When I do my hefe with oranges I pitch all of into my primary. Never had a problem yet. Secondary carboys make great star san containers or better yet, brew up another batch and fill it with that beer while you are waiting for the first to finish in it's primary.

 

[Revvy]

The more I rack, the more likely I run into oxidation so with that in mind:

Why can't I just let the beer sit in the primary for 7 days, dump the fruit in (frozen peaches in my case), let it sit in this "secondary mode" (in the primary fermenter) for another 7 days, then rack to a 2nd fermenter for clarity. Instead of going from the primary to a secondary to a tertiary...

Just thinkin, I need to minimize my risk

Yeah, that's what I would do. I have learned that you can't skip racking off if you are adding fruit, no matter how long you primaried if you add fruit there, you're going to have to secondary it.

 

[jaycount]

Yeah, that's what I would do. I have learned that you can't skip racking off if you are adding fruit, no matter how long you primaried if you add fruit there, you're going to have to secondary it.

So in contrast to the other opinions here, what is the purpose of moving to a secondary?


Thanks for the input everybody

 

[lumpher]

fruits have pectin in them that needs to settle out. there is something called pectin haze (kind of a wax) that will not go away if you don't get it off the fruit for a while to clear

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

It makes sense to do a secondary if you intend to wash the yeast or reuse the cake.

 

[Revvy]

to get the beer and the fruit goop seperated so when you go to bottle it it doesn't clog your bottling wand repeatedly forcing. You to keep taking it off clearing it resantizing it only to have it jam again and again. Which leads you to wanting to hurl the @#$@## bottling bucket across the room and make you resort to stupid things like sanitizing your arm and sticking it in there to try to rig a filter which doesn't work and gets you more pissed off and infecting oxydizing the beer. It is one of the few tines I still use one.

 

[jaycount]

to get the beer and the fruit goop seperated so when you go to bottle it it doesn't clog your bottling wand repeatedly forcing. You to keep taking it off clearing it resantizing it only to have it jam again and again. Which leads you to wanting to hurl the @#$@## bottling bucket across the room and make you resort to stupid things like sanitizing your arm and sticking it in there to try to rig a filter which doesn't work and gets you more pissed off and infecting oxydizing the beer. It is one of the few tines I still use one.

bahahaha. Ok that makes enough sense

 

[Revvy]

It makes sense to do a secondary if you intend to wash the yeast or reuse the cake.

I've not had issues with washing the yeast even after a month long primary. But I wouldn't wash a cake with fruit in it.

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Not to ask a question in your thread or take it over I just want to clarify something with a few in here. So if I'm gonna put fruit in my beer, I can do that in my primary say for 14 to 21 days? Now is that on top of my regular fermentation or when I initially put it in there after cooling and pitching my yeast? I'm assuming when you initially cool and pitch, but I obviously don't know. Then I would need to move to secondary off of fruit, yeast, trub, etc. to give it some time to settle out or at least get it off of the fruit? Very interested in knowing this as I plan on doing some type of fruit beer this spring. I suppose I could use my bottling bucket as a secondary............no? Since nothing is gonna be in there, but the beer would this be an issue?

 

[trizzant]

Sorry about the double hijack here. I'm pondering the same question with my raspberry wheat. My only differences are the raspberry is BB liquid and I'm going to keg instead of bottling. Does that change any of your opinions?

 

[jaycount]

bb liquid? What exactly do you mean? Like a small amount of extract or...?

I've done beers with extracts before, just add the extract to your bottling bucket when you bottle:rockin:

 

[trizzant]

It is a Brewer's Best brand 4oz raspberry fruit flavoring liquid. Also i'm kegging not bottling so should I just add it to the keg? How long to wait till I carbonate then?

 

[jaycount]

Yeah,just put the flavoring into the keg and rack the beer onto it. I don't think it should change your carbing plan at all.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

It is a Brewer's Best brand 4oz raspberry fruit flavoring liquid. Also i'm kegging not bottling so should I just add it to the keg? How long to wait till I carbonate then?

Don't use that crap. It's absolutely horrible...as with most flavorings. Raspberry and peach will give you a good flavor, but they're WAAAAYY too potent. I did a raspberry stout with 4oz of that flavoring, and it took well over a year for the raspberry to mellow enough to be drinkable. If you do want to use it...only use half.

 

[TheBroonery]

I've had good results with an apple extract, but most recently i suspect a cherry extract of contaminating the batch.

 

[Zamial]

But I wouldn't wash a cake with fruit in it.

Revvy has a dirty fruitcake! (insert rim shot here)

 

[mfraier]

Don't use that crap. It's absolutely horrible...as with most flavorings. Raspberry and peach will give you a good flavor, but they're WAAAAYY too potent. I did a raspberry stout with 4oz of that flavoring, and it took well over a year for the raspberry to mellow enough to be drinkable. If you do want to use it...only use half.

I agree.....did the same thing with a raspberry wheat with some extract from ahs and its overkill. I am letting it sit until spring but right now its been in the bottle over a month and taste like carbonated raspberries instead of a good wheat bear with a hnt of berry.

 

[trizzant]

Thanks for the heads up on the extract. I'll probably start off with 1oz then and taste after a couple of weeks. The question still remains though, do I rack to a secondary and add the extract or can (and should) I leave it in the primary for the full 4 weeks and add the extract at week 2? I would rather leave it alone and let the yeasties do their thing but not if the extract is going to interfere with nature and cause some off flavors.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

Thanks for the heads up on the extract. I'll probably start off with 1oz then and taste after a couple of weeks. The question still remains though, do I rack to a secondary and add the extract or can (and should) I leave it in the primary for the full 4 weeks and add the extract at week 2? I would rather leave it alone and let the yeasties do their thing but not if the extract is going to interfere with nature and cause some off flavors.

I would just primary as normal, then add the flavoring to your bottling bucket. You could do it in secondary, but it's not really needed since you're not adding anything solid.

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Not to ask a question in your thread or take it over I just want to clarify something with a few in here. So if I'm gonna put fruit in my beer, I can do that in my primary say for 14 to 21 days? Now is that on top of my regular fermentation or when I initially put it in there after cooling and pitching my yeast? I'm assuming when you initially cool and pitch, but I obviously don't know. Then I would need to move to secondary off of fruit, yeast, trub, etc. to give it some time to settle out or at least get it off of the fruit? Very interested in knowing this as I plan on doing some type of fruit beer this spring. I suppose I could use my bottling bucket as a secondary............no? Since nothing is gonna be in there, but the beer would this be an issue?

Feel like the subject is being ignored.............

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

14-21 days is the total amount of time you'd want the fruit in contact with the beer in most cases. It's up to you when you want to pitch. When I add lighter fruits to my beer (more citrusy fruits), I add them as soon as my wort is cooled to pitching temps. With heavier, more potent fruits, I wait until primary is done. Keep in mind that the more sugar the fruit has...the higher your gravity is. Because of this...if you're already almost to the abv limits of your yeast...you may want to wait until primary fermentation is finished to add the fruit....so you don't stress the yeast.

Don't use your bottling bucket as a secondary. Those spigots are known for leaking, and you could end up with an infection. I blame the only time I had an infection on using my bottling bucket as a fermentor.