Few questions,

[akwater]

A few months back I made a batch of strawberry wheat. It turned out great, except a couple little issues, ended around 4.4% and was more of a strawberry aroma than an actual taste. (A few friends said they could taste subtle notes, a few others couldn't even smell it). I let this sit in Primary for about 2 weeks then racked it onto 4lbs of puréed berries, then allowed that to sit for another week, then bottled.

At the request of a co-worker who wanted more berry flavour I made a raspberry wheat. This time I had read up and saw a few people saying you can add the berries to the primary.

So I added 4lbs, of raspberries to the primary. Today I transferred from primary to secondary (A crazy amount of seeds, and floating berries and I was hoping to clear it up a little). I noticed this time around my SG is completely different, this time is got up to 7.8% ABV.

Firstly is that normal?

I was hoping to have a lower % overall, would adding additional water to the beer bring it down?

Thanks, I'm still learning quite a bit, and have been reading the Joy Of Homebrewing, as well as Radical Brewing and brewing for dummies. As well as I've almost always got at least 4 or 5 tabs open with this site and other brewing sites.

The GF says I've become almost obsessed with brewing, even though I've only got 2 beers in Primary, 2 in secondary, 3 just bottled and another 3 drinkable right now Then again, she doesn't complain when I make a cider, or other drink that she loves....

 

[Vagrant]

You could dilute down with water but keep in mind you're going to dilute down all the other flavors as well. Use less base malt/extract. Learn from this batch by adjusting your starting gravity to compensate for the fruit sugars to bring the ABV down in future batches. If the flavor's good, just let this one ride. I wouldn't dilute down solely to bring the alcohol % down.

 

[gmcastil]

I can answer your ABV question right away. You racked a bunch of active yeast on top of 4 lbs of simple sugar. No wonder your ABV went through the roof.

What is it with new brewers and fruit beers? Seriously - go make a couple of simple pale ales to get your system under control and then start thinking about the exotic crap.

DISCLAIMER: I had a Port Anniversary Ale (not that great) and am halfway through a Gulden Draak special edition quadruppel, so I'm a little bit unhinged right now. I still mean well.

You're having questions with your results...that's great. Without a recipe, no one can help you. Anyone that has actually brewed a version of that strawberry / raspberry wheat crap isn't going to be able to help you without more information. Hell, I have no idea what you've done, what temps you've fermented at, what yeast strain you're working with, etc......but I can tell you that taking a beer that has only been on the yeast for two weeks and dumping it onto a huge batch of sucrose sounds hard to control.

Your SWMBO thinks you've become obsessed? Please....you don't have a fermentation chamber yet. Your refrigerator has probably not become overwhelmed with yeast cultures, science experiments, and other wild types of fauna. You aren't kegging yet. It gets a lot worse dude.

In order to anwer "Is it normal" you should post a recipe and some sort of description as to what you did. Without some sort of explanation as to what you did, I'm not sure anyone can answer your question of whether your beer is doing what you were expecting.

Screw ABV...do you like how it tastes? Too many people get fired up over efficiency, gravity points, and all that other crap - if you're making beer you and your woman like, who the **** cares whether the ABV is "normal".

Ok. I should go to bed.

Right. After. This. Beer....

 

[duboman]

I can answer your ABV question right away. You racked a bunch of active yeast on top of 4 lbs of simple sugar. No wonder your ABV went through the roof.

What is it with new brewers and fruit beers? Seriously - go make a couple of simple pale ales to get your system under control and then start thinking about the exotic crap.

DISCLAIMER: I had a Port Anniversary Ale (not that great) and am halfway through a Gulden Draak special edition quadruppel, so I'm a little bit unhinged right now. I still mean well.

You're having questions with your results...that's great. Without a recipe, no one can help you. Anyone that has actually brewed a version of that strawberry / raspberry wheat crap isn't going to be able to help you without more information. Hell, I have no idea what you've done, what temps you've fermented at, what yeast strain you're working with, etc......but I can tell you that taking a beer that has only been on the yeast for two weeks and dumping it onto a huge batch of sucrose sounds hard to control.

Your SWMBO thinks you've become obsessed? Please....you don't have a fermentation chamber yet. Your refrigerator has probably not become overwhelmed with yeast cultures, science experiments, and other wild types of fauna. You aren't kegging yet. It gets a lot worse dude.

In order to anwer "Is it normal" you should post a recipe and some sort of description as to what you did. Without some sort of explanation as to what you did, I'm not sure anyone can answer your question of whether your beer is doing what you were expecting.

Screw ABV...do you like how it tastes? Too many people get fired up over efficiency, gravity points, and all that other crap - if you're making beer you and your woman like, who the **** cares whether the ABV is "normal".

Ok. I should go to bed.

Right. After. This. Beer....

Wow, so like, how do you really feel?

The disclaimer was great but not really helpful in going off on the OP, perhaps you should visit the Angry thread, thread......

OP- post your recipe, process, yeast, temps, time spent in vessels, etc- details, and we can try to help, did you take notes on how you made the first batch you liked? Did you try to do the same with the second? Are you following a proven recipe or are you just winging it?

 

[y6y6y6]

The disclaimer was great but not really helpful in going off on the OP, perhaps you should visit the Angry thread, thread......

I think it's meaningful that someone might think that was rude. In most Internet forums that "rant" would have been relatively polite.

To the OP, yes, it's normal. You added more sugar.

I'd suggest adding the fruit in a secondary rather than primary, and only after initial fermentation has stopped. Also keep in mind that a large amount of what people think of as fruit flavor is just sweetness. Once you ferment out the sweetness the flavor is going to be more subtle.

 

[akwater]

Both were kits from the local brew shop.

Starting with a American Wheat Beer as a base.

Fermentables
3Lb Briess CBW Pilsen Light DME
3LB Briess CBW Bavarian Wheat LME

Grains,
.5lb Wheat Malt
.25lb Dextra Pils malt,
.5lb Vienna Malt.

Bittering hops 1oz, Mt Hood, pellets
Flavor Hops, Willamette 1oz Pellets

Yeast was 1 packet Danstar Nottingham

With the Strawberry OG was 1.055 FG was 1.022.

The wheat spent two weeks in primary at 64F (Temped the beer it was running 4-5 degrees higher inside) Ideal fermentation Temp was 68

Day 11, 12, 13 and 14 all with the same SG, and after reading about adding fruit to the secondary, this was then moved to a glass carboy, with the puréed berries.

Allowed that to go another week with very little change in SG change also temp was approx 63 during the secondary.

Those who could taste the Berries thought it was very subtle those who couldn't said it was a great wheat beer.
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The raspberry however I was trying for more of a flavour. Hence adding to primary and I had not taken into account the extra fermentables...

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On a side note, I have made simple beers. I should have realized the % answer as soon as I asked about it, even before. My apologies, for sounding like a complete idiot. The flavour is good, on the raspberry. I just was thinking it would have been a lower % for to be less of a sipping beer.

Again my sincerest apologies for not taking a step back and thinking over the basics before I posted.

 

[iamtheq]

This is the beginners forum, right? I'm glad you asked the question because, as a complete beginner, I hadn't thought about the sugar content of the flavoring.

 

[gandalfiii]

On a side note, I have made simple beers. I should have realized the % answer as soon as I asked about it, even before. My apologies, for sounding like a complete idiot. The flavour is good, on the raspberry. I just was thinking it would have been a lower % for to be less of a sipping beer.

Again my sincerest apologies for not taking a step back and thinking over the basics before I posted.

There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.