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First fruit beer and keg, any advice on how to add fruit?

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SoaringMoose

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I made a blueberry hefe that is done fermenting from 1.08 OG to 1.035 FG. This is my first fruit beer, and I am going to add blueberries get more flavor(I know this is very common), but the alcohol level is right where I want it.

If i add the blueberries into the primary and cold crash the whole bucket, wait a couple weeks, and then siphon into a keg is there any foreseeable problem with this method? Will the yeast still eat up the sugars from the blueberries in the fridge since practically all the yeast is still in the primary bucket?

Should I rack into a keg first to remove most of the yeast then add the blueberries with a muslin bag? Does anyone have experience with this being easier?

I thought racking and cold crashing would essentially halt all fermentation, but now as I research I find conflicting information so I am a bit lost. :drunk:

I guess i'm just torn on what is the easiest method while avoiding clogging the keg and keeping the ABV at the same level. What do you guys normally do? Any advice or experience you can share is appreciated. :mug:
 
I make a kumquat wheat pale ale during the summer and I add the fruit directly to the keg in a muslin bag.
I cold crash the beer in the fermentor before racking it over to the keg. Cold crashing should put all the yeasties to sleep and stop fermentation.
When I add the kumquats I always cut them in half and give them a little squeeze, to get the seeds out and also release some juice, then put them in a sanitized muslin bag. I weigh the bag down with a big marble type rock thing I bought at an arts and craft store. This way the bag of fruit sits down by the dip tube in the keg and the beer gets pulled through the bag on it's way out to the glass. It seems to work pretty well and never clogs.

If you secondary with the fruit you will run the risk of the yeast eating away at the sugars in the fruit thus lowering your gravity and also minimizing the real fruit taste you're going for. You'll still be able to smell it nicely but you might not get the overall taste you're looking for.
 

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