Flavoring hard seltzer with fresh fruit

[Brit the !@#$]

Working on my first batch of hard seltzer, so doing a crash course of info gathering. I understand that most makers are flavoring their seltzers post primary with manufactured flavorings, but I really want to use fresh fruit, mangoes in this case, with this batch. While many sources say this is possible, especially for homebrewers not worried about clarity and TTB categories, I'm having trouble finding much in the way of guidance on how to add fresh fruit to seltzer. It's sounding like my best bet is to puree my fresh fruit and add vodka, let this mix sit for a few days to let the alcohol extract the flavor and kill off any microbes in/on the fruit . . . but then what? Strain that mix and add it to the post-primary seltzer, and carb up immediately? Add without straining and let it all sit for a couple weeks to settle out and rack off before carbing? Part of the reason I'm interested in using fresh fruit is because I know going in that I won't be able to filter my seltzer to great clarity, and if it's going to be cloudy and slightly colored just from the yeast and nutrient, I'd just as soon have it be a more pleasant yellowish, fresh fruitful looking color and haziness, rather than the unappetizing tan from the yeast and nutrient.

 

[redrocker652002]

My solo experience with Seltzer did not go well. But, with that said, I have read that you puree it, add it to a clear alcohol, like vodka or everclear and then put it in the seltzer before packaging. Now, again, with that said, I only have done one batch and it really did not go well. I will defer to the pro's but that is what I have read.

 

[fluketamer]

you will always get better extraction with everclear than with 80 proof vodka.

 

[Brit the !@#$]

Thanks very much -- I appreciate the responses and will let you know how it all falls apart here in a couple of days. I'm using the Propper Seltzer nutrient/Lutra yeast pairing from Omega that boasts ridiculously fast fermentation and 100% attenuation; supposed to be done with primary in 2-4 days, and it's been working hard since Sunday, need to do a gravity check. I did pick up Everclear for extraction use. Guessing the puree step is just to speed things up, as I don't really fancy waiting 8-12 weeks for proper extraction. These folks have a great guide to using Everclear for fresh fruit extracts, fyi: https://www.vanillapura.com/pages/fresh-fruit-extracts-and-the-use-of-everclear

 

[redrocker652002]

Good luck. Mine stalled and took almost a month to hit FG. I don't remember what I used for yeast so I hope yours takes far less time.

 

[mashdar]

I was reading recently about the Amoretti brand of purees, but haven't tried them yet. Might be the "easy" way.

 

[hottpeper13]

Amoretti does make it easy and there is no loss to pulp. On another note. Why not just dilute a good vodka with RO water to whatever ABV you want? We are home brewers and don't need to ferment ours because of TTB laws. I say we should embrace a new mantra. To execute you must dilute! Why ferment?

 

[jdubdvdt]

Depends on your goal.

I make seltzer from fermenting dextrose with Lutra Kviek and Propper Seltzer Nutrient. I added 4lbs of mashed up berries at 50% attenuation and another 3lbs after fermentation. I added a little lime juice to increase acidity and help brighten the fruit flavor. I would say the 4lbs of berries was 75% stripped of flavor from the Lutra Kviek. That might be the problem with it. (6.5 gallon fermenter batch is what I do)

The flavor is there, but very muted and the seltzer is of course really dry which is ideal for a seltzer.
I don't think I got much from the flavor of the 2nd addition because I pulled it pretty quick. Next time I will be doing Amoretti puree just for the ease. 7lbs of fruit isn't cheap.

I do the same thing with my cider's and I typically do 1 week on the fruit after fermentation is complete.
I do the same thing with my fruited beers and I typically add it prior to fermentation and have no issues with fruit flavor.

It all depends on the yeast I believe and the water profile. 7lbs is just too much to mash up and too much cost when Amoretti will be cheaper and faster.

Needless to say I am extremely critical of my own beverages to the point where my wife thinks I am crazy sometimes.

The Berry Seltzer was served at the Highlands Craft Beer Festival in Inverness, FL last weekend and there were several repeat "customers" who chose the seltzer over other offerings. The same exact batch will be at this weekend's Hogtown Beer Festival in Micanopy, FL. I named it "Berries Gone Wild"

 

[hottpeper13]

I thing you're right about the Lutra. I add 1-2 lbs extra of Munich malt when using on beer because it just subdues the malt flavor.

 

[Brit the !@#$]

Well, for a maiden seltzer voyage, I am not unhappy with the results. I started this batch on Sunday and after pitching the Lutra Kveik I didn't take great care to keep the ferment room within its ideal range of 80-95 degrees. I did turn on a space heater for the carboy for a few days, but it never hit 80 in that room. So here we are on Saturday, six days later, and I am damn near 100 percent attenuation. Gravity was reading 1.010 yesterday, it's halved the remainder today down to 1.005, so I think quite capable of doing the full attenuation job if I was willing to give it another day or so. I'm pulling the plug now so I can bring it to a party, um, tomorrow.

The mango puree with Everclear did strange things. The morning after I added the Everclear to the puree, I had mango cheese. It was like the mess just coagulated (looks like there is some evidence to suggest that mango, or its seed and peel, anyway, could serve as a natural coagulant . . . no, I didn't blend up the seed and peel with the flesh, though). Henceforth, if I wanted to come up with some sort of natural mango extract, I think I would definitely go with chunks, even if they were small chunks. Because of this reaction, I couldn't just strain the puree; it's like a fruit curd. It wasn't even like curds and whey in draining cheese; there was nothing to drain off. So I just racked the seltzer onto the mango curd, which was soft enough that it kind of broke up on contact and I'm letting it sit over night, then straining it off for party time tomorrow.

Even though it sounds like oxidation isn't as much of an issue with seltzers, I wouldn't treat it this carelessly if I didn't think most of it was going to get drunk tomorrow and that this was just a good learning experience. I definitely hear the folks advocating for just mixing vodka and not messing with fermentation at all. Perhaps it is the way to go if you're more focused on where you're going, not the journey, and looking for a higher quality overall end product. But I've gotta say, even if you didn't add any flavoring at all to the seltzer, I actually like the flavor the Lutra imparted on its own. It's very pleasant in an almost indistinct tropical way. Glad to know about Amoretto purees for the future. I'll report back again if we all think my finished seltzer is just godawful or anything, but dipping a spoon into non-mango puree territory after mixing in, the mango flavor is definitely already there and quite pleasant. It's mild, but seems appropriate for a seltzer.

Glad to hear the tip about the lime juice to brighten things up, and will probably try adding puree midway through fermentation if I do this again, as suggested. For this batch, we're just going to carb with a Soda Stream since it's so late, but there is a lot of natural carbonation staying incorporated in the seltzer from fermentation. I just had cheesecloth over the carboy opening, so it's really surprising that so much was preserved.

 

[jdubdvdt]

I revised my "Berries Gone Wild" to use Amoretti Artisan Flavorings "Wild Berry" which actually was great. I did a pretty hefty dosage and I backsweetened the seltzer. I did this because it was a lot easier than buying that much fruit and crushing it. The flavoring seemed to be brighter by doing it after fermentation, but could have been the back sweetening. I messed around with it for a couple days and I came up with

My dosage rate:
Amoretti Wild Berry - 2.5oz/Gallon (2oz/gallon is the top of the recommended dosage by Amoretti)
Dextrose - 2.5oz/Gallon

I actually think the flavoring would be pretty good at 5 gallons with 8oz of Amoretti and 8oz of dextrose. Depends on how dry or sweet you want it to be. I'd recommend doing flavoring at kegging, not during fermentation. Maybe kill off the yeast to prevent refermentation from the dextrose. I think the above dosage rate was more similar to sweeter seltzers. The original one without backsweetening was similar to a White Claw.

 

[bernardsmith]

For really effective extraction - and I use this method when I make liqueurs and extracts such as vanilla - I simply macerate the fruit in vodka but I seal the container and place it in a water bath at about 160 F for two hours with a sous vide precision cooker. The alcohol cannot boil off because the container is sealed and the fruit macerates at that temperature as if it was macerating at room temperature for a month or more. I allow the temperature of the maceration to fall to room temperature in the bath, after I switch the sous vide off, so it is floating in the water for another few hours.