I recently made a batch of mead with apples that I added after fermentation was completed. It came out very tasty. However, I know you can add fruit before or after fermentation. My question: Are there any pros/cons for either way? Will before fermentation addition of fruit dilute the taste more than doing it after? I am going to start experimenting with my batches and wanted to get some input before moving forward. TIA!
Fruit, Before or After Fermentation?
- Thread starter shadz78
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Before fermentation: can provide a little nutrients, provides color/tannins/taste (that will be changed over the course of the fermentation as it will be processed by the yeast), can result in lots of trub depending on the fruit used, need to make sure you punch the cap down during fermentation
After fermentation: can provide some color; gives a more "fresh" taste, similar to the unprocessed fruit
Both will absorb some liquid that will need to be accounted for (if you really want to try to be exact with water/sugar/alcohol content) but manageable.
It all depends on the final product you want. For example, if you want a clear "this is a BLUEBERRY mead!" versus a more subtle blueberry with some slight rounding of the flavor. I personally prefer adding during fermentation; if I want a real punch in the mouth fruit flavor, do an F-pack
After fermentation: can provide some color; gives a more "fresh" taste, similar to the unprocessed fruit
Both will absorb some liquid that will need to be accounted for (if you really want to try to be exact with water/sugar/alcohol content) but manageable.
It all depends on the final product you want. For example, if you want a clear "this is a BLUEBERRY mead!" versus a more subtle blueberry with some slight rounding of the flavor. I personally prefer adding during fermentation; if I want a real punch in the mouth fruit flavor, do an F-pack
Thanks for the information. Just a couple follow up questions: What is "trub" (stuff in the bottom that is created during fermentation?)? What do you mean by "punch the cap down during fermentation"? What is a F-pack?
Trub: in this context yes, the stuff at the bottom. Over the course of the fermentation, the fruit will absorb the must, become mushy and eventually sink to the bottom, which takes up some volume. So just be prepared to account for some volume loss here.
Punching cap: during the fermentation, the fruit will rise to the surface. You will want to "punch the cap down," which means grab a sanitized spoon or potato masher or something and break it up. This ensures that there is no build up of carbon dioxide below the cap (not as big of a concern at the homebrew scale), as well as ensure the cap is getting mixed into the must, to minimize potential of mold/infection. They do this in winemaking
F-pack: A "flavor pack" (very creative term, eh?
). It essentially is just a reduction of the fruit's juices. This thread has lots of information. A very simple way is to take some fruit, freeze it, then let it thaw out and collect the juice from this thawing process.
"Trub" is the beer term for lees.
I have used fruit in both primary & secondary. I have typically used half of my total fruits in each, but, for the more delicate fruits, such as peach, I'm changing it to 1/3 of the fruit in primary & the other 2/3 in secondary. I will still get the wine qualities from primary , but, I will benefit from the larger part of the fruit flavor coming from secondary. This will dilute it slightly, but, since my meads typically finish @ about 16%, I'm ok with a fruitier 12-13% mead. 
More fruit in primary will give you more wine like qualities, more fruit in secondary will dilute it slightly, but, give you stronger fruit flavors.
I hope this helps you.
Happy meading
More fruit in primary will give you more wine like qualities, more fruit in secondary will dilute it slightly, but, give you stronger fruit flavors.
I hope this helps you.
Happy meading
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