Fruit Technique

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Fenix26

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Hey brewers!

I've been reading a lot lately about adding fruit to your beer. I REALLY want to develop a good, fresh fruit recipe for a beer, but I'm stumped on one area so far, the technique.

In order for me to get the best fresh taste I can get, it seems like adding fresh fruit in the secondary is the best way to go.

Thing is though, I don't want to run the risk of infection. I thought if one method that may work out. I thought of cuttting up my fruit, let's say apricot, and then steam it in a vegetable steamer for roughly 5 minutes or so, then adding it to the secondary.

I was just wondering if anyone knew if that would keep the best flavoring while minimizing infection at the same time.

Any thought?

Thanks!
 
1 - Freeze fruit then add. Will kill off most bugs.

2 - Heat to 150 F and hold for 20 mins, allow to cool to room temp and then add. This will pasteurize the fruit.

3 - Mash/liquidize fruit, add crushed campden tablet, leave for 24 hours, then add fruit.

4 - Just add the fruit and rely on the alcohol to protect you.
 
Canned purees are the best way to avoid infection I suppose.

Steaming could work but you may run into some pectin haze issues as well as breaking down of flavors.

with fresh fruit you can wash the whole fruit very well then drop the whole fruit in a star san bucket for a minute then cut up your fruit and freeze it in ziplocks to break down the cell walls. This is basically how bagged store brand frozen fruit is processed.

I use bagged frozen fruit from the grocery store on just about all of my fruit beers. I sanitize the outside of the bag and then just dump it into secondary and then rack onto the fruit. I also don't thaw my fruit I rack right onto the frozen fruit and leave it on the fruit until the fruit loses some of its color. for example raspberries turn white, blueberries pinkish purple. This usually is 5-7 days.
 
Thanks for the reply, Calder.
I've read all of those techniques, and I'm kind of homing in on #1 you have up there.

Isn't the point of buying fresh produce over frozen because fresh gives you the stronger taste?

For #2, does breaking down the molecules of the produce also break down the taste molecules of the fruit?

I certainly don't expect any scientific journal-like responses to my question, but more of a query to what folks find to be the best method of where taste meets sanitary.

Thanks agin, Calder!
 
Fenix26 said:
Thanks for the reply, Calder.
I've read all of those techniques, and I'm kind of homing in on #1 you have up there.

Isn't the point of buying fresh produce over frozen because fresh gives you the stronger taste?

For #2, does breaking down the molecules of the produce also break down the taste molecules of the fruit?

I certainly don't expect any scientific journal-like responses to my question, but more of a query to what folks find to be the best method of where taste meets sanitary.

Thanks agin, Calder!
Click to expand...

Most bacteria that can survive the acidity and alcohol levels in beer require oxygen to reproduce. When you add fruit to your already fermented beer the yeast will restart and produce the CO2 necessary to drive out the oxygen that was introduced when you added the fruit and the level of alcohol will also go up. I'd just dump the fruit in and let it go.
 
Depending on the relative strength of the flavour of the fruit and it's willingness to give up that flavor to a beer, target 1 lb/gal (cherries, berries) to 2 lb/gallon (stone fruit). The more fruit you use, the more flavor you'll get and the more beer you'll lose to absorption into the fruit solids that you won't get back out.
 
RM-MN said:
Most bacteria that can survive the acidity and alcohol levels in beer require oxygen to reproduce. When you add fruit to your already fermented beer the yeast will restart and produce the CO2 necessary to drive out the oxygen that was introduced when you added the fruit and the level of alcohol will also go up. I'd just dump the fruit in and let it go.
Click to expand...

I think you will find that in most cases, the alcohol level will actually go down since the SG of the fruit/juice added is often lower than the OG of the beer.

I usually ignore the effect and assume no change, but I don't want people to think adding fruit always increases alcohol.
 
I made a pretty good banana beer with 5lbs of Banana and 2 Cans of Tart Cherry using a Double Fat Tire Base. I called it Donkey Kong. I'm getting ready to do Funky Kong which will be a banana beer too, but with a double brown base.

I basically add the banana, peels and meat, at the last ten minutes of the boil, then add puree at flame out and then whirlpool for 20 minutes.

attachment.php
 
Fenix- every spring I do an American Wheat (BM clone) that I add fruit to. Apricot: I use extract at bottling. The apricot extract is really good. Blueberry, raspberry, and cranberry: I use frozen, thawed and crushed, then refrozen berries and rack the finished beer on top in a secondary for a week or so. More than a dozen batches and no infections.
If you cook the fruit by boiling, or steaming, you run the risk of setting the pectin, and if you then don't use pectinase enzyme, you'll get a muddy haze you can't get rid of. Remember, a fermented beer is acidic, alcoholic, hopefully low O2, and teaming with yeast. It's actually quite difficult to infect it.
 
20170304_194300_zpsq8du3rtj.jpg


I did a blueberry vanilla porter where I used 6lb of blueberry puree and 5lbs of frozen blueberries. I heated all of it to about 160 on my stove as I was mashing the blueberries, let it cool and added to my wide mouth fermenter. Juice got poured through a funnel to reduce splashing, and solids went in a 5 gallon paint strainer. I also added 1lb of lactose to the original recipe. I did not transfer to a secondary.

When I do this again, I will go up to 15lb total. It's good, but I think the extra blueberries would help this beer.
 
Brewing a wit this weekend thinking of using Blood Orange has anybody tried this. Was wondering about flavor profile
 
countyboy said:
Brewing a wit this weekend thinking of using Blood Orange has anybody tried this. Was wondering about flavor profile
Click to expand...

"Extreme Brewing", written by Sam Calagione (at Dogfishhead) has a recipe with blood orange. I can check it out after work and get back to you.
 

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