Ground Cherries, Anyone?

[dougdecinces]

Physalis pruinosa, ground cherries, or cape gooseberries are a small, sweet, annual fruit. They look like a tomatillo, and their texture is more like a tomato but their flavor is more akin to a pineapple/strawberry hybrid, with a slight tartness.

It is now late Summer, and my garden is in full bloom. I put four of these plants in the ground in April, and they are producing wildly. Right now I have about a pound in the fridge and I need to figure out what to do with it. So of course my mind immediately turned to beer.

Given the very little information I provided, what beer would you recommend for this style? I'll brew a small 1-1.5 gallon batch next week. By then I should have about 2 pounds of fruit. I have 3 pounds of wheat DME, 4 pounds of pilsner LME, and 1 pound of oats; lots of Sterling and Palisade hops; and washed American and London ale yeast. I can go to my LHBS to pick up any specialty grains necessary.

My initial thought was a Belgian golden ale, but I can't really justify spending $7 yeast for 1.5 gallons of beer.

Plan B would be to wait until I brew my mulberry mead next month and make an extra gallon or two that I can divert and siphon on to the ground cherries.

Do I have any takers? What would you do?

 

[yodalegomaster]

I have done lot's of fruit beer's and nothing beats the simplest 20 ibu pale ale with 1056 yeast. 2 lbs of fruit per Gallon.

 

[brucedelta]

Physalis pruinosa, ground cherries, or cape gooseberries are a small, sweet, annual fruit. They look like a tomatillo, and their texture is more like a tomato but their flavor is more akin to a pineapple/strawberry hybrid, with a slight tartness.

It is now late Summer, and my garden is in full bloom. I put four of these plants in the ground in April, and they are producing wildly. Right now I have about a pound in the fridge and I need to figure out what to do with it. So of course my mind immediately turned to beer.

Given the very little information I provided, what beer would you recommend for this style? I'll brew a small 1-1.5 gallon batch next week. By then I should have about 2 pounds of fruit. I have 3 pounds of wheat DME, 4 pounds of pilsner LME, and 1 pound of oats; lots of Sterling and Palisade hops; and washed American and London ale yeast. I can go to my LHBS to pick up any specialty grains necessary.

My initial thought was a Belgian golden ale, but I can't really justify spending $7 yeast for 1.5 gallons of beer.

Plan B would be to wait until I brew my mulberry mead next month and make an extra gallon or two that I can divert and siphon on to the ground cherries.

Do I have any takers? What would you do?

I know this is an old thread, but I decided to tag on since I recently discovered ground cherries and am thinking and making a mead with them. Has anyone used them in a mead. Any suggestions as to fruit qty to use?

I am thinking to puree the berries, but am open to other options.

Bruce

 

[unionrdr]

Well, when I made my watermelon hefe, I pureed a sugar baby watermelon, straining the solids out twice before adding it to the beer in secondary. Turned the wheat ale pink with the 3 1/2C or so I added. Flavor of the melon was light. So I think it would work in your case? I did it that way, so I wouldn't have floating fruit getting moldy on the top.