how much strawberry to add?

[joshesmusica]

I'm sure this has been discussed 1,000 times on here, but I'm just wondering about how much fresh cut strawberry to add to an american wheat. honestly if it only imparts a slight bit of flavor i'm fine with that, as i'm more hoping to just get a pink hue out of them than anything. i want to make sure that the strawberry flavor isn't overriding anything as this is actually going to be dry hopped as well. i read somewhere else that if you add it during primary it will just add color, but actually scrub off a lot of flavor compounds. is this true? is this the route I should think about taking?

 

[enkamania]

In my strawberry cream ale, I puree 6 cups or so. I add it after the first week of fermentation.

 

[joshesmusica]

In my strawberry cream ale, I puree 6 cups or so. I add it after the first week of fermentation.

is that in 5 gallons?

 

[enkamania]

I looked it up and it is a 5.5 gallon recipe

 

[Flyboy84]

I just brewed a strawberry lager that turned out fantastic. In my recipe, I use 1lb strawberries per gallon of finished product. In the lager I just brewed, it turned out to be a little much, but that is a good start point to dial in from.

 

[joshesmusica]

I just brewed a strawberry lager that turned out fantastic. In my recipe, I use 1lb strawberries per gallon of finished product. In the lager I just brewed, it turned out to be a little much, but that is a good start point to dial in from.

nice, would you divide that amount by half? or what do you think you would do to dial it in? did you just freeze fresh cut ones, or how did you use them?

 

[jekeane]

I used 3lb fresh strawberries quartered then frozen for a Strawberry version of centennial blonde.

 

[Yesfan]

I used 3lb fresh strawberries quartered then frozen for a Strawberry version of centennial blonde.

That sounds delicious!



I just racked a strawberry blonde on 5lbs of strawberries that I quartered. Gonna keg it this time next week.

 

[Flyboy84]

nice, would you divide that amount by half? or what do you think you would do to dial it in? did you just freeze fresh cut ones, or how did you use them?

I think that I will probably use 4lbs for a 5 gallon batch. I should preface that with the fact that I make strawberry lagers and not ales. The lagers seem to retain more strawberry flavor and tartness.

I should also add that I use a fair amount of honey malt, around 1lb for a 5 gal batch, to add some sweetness as fermented strawberry is very tart.

 

[joshesmusica]

so to the guys making the blondes, is the 3lbs to 5 gallons still a fairly strong strawberry flavor?
i'm fine with a little tartness as the person i'm making this beer for usually squeezes a lemon onto their wheat beer anyways. but i'm just looking for a bit of strawberry flavor, and most just some pink hues coming off from it.

 

[Yesfan]

so to the guys making the blondes, is the 3lbs to 5 gallons still a fairly strong strawberry flavor?
i'm fine with a little tartness as the person i'm making this beer for usually squeezes a lemon onto their wheat beer anyways. but i'm just looking for a bit of strawberry flavor, and most just some pink hues coming off from it.

From what I have been reading here, generally 1 lb of fruit for every gallon of beer but its always better to start out small, that way you can add to the beer if you think it needs more tart. Taste is subjective after all. I think 3lbs of strawberries would be a good starting point for a 5 gallon batch. I just went with 5lbs because that was what the recipe called for and the last time I brewed it, I liked it.

 

[Flyboy84]

From what I have been reading here, generally 1 lb of fruit for every gallon of beer but its always better to start out small, that way you can add to the beer if you think it needs more tart. Taste is subjective after all. I think 3lbs of strawberries would be a good starting point for a 5 gallon batch. I just went with 5lbs because that was what the recipe called for and the last time I brewed it, I liked it.

A couple other techniques I picked up in my strawberry experiments are to freeze the berries prior to putting them in the fermenter. When you freeze them, the water expands an bursts the cell walls allowing more color and sugars to escape. I also add them when the beer is about 90% through fermentation and has slowed down, that also helps preserve flavor.

As was said earlier, start small and add more later if needed. You can always add, but once it is in, it's in. You can also cheat and add strawberry juice later if you feel it is lacking. If you are familiar with Abita strawberry, that is how they make theirs.

 

[Yesfan]

A couple other techniques I picked up in my strawberry experiments are to freeze the berries prior to putting them in the fermenter. When you freeze them, the water expands an bursts the cell walls allowing more color and sugars to escape. I also add them when the beer is about 90% through fermentation and has slowed down, that also helps preserve flavor........

I did just that for this and the last time I made it. Just curious, how long did you freeze yours? I left mine for two days.


One other thing I'll add.....The big mouth bubblers, or a bucket, come in handy for fruit additions. For me it was just a matter of dumping the berries and racking the beer. The first time, I was trying to jam frozen strawberries down a Better Bottle because I didn't think to cut them small enough to fit through the carboy's mouth. Not fun.

 

[joshesmusica]

so then you're also just putting the frozen strawberries in? Did you use a hop bag or any sort of thing to be able to get the mess out afterward?

 

[Flyboy84]

so then you're also just putting the frozen strawberries in? Did you use a hop bag or any sort of thing to be able to get the mess out afterward?

Nope, no bag. I usually let them thaw for a bit and then whack them a few times in a ziplock with a meat tenderizer to soften them up a bit and just dump them in. After soaking in the beer for a couple weeks they will lose their color and sink to the bottom with a good cold crash.

To a previous question, I started using frozen strawberries from the store as they are much easier and are more sterile.

 

[joshesmusica]

what do you guys think of the idea of using freeze dried strawberries? randomly saw a pack at the grocery store yesterday, and thought that i read somewhere that they don't impart too much flavor but should impart enough color. wondering if this is the route for me since that's basically what i'm wanting.

 

[Flyboy84]

I'd be worried about losing a lot of beer using freeze dried strawberries.