How should I add frozen strawberries to my fermentor? Do I need to pasteurize? do I need to thaw and freeze and thaw again?

[mad32brewing]

I am fermenting right now a double IPA. This Saturday I will be adding 8 pounds of frozen strawberries to my fermentor for the last week of fermentation. What I am trying to figure out is if I need pasteurize frozen strawberries or not. I have seen to pasteurize it and other people say that frozen fruit is already pasteurized. So I am just confused about what I need to do and if I do need to pasteurize them, what would be the best way of going about it. I will be adding them to a muslin bag into the fermentor.

The next thing I am confused about is if need to thaw and then refreeze them. I know that this process breaks down the cell walls, but if they are already frozen fruit, will the cell walls already be broken down once they defrost the first time?

If you have any other tips on what I should do about adding frozen fruit to my fermentor that I have not asked about, would love as much input and advice as possible.

 

[cmac62]

Mad32, I'd just throw them in. You can put them in a hop bag or something if you want to keep them contained, but they should be sterile or at least pasteurized prior to going into the bag.

 

[cactusgarrett]

First you'll need to remove the seeds from the strawberries, otherwise you'll get a harsh astringent flavor.


JUST KIDDING! That would suck. Just thaw and toss in the fermenter. Bagging is optional - whenever I've bagged it usually doesn't prevent too much from getting into the keg or bottling bucket. That stuff will just settle out over time anyway.

 

[Leezer]

I thaw them, mush up with a hand blender, stir in a measured amount of vodka and let sit in fridge for a couple days (I sanitize the blender and bowl and spoon) Then I add that whole mixture right into primary. At racking time I attach a small piece of sanitized paint strainer bag to the end of the auto siphon to keep all the fruit bits out. Things get clogged up otherwise.

 

[mad32brewing]

I thaw them, mush up with a hand blender, stir in a measured amount of vodka and let sit in fridge for a couple days (I sanitize the blender and bowl and spoon) Then I add that whole mixture right into primary. At racking time I attach a small piece of sanitized paint strainer bag to the end of the auto siphon to keep all the fruit bits out. Things get clogged up otherwise.

With the paint strainer bag, do you just tape it on with scotch tape? How do you keep it on without infecting the beer?

 

[Leezer]

I use a large twist tie that I also put in starsan first. Also forgot to mention I put a few glass beads in the strainer bag piece to weigh it down, keep it from just clinging to the siphon bottom. I put everything in starsan before I assemble then can dip it in again after assembly.