How To Add Pineapple?

[SevenSeaScourge]

i realize that it could be a really stupid idea to add fresh pineapple to a batch of beer (b/c of the acidity & protein eater that it is) but i'm gonna try...

...however, how should i add it? i'm putting the fruit in secondary just in case it decides to eat my yeast. should i puree it in a blender and then hold it @150-160F to pasteurize? if i do that, can i cool the fruit before racking on top of it? maybe just cut it up and throw it in since the beer is mostly fermented by the time it hits secondary? perhaps, i should soak the pineapple in vodka and then add? maybe hollow out a pineapple and use it as a fermenter? ha!

mostly, i'm wanting to get the fruit in the carboy with as little struggle as possible so i'm thinking the puree option. i'm not interested in using extract or canned fruit so thanks ahead for those ideas!

 

[Hex]

You've got it a bit backwards. Yeah, the fruit of choice goes into the secondary, but the yeast eat the sugar that is in the fruit, not the fruit eat the yeast.

You could pasteurize (165f for 30 sec.) the fruit like you wrote above, and yes, cool it quickly to pitching temperature before adding it to the secondary, and racking the beer on top of it.

 

[SevenSeaScourge]

...from what i understand, though, fresh pineapple is so acidic that it will destroy the yeast. i know that some use fresh pineapple juice as a meat tenderizer because the enzymes in it actually digest proteins. i understand that the yeast are supposed to eat the sugars in the fruit but in this particular case, the yeast may have a pretty strong opponent...

...regardless, should i puree the pineapple so i can pour it through the neck of my carboy? pasteurize before or after pureeing?

 

[davefleck]

Could some post mash brewing salts create a more basic environment to lessen the pineapple's acidic effect?

 

[avidhomebrewer]

I would just add some pineapple concentrate (frozen juice). Add about 2 cans for a 5 gallon batch and you will get some noticeable affect from the juice. I made a brew a few months ago this way and it turned out great.

 

[BrewMcGoo]

At what point did you add the pineapple juice? Ive read that it can cause odd flavors, did you have any issues with that?

 

[avidhomebrewer]

At what point did you add the pineapple juice? Ive read that it can cause odd flavors, did you have any issues with that?

I've added the frozen concentrate to the secondary; usually I don't rack to secondary, but when I add concentrate, I do. I never experienced any off flavors or had any other type of issue. Beer turned out great that way and it is really easy to add.

 

[edmanster]

well think about it... if yeast can survive in http://skeeterpee.com/ and thrive and survive than it can live in the little amount of pineapple.... i would wait untill after primary and rack onto it in secondary.. you might get a little second fermentation outta it.. lemon, lime and tomato i believe have the most but im not sure... i would use a hearty neutrial yeast for it..

 

[passedpawn]

I did an experiment with pineapple. Fermented fine, and it was mostly pineapple. I wouldn't worry about the yeast:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/tepache-200053/

 

[MRbutlertron]

I am going to have an extra gallon of hefeweizen (WLP-351, no banana esters just clove) and am going to try this out. I'm going to use a fresh pineapple and will report back in couple weeks...

 

[muse435]

i realize that it could be a really stupid idea to add fresh pineapple to a batch of beer (b/c of the acidity & protein eater that it is) but i'm gonna try...

...however, how should i add it? i'm putting the fruit in secondary just in case it decides to eat my yeast. should i puree it in a blender and then hold it @150-160F to pasteurize? if i do that, can i cool the fruit before racking on top of it? maybe just cut it up and throw it in since the beer is mostly fermented by the time it hits secondary? perhaps, i should soak the pineapple in vodka and then add? maybe hollow out a pineapple and use it as a fermenter? ha!

mostly, i'm wanting to get the fruit in the carboy with as little struggle as possible so i'm thinking the puree option. i'm not interested in using extract or canned fruit so thanks ahead for those ideas!

Did you make it, if so how, and how was it?

 

[raptor90]

Hope it turned out good! I'm planning to do it tomorrow! Gonna rack to my secondary and thaw out a couple cored pineapples, cut'em up and toss'em in to the pale and see where it goes. Using a 'Canadian light' kit with a 'Can-ada' DME with some hops in it.

 

[Molybedenum]

The enzymes in pineapple or papaya activate at warmer temps than what you're fermenting at. I doubt you'd have a problem with it.

 

[dgremark]

Alright I have brewed at least 10 batches with fresh pineapple and they all came out exellent!

I just juice two fresh pineapples and add all the juice after the main fermentation is done (3-5 days) and all have been great! I don't do any boil or anything, just make sure eveything is clean!

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[raptor90]

Great to know! I personally ain't too worried if it came out bad, beer kits are a heck of a lot cheaper than buying from the beer store here in Canada, so I don't mind experimenting with some cost.

 

[NorthRiverS]

Seven,

One thing you might consider is an extract. I've added extract flavorings to several beers that I have made in the past, with good results. Check this out:

Watkins Imitation Pineapple Extract 2oz: Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food

NRS

 

[raptor90]

I've seen blueberry extract at the brew store, it maybe my next attempt.

 

[dgremark]

Funny you brought this thread up (I posted questions about 6 months ago) this last week I bought 14 fresh pineapples from wally world for .99 each and cut them up and put in the freezer! All ready for spring! They are refreshing. I also do a pomegranate and strawberry!

 

[raptor90]

.99 each? Woah! I got them at my local market cored for $3.99 each, and that was considered 'on sale'

 

[prodigal]

I've done a pineapple pale ale with 2 x fresh pineapples. I cut the pineapple into chunks then stuck them in the freezer so that the ice crystals would perforate the cell walls. Supposedly, this makes the sugar in the pineapple more accessible.

After an overnight freeze, I threw the chunks into my food processor and made a slurry. I put the slurry into the carboy and racked on top of it. The fruit fermented fine; I didn't have any issues with nasties in the pineapple or the acid killing the yeast.

A bit or paranoid advice for you: Wash the outside of the pineapple before chopping it up. Although the inside is all nice and clean, the outside of my pineapples were pretty dusty/dirty. If you're using the same chopping board and knife to remove the outside of the pineapple as well as chopping it into chunks, then all that dirt can get on the fruit.

When all was said and done, I thought that a lot of the pineapple flavor was fermernted out with the sugars. I could barely taste it and guests that tried it didn't know it was a pineapple pale until I told them. I tasted the fruit beforehand and it was definitely ripe and very sweet. But who knows, YMMV.

If you keg, make sure you filter out any remaining pineapple bits when you rack to the keg. I had to remove the liquid out posts 2x to clean the bits out because it kept clogging up.

 

[raptor90]

I did pretty much everything besides blending it into a slurry or washing the outside. I'm gonna see how this is in about 7-10 days.

 

[moondancer]

I would just add some pineapple concentrate (frozen juice). Add about 2 cans for a 5 gallon batch and you will get some noticeable affect from the juice. I made a brew a few months ago this way and it turned out great.

Concentrate to the secondary? Or what was your process? I am looking to try this and of all the methods I've researched, this seems best.

 

[avidhomebrewer]

Concentrate to the secondary? Or what was your process? I am looking to try this and of all the methods I've researched, this seems best.

Yeah, I added it to the secondary. I would let the beer ferment out in primary and then rack the beer on top of the added concentrate that is in the secondary. Works great.

 

[HopRodGR]

Yeah, I added it to the secondary. I would let the beer ferment out in primary and then rack the beer on top of the added concentrate that is in the secondary. Works great.

I'm looking to brew a Pineapple IPA soon with lots of late additions of Citra and Amarillo. I'd really like the Pineapple to be a compliment though, so it doesn't end up tasting like hopped fruit juice. Think "IPA with a background fruit flavor" vs. "fruit beer that is hoppy." Sort of like how Sam at DFH has said that Aprihop (just as an example) over the years turned from a fruit forward beer into it being kind of a complimentary flavor in an IPA. Earlier, you referenced 2 cans of concentrate per 5 gallons. I know this is all relative, but in your opinion, how forward of a pineapple flavor does this impart?

 

[avidhomebrewer]

I'm looking to brew a Pineapple IPA soon with lots of late additions of Citra and Amarillo. I'd really like the Pineapple to be a compliment though, so it doesn't end up tasting like hopped fruit juice. Think "IPA with a background fruit flavor" vs. "fruit beer that is hoppy." Sort of like how Sam at DFH has said that Aprihop (just as an example) over the years turned from a fruit forward beer into it being kind of a complimentary flavor in an IPA. Earlier, you referenced 2 cans of concentrate per 5 gallons. I know this is all relative, but in your opinion, how forward of a pineapple flavor does this impart?

2 12 ounce cans of concentrate should do just what you are after. I add 3 for my tastes and that is a bit more noticeable, but definitely not over the top or way too much.

 

[HopRodGR]

2 12 ounce cans of concentrate should do just what you are after. I add 3 for my tastes and that is a bit more noticeable, but definitely not over the top or way too much.

Awesome, thanks for that guidance. Nice to know there is an "easy" way to impart the flavor. The thought of buying $25 worth of pineapple to add to the secondary was really a turn off to making this. I've heard (most notably from Jamil Z in the Fruit Beer episode of The Jamil Show) that Pineapple and hoppy beer won't pair well, but after tasting a local brewery here in West MI's version, I think otherwise. I get a lot of tropical, pineapple aroma and flavor from my Session IPA which uses Amarillo/Citra/Simcoe, and it just seems like they would go well together.

 

[Stretch1991]

maybe hollow out a pineapple and use it as a fermenter? ha!

I actually have a recipe worked up of a pumpkin ale that I am going to ferment in a pumpkin for a secondary

I am thinking of doing a test run though this summer in a watermelon.

if only pineapples were big enough to actually do this with!

 

[moondancer]

Amazing turnout!

I did, however, ferment in the secondary for substantially longer than anticipated as a series of events prevented bottling.

Two weeks in primary, five weeks secondary.

Anticipated abv was 7.8%, yet after drinking a few, my assumption led me to believe the abv is closer to 9%.

http://beerandbites.tumblr.com/post/24619678531/water-into-beer-this-stage-always-amazes-me

 

[delandralandiecox1]

Can i get the recipe for the pineapple beer using pineapple juice 100 %