Is there any noticeable increase in gravity from adding fruit post-fermentation?

[hezagenius]

I'm planning on making a mead and after fermentation ends, I am going to add some fruit and let it sit for a little bit. Should I expect any noticeable increase in gravity, or will I just get flavor? I'm going to add campden and potassium sorbate after fermentation so I shouldn't pick up any new fermentation with the fruit addition.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Fruit adds sugar.

Whether it will increase gravity depends on the FG of the mead and the s.g. of the fruit juice.

 

[hezagenius]

The mead will probably finish around 1.00. I'm curious how much of the sugar will actually migrate from the fruit into the mead and how much will remain trapped in the fruit. Is there a rule of thumb like "1 pound of fruit in 1 gallon of water will add XX points to the solution"?

 

[Qhrumphf]

Sugar content varies widely between fruits, so no.

One route is to use a quality fruit puree, such as Oregon Fruit (but there are competitors as well). Stuff is aseptically packaged so needs zero prep, just add. And they'll tell you exactly how much sugar is in it. They say average overall is maybe 10 Brix, but different fruits range from like 7-8 Brix up to 20+ Brix. They've got narrower ranges for any given fruit. And they should give you the exact Brix when you buy it.

From there you can simply weight the average to get your new gravity. Say you have 5 gallons of mead at 1.000 (or 0 Brix) and you add 1 gallon of peach puree that's 12 Brix, you'll have 6 total gallons now at 2 Brix (or 1.008).

Buy from them directly via your LHBS. Don't use the little cans or you'll way overpay and may not get as much into.

 

[bracconiere]

Is there a rule of thumb like "1 pound of fruit in 1 gallon of water will add XX points to the solution"?

there is the USDA nutrient db, gives a good estimate of sugar content for most fruits.....

 

[bucketnative]

How are you planning on keeping any remaining yeast from fermenting sugar from the fruit? Are you pasteurizing after fermentation, before fruit?

 

[isomerization]

How are you planning on keeping any remaining yeast from fermenting sugar from the fruit? Are you pasteurizing after fermentation, before fruit?

Last sentence in the OP, stabilizing prior to adding fruit.

 

[bracconiere]

How are you planning on keeping any remaining yeast from fermenting sugar from the fruit? Are you pasteurizing after fermentation, before fruit?

Last sentence in the OP, stabilizing prior to adding fruit.

potassium sorbate....

 

[bucketnative]

potassium sorbate....

Yup, there it was.

 

[bracconiere]

Yup, there it was.

no worries, trying and take the internet seriously will raise your blood-pressure! lol mine floats around 106/65 no meds.....or at least not for that

 

[RPh_Guy]

From there you can simply weight the average to get your new gravity. Say you have 5 gallons of mead at 1.000 (or 0 Brix) and you add 1 gallon of peach puree that's 12 Brix, you'll have 6 total gallons now at 2 Brix (or 1.008).

Almost. You need to account for the weight of the solids. A significant portion of the weight of fruit will not affect the gravity, maybe around a quarter... That depends on the particular fruit.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Almost. You need to account for the weight of the solids. Generally about 1/3 of the weight of fruit will not affect the gravity.

In the case of Oregon Fruit, the solids have been removed.

 

[bob1852]

One route is to use a quality fruit puree, such as Oregon Fruit (but there are competitors as well).

Caution: Oregon fruit puree has a ton of solid material in it, and your volume losses when try to rack off of that gunk will be massive.

I don't advise anyone to use that stuff in mead....

 

[RPh_Guy]

In the case of Oregon Fruit, the solids have been removed.

So, it's juice, not puree?

 

[Qhrumphf]

Caution: Oregon fruit puree has a ton of solid material in it, and your volume losses when try to rack off of that gunk will be massive.

I don't advise anyone to use that stuff in mead....

The cans or the brewing-specific purees?

 

[Qhrumphf]

So, it's juice, not puree?

The stuff I've used is somewhere in between pulpy mash and juice.

There's probably some solid matter, but all the non-flesh (skins, seeds, pits etc) that make up the bulk of the non-extract weight are definitely gone.

 

[bob1852]

The cans or the brewing-specific purees?

Both.

I also know a professional meadery that used 500 gallons of their puree and had almost 50% volume loss.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Both.

I know a professional meadery that used 500lbs of their puree and had almost 50% volume loss.

Hmm. Every time I've used their stuff I've gotten near complete yield out of it. That's interesting.

 

[bob1852]

Hmm. Every time I've used their stuff I've gotten near complete yield out of it. That's interesting.

Are you using it in beer or mead? And at what % of total volume?

For meads (especially very fruit forward ones), you need a ton of it (3-5lbs, or more, per gallon)

I'm guessing for beer, where one might not use as much, the volume losses aren't as noticeable.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Are you using it in beer or mead? And at what % of total volume?

For meads (especially very fruit forward ones), you need a ton of it (3-5lbs, or more, per gallon)

I'm guessing for beer, where one might not use as much, the volume losses aren't as noticeable.

Beer only. And I've used in bulk quantities by weight. Napikin math, maybe 7-10% of total volume. Say it goes in a beer I'd package 10 bbls normally, add roughly a barrel of fruit, and I'd package 10.8 bbls. In other words, any fruit losses are minimal compared to losses to yeast, dry hops, etc. That's been my consistent experience.

 

[bracconiere]

if the OP was thinking of peaches,

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/341586/nutrients


so 90g's of water, and 8 g's of sugar.......per 100g's, and some fiber......

 

[Qhrumphf]

Both.

I also know a professional meadery that used 500 gallons of their puree and had almost 50% volume loss.

Okay, is that 50% loss of the *fruit* or that resulted in 50% loss *overall*? The former seems excessive but conceivable (considering that I might lose 10-20% of added volume from fruit). The latter should be preventable and seems unconscionable to me. Punch it down or something.

I've never had to punch down. But I know it's something that's done.

 

[Qhrumphf]

if the OP was thinking of peaches,

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/341586/nutrients


so 90g's of water, and 8 g's of sugar.......per 100g's, and some fiber......

I know I said peaches as a random example. I don't think the OP specified?

 

[applescrap]

Key point, I thought the same. Based on this, there will be no theoretical increase in alcohol. That said w out camden and sorbate (the correct duo) I believe there would be a secondary fermentation of some kind increasing alcohol.

Last sentence in the OP, stabilizing prior to adding fruit.

 

[bracconiere]

I don't think the OP specified?

i was hoping he'd use snozberries! lol

 

[RPh_Guy]

Key point, I thought the same. Based on this, there will be no theoretical increase in alcohol. That said w out camden and sorbate (the correct duo) I believe there would be a secondary fermentation of some kind increasing alcohol.

With stabilization, adding fruit will definitely reduce the ABV.

Even without stabilization, adding fruit will probably reduce the ABV, depending on the OG of the mead and the fruit.

 

[applescrap]

So if my math is right, 10 pounds of peaches is 4535 grams. Divided by 100 g is 45.35 x 8g per 100g equals, a ton of sugar. Nearly 90 tablespoons of sugar assuming 4.2 g per tsp. That is over 5 cups of sugar. I suspect some of it is unfermentable or whatever, based on experience.

if the OP was thinking of peaches,

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/341586/nutrients


so 90g's of water, and 8 g's of sugar.......per 100g's, and some fiber......

 

[bob1852]

Okay, is that 50% loss of the *fruit* or that resulted in 50% loss *overall*? The former seems excessive but conceivable (considering that I might lose 10-20% of added volume from fruit). The latter should be preventable and seems unconscionable to me. Punch it down or something.

I've never had to punch down. But I know it's something that's done.

Overall...

The stuff is very inefficient for mead making. Which is fine, if you're aware of it and plan for it (the massive volume loss).

In my view, it's much better to use other methods.....whole fruit, juice, steam juices fruit, etc.

The example I gave, the meadery used 70 gallons of honey, 500 gallons of puree, no water, and wound up with ~280 gallons of product. But, they also were expecting that...

 

[applescrap]

Help me understand this, what about the secondary ferment?

Edit, doh, the water, its mead, its strong

With stabilization, adding fruit will definitely reduce the ABV.

Even without stabilization, adding fruit will probably reduce the ABV, depending on the OG of the mead and the fruit.

 

[bob1852]

So if my math is right, 10 pounds of peaches is 4535 grams. Divided by 100 g is 45.35 x 8g per 100g equals, a ton of sugar. Nearly 90 tablespoons of sugar assuming 4.2 g per tsp. That is over 5 cups of sugar. I suspect some of it is unfermentable or whatever, based on experience.

But it's also adding ~10x the volume of water compared to sugar...