Kiwi beer

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Good idea, but I'm skeptical about the outcome. It sounds good, but kiwi in beer, not sure if they will mix well. I think you should try it, though, that's the beauty of homebrewing, you can try anything.
The biggest problem would be getting the kiwi flavor in there, I don't know if there are any kiwi concentrates out there. Using real fruit will require lots of fruit, and kiwis are expensive. I would say use a very delicate ale or lager as the base, allow it to completely ferment and then rack it onto, at least, 5 pounds of kiwi, 10 pounds would be better and let it sit for around two weeks before bottling. Remember to sanitize the fruit properly.
Good luck!:mug:
 
Sounds interesting, that's for sure. I'd want to make it a subtle taste, maybe add something at bottling.

Kiwi's kind of a strong flavor though, so don't be afraid to balance it with hops.
 
Hmmm, I just do gallon batches currently, so the amount of kiwi shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I was thinking of boiling the wort as usual for 50 mins, then pouring some of it in the blender with the kiwi, pouring it all back into the wort pot and boiling the whole thing for the remaining ten. Would that be ok?
 
ericd said:
Hmmm, I just do gallon batches currently, so the amount of kiwi shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I was thinking of boiling the wort as usual for 50 mins, then pouring some of it in the blender with the kiwi, pouring it all back into the wort pot and boiling the whole thing for the remaining ten. Would that be ok?

You could certainly do that if you wanted to, but I don't see a need to mess with handling boiling wort. If you want to add the kiwi with 10 min left, just drop it in the boil.
 
Okay, anyone have any idea of what the extract potential of kiwi is? The sugar content is 14%
 
ericd said:
Okay, anyone have any idea of what the extract potential of kiwi is? The sugar content is 14%

Out of interest, what outcome are you wanting. A beer with subtle kiwifruit flavour or a fruit wine ?

For what is worth, Kiwi is the term for a New Zealander and they don't mix with beer at all. They shag sheep which causes them to bleat when we beat them at Rugby, League, cricket, soccer, basketball etc.
 
Out of interest, what outcome are you wanting. A beer with subtle kiwifruit flavour or a fruit wine ?

For what is worth, Kiwi is the term for a New Zealander and they don't mix with beer at all. They shag sheep which causes them to bleat when we beat them at Rugby, League, cricket, soccer, basketball etc.

I was hoping someone would say it! Being a Kiwi myself I dont think I would go well in a beer...No for Kiwi fruit, I think it has great potential. I am trying to find an extract right now. If you have any luck please let me know.
 
I've done a kiwi cherry hefewizen.. I used 5lb kiwi, blended and held at 170 ish for ten minutes, put into a secondary and then racked on top. I had some cherry extract around so I added about 1oz for just a hint in aroma. The beer was amazing, but I would double the kiwi. Very slight amount of kiwi flavor and nose.
 
Man I completely forgot about this thread. I think my next beer's gonna be Kiwi flavor. Anyone know where I can get kiwi puree?
 
I've done a kiwi cherry hefewizen.. I used 5lb kiwi, blended and held at 170 ish for ten minutes, put into a secondary and then racked on top. I had some cherry extract around so I added about 1oz for just a hint in aroma. The beer was amazing, but I would double the kiwi. Very slight amount of kiwi flavor and nose.

got a recipe on that kiwi-cherry hefe? At the very least could you give me some clarification on the kiwi? i.e., did you add water to the 5lbs of blended kiwi, heat, and then add to secondary. Or did you just heat the blended kiwi? Also, did you blend it to the point of juice or was it sauce-like. Thanks!
 
i did a brew last year based on an american wheat, taking ideas that was similar to a bells oberon ale ish... added 5 lbs of kiwi (peeled and cubed) at the last 10 min of boil, somewhat similar to the methods described in the Kiwit recipe in Extreme Brewing book by Sam Sam Calagione. all in all it was a great beer. the kiwi was very light on the pallet, but just added a nice little flavor combo that you wouldn't expect. it was a hit. i'll probably do it again!

this is my KiWheat...
5 gallons
OG 1.053
FG 1.015
IBU's 20.5

4.75lbs Wheat DME
1lbs Light DME
.5oz Carmel 40L
.5oz Carapils

1oz Hallertauer 60m
.75oz Hallertauer 30m
.5oz Saaz 15m
.5oz Saaz 15m

5lbs Kiwi Peeled and Cubed added to last 10min of boil.
Wyeast 1010 American Wheat
 
sounds awesome. Did you put the kiwi in a hop sack, or did you just throw it in? Also, either way, did you leave the kiwi in the wort to go to the fermenter, or did you pull it out before then?

Thanks!
 
sounds awesome. Did you put the kiwi in a hop sack, or did you just throw it in? Also, either way, did you leave the kiwi in the wort to go to the fermenter, or did you pull it out before then?

Thanks!

nope. just threw it in at the end of the boil and transferred it to the fermenter with the rest of the wort. i used a bucket over a carboy for ease of clean up and getting all that kiwi in and out of the fermenter. after 2 weeks, it was kind of nasty looking on top. the kiwi was floating on top, and was stripped of it's green color. it was very pale and white looking.
 
Thanks for the info. btw, it sounds like you have had a very healthy fermentation. I have done a fair amount of fruit beers and colorless fruit is a good sign. If you are brave enough you might want to try a nibble when you pull them out, if all has gone well they should be completely devoid of flavor.

Also, let me know how your beer turns out, especially in regard to the kiwi flavor. One piece of advice I give people on fruit beers is what a brewer of 17years told me, "You can't overdo it on the fruit." I recently did a watermelon wheat that called for 1.2 lbs of watermelon per gallon, I did 1.8 and it was not even close to overpowering. Whatever a recipe calls for I ramp it up by 50% or more. It costs a bit more but that way you can actually taste the fruit rather than taking sip after sip and saying, " I think I can detect a small hint of watermelon."
 
I have seen this beer mentioned many times on this site but never the actual recipe. Is there anyone here you could produce it for me or send me a link?

Kiwis are super on sale at my grocery store and I would love to do this beer. Thanks!

Sorry, I hadn't looked beyond that first page. That thread has an all-grain recipe on page 2 and an extract recipe on page 4.
 
I've done a kiwi cherry hefewizen.. I used 5lb kiwi, blended and held at 170 ish for ten minutes, put into a secondary and then racked on top. I had some cherry extract around so I added about 1oz for just a hint in aroma. The beer was amazing, but I would double the kiwi. Very slight amount of kiwi flavor and nose.

Was this for a 5 gal. batch? Do you have a link to this recipe? It sounds good.
 
i was going to make a kiwi wheat beer and add 4 lbs to the seconday i have always had great luck with adding the fruit then. it seems to give the beer great aroma and if you tranfers the beer a little earily and carry over some of the fermenting yeast it tends to ferment out of fruit sugars. wondering if anyone has tried kiwi to the secondary and how it turned out? if not ill post how it goes.
 
Thanks for all the reference points guys. I am adding kiwi and strawberry to secondary fermentation of my American pale ale this week. I tested the combo out in my Randall Jr. before brewing. I am hoping to get a subtle favor of both the fruits with the tart citrus aroma of Cascade hops. Wish me luck!
 
Final product came out very drinkable and refreshing. Kiwi and strawberry flavor is very faint. I think if I brew this one again I will add even more kiwi fruit. I was worried about the kiwi adding a tart flavor to the beer, but I think it makes the pale ale more complex.

kiwipaleale.jpg
 
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