lets get the ball rolling

[cosmokramer]

hey everyone, finally signed up for the forum last night! i am new to home-brewing, and am looking forward to making some great stuff.

ive read a few beginners journals and started into a book which i have borrowed from a friend. it seems like a lot of fun.


the reason i am interested is because i really like fruit beers and i cant find a pomegranate beer anywhere! i would really like to be able to brew my own and share with friends and family.

well, just wanted to give a little introduction and see if anyone else who is into brewing fruit beers could give me any advice or point me in the right direction. thanks a lot, i am looking forward to years of fun and great beer! cheers!

-ben

 

[yodalegomaster]

Ben
I love to make fruit beers too. The reasion you don't see any fruit beers on the market is that they cost a fortune to make. There are two types, real fruit and extract (Fruit Extract) I make real fruit beers. The difference is that the real fruit tastes like the real thing with the beer taste backing it up. The Extract type has real beer taste with a hint of the fruit in the after taste. The average 5 gallon batch uses 10 pounds of fruit , yes 10 pounds of pomegranate seeds to make a full flavor beer. So, the reason you can't find a pomegranate beer is that it would cost 20 bucks for a 22 oz bomber. You can try the extract type with and normal beer some extract and a eye dropper. Thats the way the pros make fruit extract beer.
Sorry, to burst your bubble so early but some times the truth is needed up front.

 

[cosmokramer]

haha right on. sometimes we just cant have our cake and eat it too. although maybe one day ill cash in my stocks to purchase the fresh fruit needed for the ULTIMATE BEER, but until then ill have to do the best i can with what ive got. i have a lot way to go.


do you happen to know of any pomegranate recipes already out? or threads which have recipes for a like beer, maybe even with raspberries? that would be appreciated. thanks!

 

[biochemedic]

For commercial examples of pomegranate beers, check out He'Brew (Schmaltz brewing) Origin, and Saranac Pomegranate Wheat. I've tried both, as I also am kind of fascinated by fruit beers. I thought the Saranac was pretty weak, but the He'Brew was pretty good. You might want to research that beer for cloning...

 

[cosmokramer]

I have never heard of the he'brew. Ill make sure to look into that. My dads best friend is a wine beer and spirits distributor and represents saranac. I nagged him forever to get a case of the pomegranate wheat for me and it turns out there are no stores in the whole state of ohio that carry it. Bummer. But I would be very interested in finding a sort of clone recipe. I know that I really want a stronger pomegranate taste, not quite like a fruity smirnoff type drink. I might be getting ahead of myslef however. I still haven't really brewed any batch yet and still have a lot to read. But as I've said I'm open to suggestions and guidance in the right direction.

 

[yodalegomaster]

Any good base beer that's not too hoppy makes a fine fruit beer, I uses a simple wheat beer recipe and 1056 yeast. I can find lot's of rhubarb from my garden along with a some hand picked rasberrys, It makes a great beer. Simple cheap and tastee.

 

[cosmokramer]

Did you add actually raspberries or just extract? And when did you add them? I've read that boiling the fruit or extract is very bad.

 

[Homercidal]

Darn it, I'd never heard of rhubarb beer before and was anxious to try it out soon. I have access to PLENTY of rhubarb, and was going to harvest some and make a wheat beer out of it. Just needed to choose a fruit to go with it.