My last brew day.

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Ryanh1801

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Figured I would add a post to this section. This was my second all grain brew Belgian strawberry Blonde. First time trying to use fruit.

the first run off.
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Sparging into the kettle.
4.jpg


the sweet wort. trying to get a boil going.
DSCF0271.jpg
 
After a week fermenting.
7.jpg


Getting the strawberry's ready.
6.jpg


all ready for a few weeks on the fruit.
1.jpg
 
I need to know how this turns out. How much strawberries did you use?

Also something that might help in this forum is posting either the recipe or a link to it. Pics are going to make people want to brew even more!
 
z987k said:
I need to know how this turns out. How much strawberries did you use?

Also something that might help in this forum is posting either the recipe or a link to it. Pics are going to make people want to brew even more!


Yeah Ill post the recipe up tonight. It was my first time creating my own recipe. It tasted all right out of the primary. I ended up using 5 pounds of strawberry's I figured 1 pound per gal.
 
Ok here is what I did.
5 lbs. Belgian pilsner malt
4. white wheat
.5 crystal 10L.
1 lbs. flaked wheat
.25 Caravienne

.75 East kent goldings at 60 min.

Og. 1.059
I.B.U. 12.9

Mashed in at 153 for 60 min. with 1.25 Qt. per pound.
Sparged at 170.
Left in the primary for a week
Heated 5 pounds of frozen strawberry's to 150 and held for 15 min. cooled down to around 80 then drooped them into bucket and transfered beer from primary.
 
good lookin strawberries...

it seems alot of you guys use those coleman 5 gallon coolers with the spout...

is it a good idea to invest in one of those?
 
Lookin' good! BTW, you frightened me with the title of your post. It should have read, "My most recent brew day"!!
 
bugleboy93 said:
Lookin' good! BTW, you frightened me with the title of your post. It should have read, "My most recent brew day"!!

It will be my last brew day with fruit.:eek: I ended up tossing this batch. tasted not so good. :mad:
DSCF0312.jpg
 
I'm sorry for your loss. It seemed like things were going so well ...

What do you think went wrong? Too much fruit?
 
Ouch. I recommend sticking to barley malt, hops, yeast & water. No fruit in my beer. If I want a fruity drink, I'll make a watermelon margarita. :D
 
DaveyBoy said:
I'm sorry for your loss. It seemed like things were going so well ...

What do you think went wrong? Too much fruit?

not too sure. Im thinking strawberry's in general do not mix with beer. It just got very tart. Smelled really good. I even tried adding some lactose and it just not do anything. Im not to upset by it. You have to experiment sometimes to learn. Im just gonna stick with the basics for a while.
 
Ryanh1801 said:
not too sure. Im thinking strawberry's in general do not mix with beer. It just got very tart. Smelled really good. I even tried adding some lactose and it just not do anything. Im not to upset by it. You have to experiment sometimes to learn. Im just gonna stick with the basics for a while.

I would have racked it to another secondary and let it age for a month or two. As long as there is no visible infection, the beer could have mellowed with proper aging.

Then again, fruit & beer don't mix. It's against the laws of nature. :D
 
EdWort said:
I would have racked it to another secondary and let it age for a month or two. As long as there is no visible infection, the beer could have mellowed with proper aging.

Then again, fruit & beer don't mix. It's against the laws of nature. :D

The thing is was it was getting worse and worse. It tasted alright after a week in the clearing tank. Then two weeks a little tart, then when I went to bottle it, it was just gross, tart and almost a stale taste. I might have saved it by adding some strawberry flavoring, but just was not feeling this batch. I had better beer to bottle. :ban: I brew more than I drink so losing 5 gallons is no big deal.
 
EdWort said:
I would have racked it to another secondary and let it age for a month or two. As long as there is no visible infection, the beer could have mellowed with proper aging.

Then again, fruit & beer don't mix. It's against the laws of nature. :D

My mango-peach wit would beg to differ.

Ed, your moratorium on fruit beers should take a vacation when it comes to belgians...and cherry stouts.
 
Evan! said:
Ed, your moratorium on fruit beers should take a vacation when it comes to belgians...and cherry stouts.

Prolly so, but when in Belgium.....

For me it's a personal thing. I'm not into big heavy belgian beers.

I tend to gravitate towards quality quaffable quenchers in quantity. :D
 
EdWort said:
Prolly so, but when in Belgium.....

For me it's a personal thing. I'm not into big heavy belgian beers.

I tend to gravitate towards quality quaffable quenchers in quantity. :D

Mango-Peach Wit would qualify for this QQQQ designation, but I digress.

I know, personal pref...I typically steer away from fruit too...but that one sure did turn out well, especially for being my second brew...
 
Too bad this didn't work out, though ... a nice fruity beer for young college girls who might not normally drink beer ....... man, I wish I had been brewing back in college! :)
 
DaveyBoy said:
Too bad this didn't work out, though ... a nice fruity beer for young college girls who might not normally drink beer ....... man, I wish I had been brewing back in college! :)

Thats what it was going to be for.:( The apfelwein works well though.:D
 
Nice Vickie's catolog in pic #1

Strawberries in beer sounds weird. Why no apricots if anything?
 
I made this for SHMBO and its the only reason I made beer with fruit in it.

Strawberry Blond Lager AG
Basically an America Light Lager with 5# of strawberrys in the secondary.

8# Pale Malt (2 Row) US
1.5# White Wheat Malt

3/4 oz Cluster 60 min (7%)
1/4 oz Cluster 45 min (7%)
1/2 oz Tettnang 5 min (4.3%)

White labs WLP 840 American Pilsner Lager yeast (1 gal starter)

122deg 20 min
153deg 60 min
60 min boil
5.5 gal in Primary

Pitched & Fermintation at 53deg for 10 days

Moved to secondary at 38deg for 3 weeks

Heated 5# strawberrys to 150 deg for 15 min then cooled and put in a 6 gal carboy.

Racked Large on top of the strawberrys for 2 weeks.

Bottled.

It's been 2 month and I've been cool conditioning the Strawberry blond in bottles.

I taste one every week, and I still don't like fruit in beer~!


Never again

Unless she wants it.
 
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