Pineapple as primary in Wit

[WahHooJames]

I know that most tropical fruits contain a chemical that can taint your brew. My question is has anyone had success in brewing using pineapple in a wit beer. I'm guessing possibly canned pineapple as the heat processing should defer some of the bad mojo but maybe pineapple juice? Raw?

Thoughts?

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

I've used pineapple. I did 10lbs of pineable in a 5 gallon batch of my normal wit. It's hardly noticeable. It just adds a little tartness and almost ends up tasting sour..

 

[devilishprune]

I made a pineapple blonde with 2 lbs of pineapple in it. I couldn't really taste it in there. It was frozen pineapple that I doubt had been heat treated. I was concerned about the enzyme bromalain also, but it didn't affect the yeast during bottle conditioning or anything.

When I read the thread title I thought you meant that you were going to ferment in a pineapple. I was going to tell you to rock on.

 

[camus]

When I read the thread title I thought you meant that you were going to ferment in a pineapple. I was going to tell you to rock on.

I would like to see a 5g batch spread throughout multiple pineapples, each with it's own airlock.

 

[WahHooJames]

So ultimately we are saying the pineapple, even in large quantities isn't contributing a string taste to the beer. Are there esters contributed? How noticeable. I want to adapt and Extreme Beer recipe of Kiwit but substitute the Kiwi for Pineapple. Just a hint is good enough.

 

[Inodoro_Pereyra]

I have never brewed yet, but I have made some pineapple wine in the past. Bromelain is a protease, so if you don't make a protease rest when mashing, it shouldn't make a difference. In any case, if you heat your wort above 65*C, the bromelain is deactivated.
The big thing with pineapple though, is that it loses most of its flavor in just a few hours after it's harvested. I have made wine from supermarket bought fruit. You might as well mix some water and ethanol, add some citric acid, and call it a day. But if you can get your hands on some freshly harvested (like, right in front of your face) pineapples, the song is completely different. You get a very tasty wine, very fruity.

I'd say dried pineapple (the one sold in bags in supermarkets) comes in a fairly close second, taste wise. Just put it in your mash tun (one bag per Lb of fresh fruit), with boiling water, and leave it until the water is cold. Or you could try fermenting the fruit in your wort...

Third place would be your canned pineapple. "Fresh" store bought fruit should be in your "don't even try it" category.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

So ultimately we are saying the pineapple, even in large quantities isn't contributing a string taste to the beer. Are there esters contributed? How noticeable. I want to adapt and Extreme Beer recipe of Kiwit but substitute the Kiwi for Pineapple. Just a hint is good enough.

Have you tried the Kiwit in Extreme Beers? I'd not that noticeable either. I've added 6lbs of fresh kiwi to my house wit, and it tastes great, but still not a ton of kiwi flavor. The most you'll get is some tart citrus flavors. It was the same thing with the pineapple when I used it.

 

[Sujeto]

Maui Brewing Co. in Maui, Hawaii uses Maui Gold pineapple juice in their Mana Wheat beer. Its very light and subtle on the back end taste. I think they put the juice in at canning. They can, don't bottle. Maybe you can shoot them an email about their process. Mauibrewingco.com

 

[WahHooJames]

All very good concepts. I'll be sure that when I try this next batch (as soon as my honey brown is done) that I give er a whirl.

 

[iron_city_ap]

This might seem a little simple, but why not use some pineapple flavoring? I know its not a 'pureist' way to infuse flavor, but it works.

 

[jbrookeiv]

This might seem a little simple, but why not use some pineapple flavoring? I know its not a 'pureist' way to infuse flavor, but it works.

Exactly what I was thinking.

http://www.adamsextract.com/product.asp?ProductID=7461

 

[WahHooJames]

Not a bad idea. Wonder if I should brew to get the beer taste I like and after I duplicate it, figure out how to do it with real pineapple. Good call. I wonder how match for a 5 Gallon batch though. I'm already using extract so why not imitation too. Enough artificial ingredients and it'll be sold at McDonalds

 

[iron_city_ap]

You can definately do it with real pineapple, but like people who have tried said, you don't end up tasting much. THEN there is the cleaning up the pulp after its been soaking part. Most recipes I've seen and made that use artificial flavoring call for an ounce. That may be a little much in this case. I'd say 1/2 to 3/4oz might not be too bad.

 

[KBrew9]

You can definately do it with real pineapple, but like people who have tried said, you don't end up tasting much. THEN there is the cleaning up the pulp after its been soaking part. Most recipes I've seen and made that use artificial flavoring call for an ounce. That may be a little much in this case. I'd say 1/2 to 3/4oz might not be too bad.

On the not tasting it. In terms of flavors I also considered Pineapple to be a good neautralizer. Meaning that it balances out the flavors around it to make it smooth (Which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your tastes) But using a Pineapple in conjuction with another, might dominant flavor may be successful.

Basically you use the Pineapple to pull back the flavors around another flavor you want to bring in. (Pineapple in Primary, other flavor in secondary or bottling)

If any of that makes sense!