Pineapple IPA Advice

[HopDevil7]

Hi all,

I am about to brew a Pineapple IPA and am going back and forth on whether I want to add pineapple concentrate in the secondary during dry hopping or at the time of kegging (with campden tablet/sorbate) by adding to my desired taste. I have heard the latter approach referred to as cocktailing.

Basically, I want the finished product to have a nice balance of hop flavor/aroma with a booming (not subtle) pineapple flavor that is not sour/acidic/bone dry. Something similar to Pineapple Sculpin by Ballast Point or Pin'hop'le Ipa by Evolution is what I am aiming for. My only hesitancy to go with the pineapple during kegging approach is the beer being too sweet. I am thinking adding 1/2-1 can of concentrate in the secondary followed by additional pineapple concentrate at the time of kegging, if necessary, to my liking may be a pretty good approach / result in something less sweet then adding entirely during kegging.

A few questions I have:
1) What approach would you choose?
2) Would you use pineapple concentrate over juice/puree/whole fruit? (Example)
3) Would you pasteurize the pineapple concentrate if adding to the secondary. I imagine it's pointless to pasteurize prior to kegging if I'd be adding a campden tablet.

 

[ong]

Well, it does seem like it would ferment out dry if you add it during the dry hop stage. What about just juicing a fresh pineapple and adding that (with sorbate/metabisulfate) to the keg? I've never found processed pineapple to be any good compared to fresh, and you could probably get less sweetness in the beer that way.

 

[HopDevil7]

Well, it does seem like it would ferment out dry if you add it during the dry hop stage. What about just juicing a fresh pineapple and adding that (with sorbate/metabisulfate) to the keg? I've never found processed pineapple to be any good compared to fresh, and you could probably get less sweetness in the beer that way.

Fresh pineapple is definitely an option. I'm not entirely confident in my abilities to pick out the ripest fruit, but I guess that's what google is for

 

[bigplunkett]

You could use a brett strain that has pineapple esters and pheneals along with the fruit. I have used juice before but it was in a cider. It worked well.

 

[ong]

Also Summit hops -- I did an experimental beer with no boil hops at all, just 5 oz of whirlpool hops (added right off the boil to contribute some bitterness). The beer tasted like sweet, delicious boozy pineapple juice to me. It was a really interesting batch.

 

[HopDevil7]

Thanks all

1) Would you recommend adding pineapple juice/concentrate to the secondary, the keg, or a combination of both to ensure a good balance of pineapple flavor and sweetness (not too sour / not too sweet)?

2) Should I use pectic enzyme if using fresh (not canned) pineapple juice?

 

[Queequeg]

depending on the harvest comet hops can be very pineapple

 

[ong]

depending on the harvest comet hops can be very pineapple

Interesting-- I get pure grapefruit zest from Comet.

 

[HopDevil7]

test

 

[enkamania]

I did a pineapple wheat. I pureed a pineapple and added when fermentation was essentially done (day 4 ish) I also added pineapple extract to the keg.