Question on Strawberry Blonde Ale

[nianticcardplayer]

Hello All;

I am looking at my next set of brews and so far everything to this point has been slightly brown amber and somewhat darker....I have had only one "straw/Hay" colored beer and I was going through some stuff and came across an old but good beer....I found an old empty Pete's Wicked Strawberry Blonde bottle and thought hey I could do this.....

Going through a bunch of different sites for recipe kits I am seeing varying varieties of blonde ales and different methods of getting the strawberry into it.....With my head ready to explode I figure I would ask here.....Does anyone have a partial mash or extract with steeping recipe? And would you recommend using fruit or fruit flavoring/extract at botteling?

Thanks in advance for the help

 

[Tall_Yotie]

Seems not many here have an answer for you!

Raspberry Wheat ales seem to be the most popular flavored type of beers brewed by folks here (from my looking around at least). Look at a thread or recipe pertaining to that, and just replace Raspberry with Strawberry.

From what I gather, and from my experience (did a toasted coconut stout once), you want to use the real deal if possible to avoid any weird chemical things going on with the beer, and add it to the secondary after fermentation.

You don't have to go to a secondary, but I would recommend it. That way you can rack on top of the strawberries (Slices? Mush?) so it is well distributed/mixed. Then after however many days you think is appropriate transfer and bottle/keg. Don't just add the flavoring at bottling, it is like waiting to toss a bay leaf into the stew until you serve it at the table.

Unfortunately, I have no recipe for you. Perhaps just more headache. Grab the recipe you see for a Blonde that seems popular and clean (want to showcase strawberries, not the Blonde). Take a guess at what to use for strawberries. Brew. Taste. Report back. Let us know what you learn!

 

[nianticcardplayer]

I have done the raspberry wheat and yes it's wonderful and my wife who doesn't really drink a beer likes my purple haze clone.....I am not looking at a strawberry wheat (LOL) but I was leaning towards using the real deal (fruit) in a secondary....doing a lot of reading on various forums and other sites I am just to the point of how much to use.....I am looking for a nice subtle strawberry essence(no other way to describe) versus the "pink" and overwhleming fruit taste....I figure no more than 2 large cans of an oregon style strawberries in syrup or water.....

 

[Tall_Yotie]

If you are just wanting subtle, effectively a "dry hop" strawberry effect, I would suggest using strawberries (fresh) cut into slices. This is coming from a guy that grew up near a town known for strawberry production however, so I am used to having ready access to fresh strawberries. When ever I flavor beers (be it fruit or spices) I prefer it to be a hint of it, not a strong note. A couple little baskets of strawberries, slices and soaked in the secondary for a week I believe would give a nice aroma and hint of flavor. Remember, smell attributes a LOT to flavor, so the smell can go a long way.