Questions Regarding Fruit Beers

[Duffman53]

Hello all, I have looked through HBT and have researched fruit beers but still have some questions.

Here are the ingredients for a six gallon batch of fruit ale I was hoping to make. Feel free to critique it... Once my wort cooled I was going to split it up into into two three gallon batches and one would become blueberry ale and the other would be raspberry ale.

9 lbs Briess Pilsen Light LME
2 lbs Clover honey (boiled and impurities skimmed off the top)
1 oz Cascade hops (boiling)
1 oz Hersbrucker hops (aroma)
2 lbs of blueberries/raspberries for each batch

1. I've posted on here about using a brew infuser and the responses I received implied that a brew infuser is not really effective and that I could get the same results from just making a fruit puree and siphoning the beer over it in a secondary. My experience with hairy buffalo parties is that fruit or anything soaking in alcohol absorbs the alcohol. I know the fructose should promote additional fermentation but does the fruit still absorb some of the alcohol?

2. I know to confirm that the primary fermentation is done before siphoning the beer over my fruit puree. When I am ready to siphon my beer over the puree should I do anything else, such as mixing the puree with a simple syrup, to help ensure that this second fermentation kicks off as expected?

3. While this is a pretty simple stab at my first original recipe can anyone make some suggestions on anything to improve it? I'm hoping for a clean, crisp flavor with some sweetness but not with an overpowering fruit flavor.

4. Any predictions on ABV? I'd like to get at least 4.5% for each batch. I believe the sugars in the honey and fruit should make this happen. Is there anything else I can do to help increase the ABV?

As always thanks and sorry for the lengthy post. = )
Duffman53

 

[Pappers_]

Hi Duff. When I make a fruit beer, I do exactly what you are suggesting - let it ferment out first, then rack to secondary with the fruit and let a secondary fermentation run its course. Here's a stab are your questions:

1. are you asking if the fruit absorbs the alcohol (lowering your abv) or absorbs the beer, lowering your total volume? The latter is absolutely true, but I have no idea about whether it absorbs alcohol.

2. no need to add anything to the fruit, the yeast will do what yeast do

3. you don't mention what yeast you will be using, which will have a big impact on the final character of your beer - using a good attenuating yeast with a clean flavor profile would help, something like Safale US-05.

4. in Beersmith, I get your original gravity to be 1.065 and the estimated final gravity to be 1.015, with an abv of 6.6%; I suspect that the final gravity estimate may be a little low, so the abv estimate might be a little high; I have no idea how much the fermentation of the fruit would add to the abv.

Good luck!

Jim

 

[Probably_Confused]

The fruit will absorb some of the beer and thus, some of the alcohol, but only in proportion. Your ABV will stay the same, or maybe go up a bit because of the extra sugars in the fruit

 

[wolverinebrewer]

Hello all, I have looked through HBT and have researched fruit beers but still have some questions.

Here are the ingredients for a six gallon batch of fruit ale I was hoping to make. Feel free to critique it... Once my wort cooled I was going to split it up into into two three gallon batches and one would become blueberry ale and the other would be raspberry ale.

9 lbs Briess Pilsen Light LME
2 lbs Clover honey (boiled and impurities skimmed off the top)
1 oz Cascade hops (boiling)
1 oz Hersbrucker hops (aroma)
2 lbs of blueberries/raspberries for each batch

1. I've posted on here about using a brew infuser and the responses I received implied that a brew infuser is not really effective and that I could get the same results from just making a fruit puree and siphoning the beer over it in a secondary. My experience with hairy buffalo parties is that fruit or anything soaking in alcohol absorbs the alcohol. I know the fructose should promote additional fermentation but does the fruit still absorb some of the alcohol?

2. I know to confirm that the primary fermentation is done before siphoning the beer over my fruit puree. When I am ready to siphon my beer over the puree should I do anything else, such as mixing the puree with a simple syrup, to help ensure that this second fermentation kicks off as expected?

3. While this is a pretty simple stab at my first original recipe can anyone make some suggestions on anything to improve it? I'm hoping for a clean, crisp flavor with some sweetness but not with an overpowering fruit flavor.

4. Any predictions on ABV? I'd like to get at least 4.5% for each batch. I believe the sugars in the honey and fruit should make this happen. Is there anything else I can do to help increase the ABV?

As always thanks and sorry for the lengthy post. = )
Duffman53

If you are adding fruit, I'm not sure you need the honey unless you are adding it for a different reason other than raising the abv. Honey will also dry it out. The fruit will raise the abv and also dry it out so I'm not sure you want both. I think 2 lbs in each half batch will give you enough dryness as well as taste. I did 5 gal. with 4 lbs of raspberries once and it was plenty dry enough. Very crisp with just enough flavor to know its there.
As far as absorption goes, I don't think you will notice much loss. I just added 3 lbs of strawberries to 5 gal. in a 5 gal. carboy and it pushed everything right up the neck of the carboy. When I racked it to the bucket I still had pretty much 5 gal. to bottle.