Raspberry Wheat Brew

[dhelegda]

I took my wife in to the Brew Store today and the next beer I will be making for her is a raspberry wheat. We got a wheat extract kit, my only question is should we add the raspberries to the primary fermenter or should we wait until it's time to bottle? It will be five gallon batch and we are using a seedless raspberry puree that we picked up from the beer store. Also I am not sure how much of the 3lb 1oz can of the puree I should add. If I add it after fermentation will the sugar from the puree act as a priming agent or should I still use priming sugar? Thanks for any and all advice.

 

[ghoti]

I would add it right before you bottle it, or to secondary if you are doing that.

 

[jiggs_casey]

I did a raspberry wheat a few years ago where I added the entire can to the last 10 minutes or so of the boil. Turned out great...

If you decide to add it late, any sugars in the puree will still ferment out. It doesn't really matter what you add, you should let fermentation complete before you bottle then, use the little bag of 'priming sugar' to bottle with.

 

[davesrose]

I would secondary the puree for at least a week. IMO, if you wait until after primary fermentation...as well as taking it off the yeast...you'll get more of the fruit flavors and less of it will strictly be fermented out.

 

[RedIrocZ-28]

You will need to transfer the beer to secondary before adding the puree. Realistically you should probably get another can of the puree as it is recommended that you use about 1lb/gal if you want a really raspberry tasting beer. With 3lbs for almost 6 gal it wil be uhh... subtle. But if thats what you are going for, then perfect.

The puree will ferment out, you should check gravity to ensure its fully fermented. Use priming sugar like normal at bottling.

 

[bgrayson726]

Definitely add it to the secondary fermenter. Unless as jiggs said, during the boil. I have never added fruit other than orange peel (bought at the LHBS) to the boil. I have only added it to my secondary and it turned out great!

 

[davesrose]

With 3lbs for almost 6 gal it wil be uhh... subtle. But if thats what you are going for, then perfect.

I've never worked with puree myself: I've used frozen fruit. But one thing I'd recommend is that everyone has their own preference. When I was trying a raspberry wheat with my girlfriend, I started off with a certain amount of raspberries first. After a few days after pitching, I had her taste a sample. Dang, if she wasn't a beer drinker: it still wasn't nearly fruity enough. So I then added more. It's much easier to start off with too little and then start adding more then it is to start off with too much.

 

[nos33]

my raspberry wheat came with raspberry extract 4oz of it. I threw that in before bottling

 

[kgraber]

I currently have a Raspberry Wheat in Secondary. I put 2 cans of the puree in my Primary where it sat for 2 weeks. It has a very tart raspberry flavor. If I were to do it again I would put 1 can in Secondary and that would be it. 2 cans will give you a very pronounced raspberry flavor.

 

[Weizenwerks]

It doesn't take much raspberry to get flavor to show through.