Fruit Beer Requiem Raspberry

[Ike]

There's no need for campden at all - you're adding them to a pretty hostile environment as it is. I've done a handful of batches of this stuff, and never had an infection, and I've never heard of a batch of this getting infected, either with fresh or frozen fruit.

Thanks for the input! Thing is, this thread has quite a few examples of folks who got infections attributed to non-sanitized fruit. That said, there are TONS of responders who say "don't worry," just about as many that sanitize with campden, and a few who use heat.

I was just wondering if any of the "campden folks" had any input about whether or not my process was up to par.



ETA some followup: Last night I broke down, sanitized a spoon and gave it all a stir, then recovered it. This morning, the berries are pretty uniformly bleached, which seems to be par for the course in campden use, so it seems like things are moving along. Heading to secondary today!

ETA for MORE followup: O...M...G... if this stuff tastes half as good as it smells, it's gonna be my best ever. The brown ale alone was the most potable I've ever made, even before carbing and conditioning. Gonna start another batch right away...

ETA for even FURTHER followup: Eight days in the secondary and STILL seeing bubbles rising and airlock activity. It's clearing really nicely: I can look at the floating bed of (now absolutely bleached) rasperries and see a few berries in. I'm losing my MIND waiting for this stuff to finish up...

 

[Ike]

MORE QUESTIONS! Sorry...

I have five gallons of this sitting in secondary right now, ten days in secondary, a five gallon glass carboy. Initially there was quite a bit of airlock activity, which naturally has now settled down, just over a minute between bubbles. It just keeps grinding along, really slow, like a car at idle, but not finishing up.

Does using whole fruit (raspberries) make it harder for the yeast to get to the sugars "in" the fruit? I know I should wait until fermentation is complete, but if it's going to take forever for the yeast to get through the actual tissue of the fruit, am I going to grow old and die waiting for that last trickle of fermentation to complete? Should I just go ahead and rack off the fruit after the two weeks the recipe recommends, figuring that removing the fruit will remove the source of that "locked down" sugar, and bottle as normal?

 

[JonnySax]

Did you freeze the berries before racking onto them? I froze mine to break the cell walls open and then tossed them in 151 to sanitize and let them drain. then i let them thaw for a while at the bottom of the sanitized fermenter before I racked on top of them. Worked perfectly! I would also suggest keeping them in a mesh bag or something to keep the seeds in.

 

[Ike]

Did you freeze the berries before racking onto them?

Yep, roger that. Well, they came frozen, in all honesty. The berries are absolutely white (well, sorta brownish white, but definitely devoid of their color). But still: this very small trickle of tiny bubbles floating up from the bottom, with the 3-piece bubbling once every 1.25 minutes (had to time it, couldn't resist)

Here's my plan, UNLESS SOMEONE ELSE SUGGESTS SOMETHING (I'm open to suggestions from you all!) Sunday will be 15 days, so I'll probably go ahead and bottle at that point, figuring the yeast have to have had their way with any sugars in suspension and are just gnawing on the tiny bit of sugar left in the berries. I'll plan on backing off JUST a bit on the bottling sugar and monitor for over-carbing, and pasteurize if I have to.

This morning at the supermarket I saw they have fresh blackberries on sale for less than half of what I paid for these frozen raspberries. NEXT!

 

[JonnySax]

You should be good after 15 days. Remember there will still be some fermentation in the bottle. maybe check the brix or gravity and see what surgery you have left... if theres still some fructose in there you might not have to add as much sugar to the bottling bucket. that way you prevent the exploding bottle! ha ha

 

[SupervisingChildren]

I haven't done this recipe yet, but have done 20+ strawberry blondes. I rack onto the fruit for a week, then the fruit usually turns whitish. I then rack to tertiary for a week, then bottle or keg. I've had a few overcarbed batches in the bottle so I'm thinking that you should dial back the sugar a little bit but not too much if you waited that long in secondary. I would suggest a week in tertiary though just to have anything else drop out.

 

[Ike]

I haven't done this recipe yet, but have done 20+ strawberry blondes. I rack onto the fruit for a week, then the fruit usually turns whitish. I then rack to tertiary for a week, then bottle or keg. I've had a few overcarbed batches in the bottle so I'm thinking that you should dial back the sugar a little bit but not too much if you waited that long in secondary. I would suggest a week in tertiary though just to have anything else drop out.

OK, sounds like I'll be amalgamating the advice from a couple posters. I'm going to go ahead and bottle today, cutting back the sugar a wee bit. ATM I'm not sure I have an appropriate tertiary, BUT by the time I do this batch again I should have enough 1 and 2 gallon bottles around to consider doing that.

Thanks to all!

 

[CrookedTail]

So a local craft beer bar hosts an annual homebrew competition. This competition takes 25 entries and chooses the top 5 to be re-brewed for a beer and music festival, where the public votes on the winner. I'd submitted entries the previous two years, making it to the festival both times. The first year my Belgo-American Pale Ale placed third, and last year my Honey Wheat placed second.

A month and a half ago, I was talking to one of the owners of the bar, and she talked me into participating again. I wasn't planning on doing it, partly because of time, and also I just didn't know what to submit. She suggested a fruit beer. She said I should brew something that women like because that's who I should appeal to at the festival if I make it again. When I asked what type of fruit beer to brew, she said "something with raspberries."

I immediately thought of this recipe.

Now I normally don't do fruit beers. I've tried brewing them two other times, and both ended up getting dumped. Total failures. But I had no other ideas, so I heeded the owner's advice and gave this one a shot.

The brew day and fermentation went as plannned. No hiccups. I added the raspberries, and a week later they were white, just as the OP said they would. I racked the beer and took a sample. YUCK! I thought it was terrible! Very sharp bite to it. I thought if this is what it's going to taste like, there's no way I'm going to that festival a third time. But I've been brewing long enough to know a beer can mellow dramatically in just a week or two. So I let it sit in the bright tank for two weeks.

I just bottled this yesterday, and took another sample. HOLY FRIGGIN' CRAP! This beer is awesome! The sharp bite is completely gone, and you get a wonderful raspberry fruitiness. My competitors are in trouble! Thank you to the OP for a fantastic recipe!

Sorry for the long-winded post. I'll keep you all posted on how this does in the competition.

 

[bj2387]

question on the yeast. the original post is saying to ferment at 73 using nottingham. but the danstar website says the high side should be 70 for the yeast. is this yeast more forgivable then others? or will i get off flavors above 70

 

[user 83772]

question on the yeast. the original post is saying to ferment at 73 using nottingham. but the danstar website says the high side should be 70 for the yeast. is this yeast more forgivable then others? or will i get off flavors above 70

The beauty of this beer is that if you *do* ever get any off-flavors, you'll never know it. The raspberry truly walks & talks in this recipe. To more specifically answer your question though - I'm far from an expert, but in my experience Notty is one of the more forgiving yeasts as far as off-flavor production goes.

Long story short, don't sweat it. This beer is killer, and great at hiding little boo-boos in your brewing process.

 

[Shenanigans]

Is there an allgrain version of this recipe?

 

[CGish]

Is there an allgrain version of this recipe?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f75/requiem-raspberry-56285/index10.html#post2377399

 

[Shenanigans]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f75/requiem-raspberry-56285/index10.html#post2377399

Super, thanks!

 

[MeanGreen]

anyone done any oak aging on this? wondering how to go about it. oak first then raspberries?

 

[grrickar]

Just brewed a batch of this, just starting to ferm in the primary. I can't wait!

 

[user 125195]

I brewed the all grain version recently, had the first bottle this week. This is a really nice beer, everyone who's tried it has agreed. I will definitely be brewing it again.

 

[Shenanigans]

I have a 50lb bag of Maris Otter. Anyone tried brewing this with that instead of 2-row?

 

[CGish]

I have a 50lb bag of Maris Otter. Anyone tried brewing this with that instead of 2-row?

MO would be fine as the base grain in this beer. However, given that the raspberry flavor is the primary focus of this beer, the MO is likely wasted in this recipe.

I would probably do something different with the MO, but if that is all you have it will be fine.

 

[user 83772]

anyone done any oak aging on this? wondering how to go about it. oak first then raspberries?

I would actually reverse that - raspberries *then* oak. The raspberry is so, so strong in this recipe, that I guarantee that you'd wipe out any oak notes you picked up unless you saved the oak for the end.

 

[Shenanigans]

MO would be fine as the base grain in this beer. However, given that the raspberry flavor is the primary focus of this beer, the MO is likely wasted in this recipe.

I would probably do something different with the MO, but if that is all you have it will be fine.

Thanks, yes good point.
I have so many beers on my "to brew" list I can wait until I have some 2-row/pale ale malt before doing this.
I'll brew an English IPA as my next beer, perfect for the MO.

 

[grrickar]

I got 40oz of raspberries in the secondary, happily bubbling away. I can't wait to try this one...

 

[bd2xu]

Looks like a good one. Have you considered any wheat extract in there? Also, I'd consider putting your raspberries in a muslin bag, easier to remove. I used frozen, organic raspberries in mine and smashed them up a little first. Supposed to get more flavor.

 

[Ike]

I wonder if anyone else has tried it, but the base ale for this recipe (the brown ale you brew before you add the raspberries) is REALLY good on its own. My most recent batch, I split it and put half over raspberries and bottled the other half as-is. While I wouldn't exactly call it a complicated-tasting beer, it's very quaffable.

Give it a try sometime!

 

[IDrinkBr]

I've brewed this 3 times since April. Served it at beer fest with my homebrew club: one of the first kegs to kick! Served it at a wedding this past weekend: first keg to kick! The remaining keg in my keezer is almost gone. Time to brew it again!

I brewed the original recipe as posted with no changes. When I siphoned into the keg, I used 2 paint strainer bags zip-tied to the end of the siphon. Minimal raspberry pieces made it into the keg.

This is a pretty solid recipe. The raspberries are a refreshing compliment to the beer without being overpowering.

 

[dcrog]

I made this a little while back. Split it between two carboys when time to secondary. Half on frozen and thawed raspberries, the other half on frozen and thawed blackberries. Both are quite delicious but I think the raz'beer-y is the best.

Thanks for the recipe.

 

[grrickar]

Mine turned out 'thin' and very tart. Maybe more Crystal or some honey malt next time. The mouthfeel does not seem right...maybe carapil addition?

Mine reminds me of a watered down lambic, or fruit wine. Some carbonation, but not a lot even after two weeks in the bottle. Zero sweetness. I think that is what I dislike the most about my batch. I expected a small bit, but it turned out pretty dry...

 

[Ike]

Mine turned out 'thin' and very tart. Maybe more Crystal or some honey malt next time. The mouthfeel does not seem right...maybe carapil addition?

Mine reminds me of a watered down lambic, or fruit wine. Some carbonation, but not a lot even after two weeks in the bottle. Zero sweetness. I think that is what I dislike the most about my batch. I expected a small bit, but it turned out pretty dry...

I've only done two batches so far, and only tried one tester bottle from the second batch, but both mine have been tart-ish and not at all sweet. But mine are about as far from "thin" as can be. Great head retention, tons of body and a good mouthfeel.

 

[CGish]

Mine turned out 'thin' and very tart. Maybe more Crystal or some honey malt next time. The mouthfeel does not seem right...maybe carapil addition?

Mine reminds me of a watered down lambic, or fruit wine. Some carbonation, but not a lot even after two weeks in the bottle. Zero sweetness. I think that is what I dislike the most about my batch. I expected a small bit, but it turned out pretty dry...

My batch tasted pretty rough at two weeks as well. It really didn't come into its own until about four weeks. The couple of early tastes were thin, bitter, and unbalanced. Approximately four weeks was the turning point where it when from poor to good. At eight weeks (I bottled on 6/8/15) it is excellent.

 

[Ike]

Mine turned out 'thin' and very tart.

ALSO: I don't know how much of the thread you've read, but some feel the flavor of this one is much improved by INTENTIONALLY mixing the sediment from the bottom of the bottle back into solution before drinking. I've not tried it yet, never seem to remember to try it in the frantic moment between hearing the "POP" of the flip-top and getting that first sip, but SOMEDAY I'll remember.

Maybe give that a try and see if the profile changes to suit your palate more?

 

[Shenanigans]

ALSO: I don't know how much of the thread you've read, but some feel the flavor of this one is much improved by INTENTIONALLY mixing the sediment from the bottom of the bottle back into solution before drinking. I've not tried it yet, never seem to remember to try it in the frantic moment between hearing the "POP" of the flip-top and getting that first sip, but SOMEDAY I'll remember.

Maybe give that a try and see if the profile changes to suit your palate more?

I haven't brewed this beer but a I do that a lot with American Wheats and White IPAs. A lot of the flavour and body falls out with the yeast and of course the wheat drops out too. A good swirl and you can get a beer with much more body and flavour. Of course it's not a great idea for certain types of yeast and not necessary for some styles. You need to experiment and see what you like.
You should have 40 or 50 bottles of the stuff to find out what you like best