Fruit Beer Strawberry Alarm Clock v3.0 (Strawberry Blonde)

[beerloaf]

I just bottled this earlier tonight and except for one thing it's identical to the original recipe down to the OG and mash temps. I did let it sit in plastic for 21 days and instead of actual strawberries, I used 4 oz of strawberry flavoring. I did this because I brewed this for SWMBO and she really liked Pete's Wicked and that was made with the flavoring. The samples prior to the strawberry addition were amazing. FG was down to 1.012. I'm looking forward to this in the next few weeks.

beerloaf

 

[Benzene]

Brewed this up tonight. Followed the recipe, but missed the mash out temp low. Still was close on original gravity (1.049). Strawberries in the freezer ready to go!

 

[ahaagis]

Coming up on the time to rack my second batch of this to the secondary. First batch went fast. Has anyone tried this recipe with raspberries or a blend of them with strawberries?

 

[HankyPanky]

I am going to add this to my summer brew list!

 

[weirdboy]

I have not tried the recipe with raspberries, but that sounds like it could work well. I am not sure how well the quantity would compare to strawberries, as I suspect you will get more fruit flavor from the raspberries on a pound-for-pound basis.


I have a keg on tap now, along with another keg from the same split batch that I fermented as a lager and dry hopped with cascade, instead of adding the strawberries. The cascade version makes for a nice session beer with tons of flavor while being fairly light on the ABV.

 

[qbst]

I've got this going in primary right now -- about a week away from strawberries. I plan on racking it into a secondary vessel with the strawberries. But you mention that you removed the strawberries before cold crashing. To clarify, you moved the brew to tertiary, leaving the strawberries behind? Or did you just physically lift the strawberry bag out of the secondary?

 

[weirdboy]

I usually rack off the strawberries into another vessel.

 

[qbst]

Great, thanks!

 

[DasSchlebach]

Just finished up building my mash tun, this on my to do list

 

[yellowjacket151]

Any thoughts on using fresh-picked versus store-bought frozen strawberries? With strawberry season opening in early May I was thinking about making this with strawberries I picked from the local fruit orchard.

Do the frozen strawberries have an advantage?

 

[Cromacster]

Just transferred this to secondary and racked onto 4lbs of halved frozen strawberries. Sample tasted good. Looking forward to this one this summer.

Fermented for 12 days at 68F. Hit target gravity of 1.1012. I used 1099 Wyeast Whitbread Ale Yeast.

 

[ahaagis]

I have made two batches of this thus far and used fresh berries the first time and it turned out great.

Any thoughts on using fresh-picked versus store-bought frozen strawberries? With strawberry season opening in early May I was thinking about making this with strawberries I picked from the local fruit orchard.

Do the frozen strawberries have an advantage?

 

[strumke]

I brewed 10 days ago and my FG is 1.18 (taken two days apart), which seems high. I threw in the strawberries and stirred up the yeast. Think that will work to bring the gravity down further?

I do have to say that the beer pre-berries tastes pretty awesome already.

 

[phoenixs4r]

First time brewing it this weekend. It looks like diareaha, lol. Is that normal due to the wheat?

 

[uncleben113]

This looks like a great beer! I can't wait to brew it

Won't the strawberries mold though after sitting in the secondary for 3 weeks?

 

[weirdboy]

The strawberries do look nasty when you pull them out, but not moldy. They just get all the color and texture leeched out of them.

 

[uncleben113]

Do you push them down at all in the secondary during the 3 weeks? I mean with a sanitized spoon or paddle? It seems like you would need to to make sure all of the strawberries stay in full contact with the beer.

Thanks for the quick response btw

 

[weirdboy]

I use a bucket, and a 5 gallon paint strainer bag to put the strawberries in. I tie the bag and put it into the bottom of the bucket, then I rack the beer on top. They float a bit, but I don't worry about them floating or try to push them down. They eventually find their way into the beer anyway.

I used the 5 gallon better bottle once, maybe twice, before I wised up...first time I had a massive strawberry beer explosion that painted strawberries all over my pantry's ceiling and walls. Second time I had lots of trouble getting those little seeds out of the finished beer. So, nowadays I like using bags to contain and filter hops, spice and fruit additions, and I like doing that in buckets because they are much easier to manage with the bags.

 

[uncleben113]

Thanks for the info! This seems like it's going to be a tasty one. There's a pick-your-own-strawberry farm here in Monroe so I'll be heading out there to get my fruit. I don't understand the purpose of freezing the strawberries, though. What does that add that that thawed strawberries don't?

 

[weirdboy]

Freezing the strawberries bursts the cells walls in the fruit so that you get more of the strawberry flavor extracted in a shorter amount of time.

 

[uncleben113]

Oh I see. Like meat tenderizing for cells. Yummy!

Well as soon as I get this one under way, I'll post up some pics

 

[ahaagis]

I have tried both fresh and frozen and found that you get a bit more of the strawberry tartness while with frozen it sweetens the beer. The aroma is definitely strong either way!

 

[phoenixs4r]

Anybody experience a rather less-than-robust fermentation? I hit my preboil numbers, and I shouldn't but i assumed I hit my OG but i didn't bother to check. Pre-boil and post boil volumes were dead on.

Barely any krausen, pre strawberries. Checked the gravity and it's dead on for the recipe. Wierd.

 

[BIGCUNN60]

What if I just juice my strawberries in my Jack LaLane juicer? Seems I should get all the flavor and less strawberry mess?

 

[weirdboy]

I have no idea. Give it a shot and see what happens. I don't really get strawberry mess, however, because I use the mesh bags to contain the strawberries.

 

[Cromacster]

Looking for some input here. Followed to recipe posted. I used 4 lbs of fresh strawberries, washed, halved, then frozen before adding them to fermentation. Sat for 3 weeks on the strawberries. Now it has been in bottles for 3 weeks.

It carbed up very nicely, has a very very faint strawberry aroma. The beer itself contains little to no strawberry flavor. It has a hint of the tartness, but without knowing it was a strawberry beer I might never have guessed it.

Although you do get a very good strawberry flavor in the head, just not the beer.

Any thoughts or comments on how to get more strawberry flavor in the actual beer? Or is this how its supposed to be?

 

[weirdboy]

Looking for some input here. Followed to recipe posted. I used 4 lbs of fresh strawberries, washed, halved, then frozen before adding them to fermentation. Sat for 3 weeks on the strawberries. Now it has been in bottles for 3 weeks.

It carbed up very nicely, has a very very faint strawberry aroma. The beer itself contains little to no strawberry flavor. It has a hint of the tartness, but without knowing it was a strawberry beer I might never have guessed it.

Although you do get a very good strawberry flavor in the head, just not the beer.

Any thoughts or comments on how to get more strawberry flavor in the actual beer? Or is this how its supposed to be?

That is how it's supposed to be.

You can try adding more actual strawberries for a stronger flavor, although there is a practical limit to how much you can add. I would start with doubling the quantity here, and see how you like it.

The other option is to try Oregon Fruit Puree, which is a pastuerized, concentrated (I think) fruit puree you can find in some homebrew shops, or buy directly from them, although they only sell larger quantities.

The other, other option is to use a strawberry flavoring or extract, which I don't personally like since they taste "artificial" to me, but which have a much stronger "strawberry" flavor to some people. This is what some notable commercial examples use.

 

[Cromacster]

That is how it's supposed to be.

You can try adding more actual strawberries for a stronger flavor, although there is a practical limit to how much you can add. I would start with doubling the quantity here, and see how you like it.

The other option is to try Oregon Fruit Puree, which is a pastuerized, concentrated (I think) fruit puree you can find in some homebrew shops, or buy directly from them, although they only sell larger quantities.

The other, other option is to use a strawberry flavoring or extract, which I don't personally like since they taste "artificial" to me, but which have a much stronger "strawberry" flavor to some people. This is what some notable commercial examples use.

I wasn't necessarily looking for more strawberry flavor, just wondering if I hit the mark. I tasked it before bottling and it had pretty strong aroma and strawberry after tasted. I'm guessing that was because the beer just came off the strawberries at that point.

Maybe next time I will try upping the amount of strawberries I used as you suggested. Or frozen as some people say using frozen adds to the sweetness.

Edit: I've also been sick, so my taste/smell is most likely off. I'll have to have someone else try it.

 

[weirdboy]

Oh, you didn't freeze them? Yeah, that makes a difference. It is also what I recommend in the OP, I'm pretty sure.

 

[Cromacster]

Oh, you didn't freeze them? Yeah, that makes a difference. It is also what I recommend in the OP, I'm pretty sure.

Nah I froze them, I meant I'll buy already frozen strawberries for the next batch.