This may be a stupid idea...

[ampsman]

I was thinking about brewing a nice wheat beer and what I could do to kick it up...
and I thought...what if you added some watermelon now & laters at some point during fermentation?
hmmmm.....????
any thoughts on the results?



Disclaimer:
Slightly drunk on home brew.

 

[Notalus]

Sure, they make extract to add to beers to kick up flavors. Be careful with pure fruit you can kill off a good batch if you are not careful.

 

[TopherM]

I've heard that using actual watermelon fruit doesn't impart much flavor. To get that "candy" watermelon falvor, you have to use extract syrup.

 

[Hophazard]

Not sure it's that stupid. 21A seems to do quite well with their "Hell or High Watermellon" wheat beer during the warm months. Pretty sure they add actual watermellon to it, too. Not sure whether they supplement with extract.

 

[Revvy]

My nephew has used Jolly ranchers quite effectively in flavoring schnapps. You use a double boiler and some water to melt them down. Jolly ranchers are pretty pure, you really want a clear hard candy, like a jolly rancher or a brachs butterscotch, rather than a taffy like one, taffys traditionally use adjuncts like baking soda or cornstarch when making them, some use cream of tartar....you really just want a pure, intensely flavored hard candy.

He's used watermellon, sour apple and grape in his schnapps and they all are awesome. He's also used peppermints, wintergreen mints, and root beer barrel candies as well.

 

[ampsman]

I meant jolly ranchers...dont know why I put now & laters.
Of course thats why there was a disclaimer I suppose.

 

[PT Ray]

Sure, they make extract to add to beers to kick up flavors.

Ditto. I think you'd get more mileage using a quality extract.

 

[Bmorebrew]

I say go for it.