I’m looking to brew the American Wheat kit and add fruit to the secondary. I got inspired by a local beer called Son of A Peach that is mad with South Carolina Peaches. What fruit do you guys think would work best? I have a lot of ideas and need to narrow it down. Also, if anyone has ever done this I would not mind some tips :cheers:
Many fruits have been used. If you pick any fruit, say “strawberries” and search for strawberry wheat ale, you’ll find loads of info.
One good method is to transfer your beer to a secondary as the fermentation begins to slow and add the fruit at that point. Containing the fruit in a nylon paint strainer bag is a really nice way to separate the beer from the fruit after fermentation.
Common amounts range from .5 - 1.5 pounds of fruit per gallon. I’ve had good luck with blackberries.
Don’t expect the fruit to add any sweetness to the beer. Do expect it to increase the ABV and possibly even dry the beer out a little bit.
If you want the fruit to stand out, don’t use late hop additions.
Expect the fruit to cause some haziness (which I don’t consider a flaw in wheat beers).
You can look up various methods of sanitizing the fruit. I’ve had good luck using thawed bags of frozen fruit without sanitizing.
What fruit do you like to eat? You can brew with pretty much any fruit: I’ve used strawberries, blackberries, cantaloupe, cherries, raspberries, and coconut.
that was very helpful! do you mash or cut the fruit up at all?
What fruit do you like to eat? You can brew with pretty much any fruit: I’ve used strawberries, blackberries, cantaloupe, cherries, raspberries, and coconut.[/quote]
cherries sound like a tasty idea
What fruit do you like to eat? You can brew with pretty much any fruit: I’ve used strawberries, blackberries, cantaloupe, cherries, raspberries, and coconut.[/quote]
cherries sound like a tasty idea[/quote]
It is, but make sure you use sour cherries. Sweet cherries don’t stand up very well. In general, sour fruits seem to work better than sweeter ones - at least that is my experience. I’ve used cherries, blueberries, lingonberries, cranberries, raspberries, sea buckthorne and apples. The lingonberries, cranberries and raspberries are the ones that have stood out for me to make exceptional beers.
Frozen fruit added directly to the secondary, and then rack the beer on top is the method I’ve found that works best. Applying heat to sanitize cooks the fruit and changes the flavor.
Another thing to consider is using some of the fruit to make a tincture with vodka. This way if it doesn’t have enough flavor you can fine tune it with your tincture. Remember, you can always add more flavor but you can’t strip it out.
if i’m using a bucket for my secondary will there be enough room for 5 pounds of cherries on top of the 5 gallon batch? Another thought, could I put the cherries in a brew bag and place that in the fermenter?
There should be enough room. And yes I encourage you to use a big bag to help remove the fruit.
I have not had a problem using sweet cherries in my cherry wheat, but I also add 10lbs instead of 5. I live in cherry country, so I can do this without breaking the bank. It’s too hot for me to brew in July, so I wash them, pack them in freezer bags and freeze them until October when I can brew again. The freezing and thawing breaks up the cherries and releases the juice better. Make sure you mash those cherries to give the yeast plenty of opportunity to get into those cherries and do their job. I also pasteurize at 165 degrees F for 30 minutes without a problem in flavor. Plenty of cherry flavor left, BUT make sure you rack the beer onto the cherries in secondary. Putting it in right away in primary will cause too much loss of flavor. Also, make it a higher gravity beer. The malt stands up better to the cherry flavor, and the beer keeps longer, and I think it leaves just a bit of residual sweetness. I would go at least 1.070. +1 on the low hop additions. Use 1oz of Hallertauer (3/4oz for AG) at 60min. I do like to add 1/2oz of Tettnang at 15 min and again at FO. There’s a mild spiciness with this hop that I like with the cherry flavor. Otherwise, my friends and I think it’s a bit too sweet. Having said this, I also add 1/2lb of caramel malt to add back a bit of sweetness and take away some of the dryness of the fermented cherries. I have gone Caramel 10 and 20, but I think I’m going with 60 or 80 next time to add more of a burnt caramel taste. I wouldn’t go more than 80 as you then get into other fruit flavors like plum which might detract from your cherry flavor.
Another thought is to check out the frozen fruit selections from Goya in the ethnic sections of some grocery stores. Randy Mosher presented this at a seminar in Indy a year ago. Very different flavors from a variety of South and Central American fruits.
I appreciate all the feedback guys! Looks like I am going to brew the American Wheat and transfer to secondary after a week. I’ll rack the beer on the secondary on top of 10 pounds of frozen, then thawed and mashed cherries in a brew bag. Hopefully after about 2 weeks it’ll be done and taste great!
[quote=“rebuiltcellars”]
It is, but make sure you use sour cherries. Sweet cherries don’t stand up very well. In general, sour fruits seem to work better than sweeter ones - at least that is my experience. I’ve used cherries, blueberries, lingonberries, cranberries, raspberries, sea buckthorne and apples. The lingonberries, cranberries and raspberries are the ones that have stood out for me to make exceptional beers.
Frozen fruit added directly to the secondary, and then rack the beer on top is the method I’ve found that works best. Applying heat to sanitize cooks the fruit and changes the flavor.[/quote]
How hard is it to find fresh sour cherries where you live? They’re really hard to find here so a few years ago we planted a sour cherry tree; added another one a couple of years ago.
Applying heat also can set the pectin and cause hazy beer which isn’t a problem in many wheat beers. When I want a hazy fruit beer I throw some of the fruit into the boil.
[quote=“Rookie L A”][quote=“rebuiltcellars”]
It is, but make sure you use sour cherries. Sweet cherries don’t stand up very well. In general, sour fruits seem to work better than sweeter ones - at least that is my experience. I’ve used cherries, blueberries, lingonberries, cranberries, raspberries, sea buckthorne and apples. The lingonberries, cranberries and raspberries are the ones that have stood out for me to make exceptional beers.
Frozen fruit added directly to the secondary, and then rack the beer on top is the method I’ve found that works best. Applying heat to sanitize cooks the fruit and changes the flavor.[/quote]
How hard is it to find fresh sour cherries where you live? They’re really hard to find here so a few years ago we planted a sour cherry tree; added another one a couple of years ago.
Applying heat also can set the pectin and cause hazy beer which isn’t a problem in many wheat beers. When I want a hazy fruit beer I throw some of the fruit into the boil.[/quote]
Pectin will not set at 165. It will definitely set at higher temps though. Even in my fruit wheat beers after conditioning, I’ve gotten clear beer. I made an apple ale last fall. In that case, I also pasteurized the cider, but I also added pectic enzyme after since it takes a long time for cider to clear. Worked great. Had clear beer by bottling time.
Pectic enzyme is wonderful stuff if you are using certain fruits, like apples. Don’t think it is needed for cherries, but it doesn’t hurt anything to add it.
I’m making a Blackberry Wheat beer for the 4th time. I’ve never really cared about the appearance and just let it be an opaque rosy color. However, the thought of trying to clear it this time is intriguing. I brewed today and will likely rack onto pasteurized berries next weekend. Is it too late to use pectin enzyme? And if not, how would I go about it?
Don’t add the enzyme before adding the fruit. You can add it any time after that. If you add it with the fruit, it will help extract a bit more flavor and a lot more color. If you add it after you rack the beer off the fruit, it will just remove any pectin haze. Follow the directions on the label for the correct amount.
I just brewed the NB raspberry wheat kit which is now bubbling away in primary. After reading up on the kit reviews and looking through this thread I was wondering if adding raspberries to the secondary would help benefit the end result. Whether that be adding raspberries then the extract on bottling day or doing one and not the other. Thanks!
Adding real fruit will add to the actual raspberry flavor. Most extract as a certain “fake” taste to it. If it were me, I would plan on adding about 1lb of frozen/thawed/crushed raspberries PER GALLON. Use the extract on bottling day to add to the flavor if needed.
Adding real fruit will add to the actual raspberry flavor. Most extract as a certain “fake” taste to it. If it were me, I would plan on adding about 1lb of frozen/thawed/crushed raspberries PER GALLON. Use the extract on bottling day to add to the flavor if needed.[/quote]
NB sells a raspberry puree from the reviews it appears to work okay. Do you think getting frozen fruit from the store would be better?
