if you rack an american wheat over fruit, would you rack then bottle? or would you rack in secondary and let it sit? if so how much longer? also for a 5lb batch how much fruit would you need approximately? I’m very new to brewing, first batch is fermenting now and brewing is consuming my thoughts day and night. cant stay off the forums, there is so much to learn.
Thanks in advance for the help :cheers:
There’s worse things in life. If you rack into the bottling bucket I think it will be to much sugar and will over carbonate your bottles.
What I have done with fruit additions is to grab a large mesh straining bag and put the fruit in it and use a plastic bucket for secondary. This way, after the secondary fermentation (which will actually be a secondary fermentation as the yeast consume the sugars) you can get most fruit out by simply lifting the bag out. The rest will eventually settle out.
How much fruit depends on the fruit you use. A good starting place is a pound per gal (so 5lbs for your 5gal batch). However, once you decide what fruit to use you can search on here and other forums for “ideal” amounts.
Welcome aboard! This hobby very easily becomes an obsession so I can believe that you think about it day and night. I extract brewed for about 1.5 years and have AG for about 5 years and I still think about it day and night.
:cheers: [quote=“Loopie Beer”]What I have done with fruit additions is to grab a large mesh straining bag and put the fruit in it and use a plastic bucket for secondary. This way, after the secondary fermentation (which will actually be a secondary fermentation as the yeast consume the sugars) you can get most fruit out by simply lifting the bag out. The rest will eventually settle out.
How much fruit depends on the fruit you use. A good starting place is a pound per gal (so 5lbs for your 5gal batch). However, once you decide what fruit to use you can search on here and other forums for “ideal” amounts.
How about racking into the bottle ing bucket ,put in the grain bag with fruit, put in an airlock let it ferment. When it’s done add some priming sugar stir ,then drain out right into bottles. Only have to transfer once. Never done it but you got me thinking.
If you ferment in your bottling bucket then the secondary spent yeast is going to settle in it. When you stir in the priming sugar you are going to put that back into suspension. Not something I would want in my beer and not something I would do.
Good point. So just hang the bag in the primary after initial fermentation is over then rack to the bottling bucket after a week. That’s what I plan on doing with a wheat beer I am planning on. I’m going to do 2 or 3 pounds cranberry in 5 gals. Some people say 1 lb per gallon.
[quote=“Loopie Beer”]What I have done with fruit additions is to grab a large mesh straining bag and put the fruit in it and use a plastic bucket for secondary. This way, after the secondary fermentation (which will actually be a secondary fermentation as the yeast consume the sugars) you can get most fruit out by simply lifting the bag out. The rest will eventually settle out.
How much fruit depends on the fruit you use. A good starting place is a pound per gal (so 5lbs for your 5gal batch). However, once you decide what fruit to use you can search on here and other forums for “ideal” amounts.
Welcome aboard! This hobby very easily becomes an obsession so I can believe that you think about it day and night. I extract brewed for about 1.5 years and have AG for about 5 years and I still think about it day and night.[/quote]
This is the way I do it also, and I’ve brewed quite a few fruit beers over the years. To expand on the amount of fruit question, it is usually acid content of the fruit that will limit how much you can use. So you could use more than 1 lb/gal with blueberries or sweet cherries. Sour cherries or raspberries might work better around 3/4 lb per gal. Last year I used some sea buckthorns, and 1/2 lb per gal was pushing it.
Also, you should let it sit in the secondary for a long time. It will only take a few days for the yeast to consume the extra added sugar, but occasionally some microorganism will hitch a ride in with the fruit and start to consume what the yeast won’t eat. If that happens, it won’t ruin the beer, but it will change the flavor some, and if you bottle too soon it could result in bottle bombs. I leave fruited beers for a month in the secondary just in case.
awesome thanks for all the help. the cranberry sounds good. I have some other newbie questions but i think im gonna start a new thread for those. thanks again
Will just add a +1 to loopie and rebuilt.
The only thing I do differently (if not reusing the yeast, which I would forgo in your case) is to put that mesh bag right in the primary after jostling the yeast cake on the bottom. This way, to your point, you only need to transfer once.
I’ll put it this way: I have a great relationship with my boss and we both (I think) think I do great work, but he would not necessarily be pleased if he saw the frequency and times of my posts on this (and other) forums. (9:52am on a Wednesday? The clients can WAIT! I have homebrewing advice to give!)
Brewing is an amazing creative and alluring hobby. Learn as much as you can. Lots of resources online, but there are also some great intermediate and advanced books out there when you are ready.
It’s an addiction like no other. I urge you to seek counseling on the home brew forums. Unfortunately there are many enablers among us.
