so ive been thinking about my 3rd brew and what i should do. with spring/summer coming up i wanted something with watermelon. instead of just getting the Pick-a-Fruit Wheat Beer kit with the artificial watermelon stuff. i was thinking about getting the American Wheat kit and using that as the base. during the 2nd week of fermentation i would add watermelon to the carboy and let that sit. has anyone done anything like this yet?
21st Amendment brewery makes a Watermelon Wheat in a can.
It sounded and looked AWESOME and then I tasted it. YUCK. Tasted like watermelon rinds.
Made me think that watermelon beer sounds like a great idea but isn’t in practice. You might have better luck. Maybe other posters will have had success.
:cheers:
[quote=“edawgwv”]21st Amendment brewery makes a Watermelon Wheat in a can.
It sounded and looked AWESOME and then I tasted it. YUCK. Tasted like watermelon rinds.
Made me think that watermelon beer sounds like a great idea but isn’t in practice. You might have better luck. Maybe other posters will have had success.
:cheers: [/quote]
yea ive had it last season i found out when its reallllllly cold you could taste watermelon flavor more.
i also just went to 21st this past weekend and also had it there on tap as well as their other good beers. it was something i wanted to try for this summer bbqs.
Making a beer with real watermelon could be very tricky. It would be hard to know how much to add and the natural sugars in the fruit could kick up a secondary fermentation that could eventually dry the beer out to the point of tasting like watermelon wine. I also agree that the extracts carried by most homebrew suppliers are subpar at best. I have found some good extracts at OliveNation
http://www.olivenation.com/Extracts-culinary-C55.aspx
and they carry an assload of flavors. These are culinary, all-natural extracts and have a much better flavor and aroma than the LD Carlson or Crosby & Baker stuff. A little pricey, but possibly a way to make a very nice fruit beer without the hassle. I have a raspberry ale in secondary that I made this way and it looks promising. Cheers.
I tried it the first year it was at the Oregon Brewer’s Festival and did not care for it. There are lots of other fruits that would go better for a summer beer.
hrmmmm decisions decisions. yea i heard by adding watermelon could kick up the fermentation again. it s something i just want to try. i was thinking of making two batches one with american wheat and german wheat kits to see how it goes.
Last year I made a Watermelon Beer with a American Wheat extract kit and 5 medium size watermelons. I used the juice as the water for the recipe. It turned out good. My friends are still asking if I can make them some. I think the less pulp you get in the pot the better. Some times you just have to go for it and see what happens.
wait wait wait! so you juiced like 5 watermelons for like 5 gallons or did u do 3.5 water for wort then added 2 gallons to btv. then water to top off at 5gallons. that sounds crazy but i would try that…
I cut up the water melons and put them through a metal cone shaped fruit sieve, no rind. I put the juice in the boil pot and added the extract. Followed the boil schedule as normal. I had to add about a gallon of water to make up for the boil. I just bought an all grain set up. Working on a recipe for all grain.
hrmm that sounds very interesting. i could always run the watermelon through a juicer and get pure juice. ive read many instructions of people adding the watermelon into the carboy but this sounds interesting. did you put the wort into a 2nd fermenter to clear it up a bit or no?
It went 2 weeks in primary. Then bottled with priming sugar. It had a nice watermelon flavor. Not too strong but definitely there.
I just did an American wheat and used 4 oz of watermelon extract (carlsons I think) in the bottling bucket. The head has a strong watermelon candy like smell but once the head dissipates so does a lot of the odor. Tastes awesome though. I was very happy with it. Also everyone else that has tried it has liked it.
Sounds great… in theory.
Problem is, one of the attributes of a good watermelon is the sweetness. Fermentation is going to deaden (if not totally obliterate) that. As someone who loves pickled watermelon rind, I may not mind a dry watermelon beer. But I’m guessing that’s not what the OP is looking for.
A lower hop rate and maybe even arresting the fermentation might make a palatable (and even possibly delicious) subtle-sweet watermelon flavored beer.
Of course, in the end, I shouldn’t even comment because I generally despise fruit or spice flavored beers…strange because 40-45 years ago the only way I could stomach a Heineken was if it was dosed with lime or lime juice. LOL.
I am, however, coming late to the “Belgian” party, and starting to warm up to the Lindemann’s lambics these days.
Maybe a watermelon lambic?
If anyone tries to brew that one, please send me a bottle.
:mrgreen:
