Adding fruit to secondary

[andy6026]

Out of curiosity, is there any reason why I'd want to transfer to a secondary vessel if I'm going to add fruit? I've heard all of the arguments in favour if not using a secondary in most circumstances, but I'm wondering why we'd suddenly want to use a secondary when there's, for example, suddenly a pile of fruit involved.

Can I just add them to the primary vessel or is there a particular reason(s) that I wouldn't want to do that?

 

[bleme]

I've only made a few fruit beers but I have always just added the fruit to primary, except for the last one where I added it to the keg.

 

[enkamania]

I add to the primary after 4 days or so, works fine for me.

 

[AJinJacksonville]

I just brewed a pineapple APA and added it to the secondary. I cold crashed it prior to bottling, and had way less sediment to deal with than if I had not transferred it. Obviously, transferring to a secondary introduces the possibility of contamination...but I sampled when bottling and everything seems okay. I found that I need to cut back on the bittering hops though...the grapefruitiness of the hops (Mosaic if I recall correctly) carried through and now I have a grineapplefruit taste instead of more pineappley. We'll see how it conditions.

 

[KC_Rockaholic]

I'm making an Imperial Raspberry Red Ale in 2 weeks, and I have 30oz of Raspberries in the freezer right now. I'm not entirely sure how to go about taking care of them when the time comes to add them, but I'd also like any input on why in the secondary? I'm guessing secondary helps bring out the flavor of the fruit better once it's bottled.

 

[Revvy]

I add to primary usually in one of those (I think it's muslin) fine mesh bags, hanging in the bucket with the cord held in place by snapping the lid over it.

Get some plastic or whatever surgical or kitchen gloves and put them on and dunk them in sanitizer when you're ready to bull the bag out, and squeeze the heck out of the fruit (held just over the level of the beer so you don't splash.)

Just did it with the blood oranges in my amazing Hibiscus, Blood Orange & Sichuan Peppercorn Witbier.

It's a good idea to freeze your fruit before hand... I use a vacuum bag and foodsaver to seal it, crushing everything a bit to begin breaking the cells in the fruit. Freezing helps do the same thing, as well as POTENTIALLY killing off nasties. I thaw it for about an hour before I put it in the mesh bag in my primary.

Most of the time I've found that if I'm adding fruit to a secondary I'm doing it in a carboy, which means I'm putting the fruit in the bottom of the carboy and racking the beer on top...which means a lot more pulp and stuff... and with some beers that then means I have to rack it to a tertiary to clear that. (Found that with pumpkin when I used to add it to the beer post primary fermentation, rather than now when I add it to the mash tun and the boil.)

A mesh bag keeps the goop out of the finished product....

Or you could add the fruit bagless to primary.... like if you were fermenting in a carboy... THEN you'd be advised (based on experience) to rack the beer after to a secondary to clear.

So straight bag in primary, MUCH easier.

 

[enkamania]

I should note, I puree (strawberry and pineapple)