Comparative advantages/disadvantages for using fruit, primary vs. secondary

[damdaman]

I've noticed a lot of people here add fruit to their melomels when they rack to secondary. I've always hung the bag in the primary right at the start of fermentation and squeezed a few times over 2-5 days before removing.

What is the difference in the end result, if any? If you do it in the secondary, do you also squeeze periodically? Do you leave it in there longer? Is the end product sweeter since fermentation is mostly/entirely over and the sugar from the fruit you're adding may end up unfermented?

 

[stpug]

The difference is substantial. The difference between wine and grape juice, basically. One has the fermented fruit flavor/aroma while the other has the fresh, floral flavor/aroma.

No squeezing in the secondary; let what comes out come out naturally. You can make the pieces smaller (i.e. chunks of peach instead of peach halves) but don't break it down too much or you'll affect clarity/haze.

Duration is until you like what you're tasting, but you can always add more but can't take away. My opinion is that less is more in the case of a melomel. Certainly less in a secondary than what you'd put in a primary. If I put 30 lbs in a primary I'd go for 5 lbs in a secondary.

The residual sweetness is slightly higher but the yeast still a good job of consuming the available sugars; just less aggressively so you retain those fresh aromatics that were lost during primary fermentation.

 

[damdaman]

Interesting... thanks for the explanation. I assume you want to add sulfites when racking onto fruit to avoid infection?

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

if your adding fruit to the secondary, the already present alcohol should take care of everything in terms of killing baddies. Lots of people freeze the fruit though which breaks down the cell walls and helps with juice / flavor extraction. I also think freezing is another one of those environments where germs have a tough time sticking around. Remember that they are people to and last in boiling water about as long as a person. (At least I wouldn't want to be boiled for 15 minutes, and If I was I hope I'd be dead before its over.