Plum beer?

[Wreck99]

A buddy of mine came over to drink some homebrew the other night and thought up a crazy idea. Seeing as how everyone has loved the various fruit added beers I've made over the past year (i.e. Strawberry stout, watermelon wheat, banana cream ale, etc..) I figured maybe it's worth trying? So I wanted to pose the question to you guys and see if it's even a good idea before attempting it. Nantucket Nectars Red Plum. By itself, I love this drink...but I wouldn't have thought to add it to a beer. Couple of questions:

1. Can you add it straight to the wort? It's all natural and doesn't seem to have any preservatives in it. If so, how much would you add to a 5 gallon batch to get the flavor to shine through without overpowering?

2. What base would this go in? Wheat beer?

Not gonna be disappointed if you guys say no-go. I'd rather ask then waste a month or so making something lousy.

 

[malweth]

I say go for it... Wheat beer would be good, or a blond, etc. Something to showcase the special addition.

Things to keep in mind:
1. I don't know the ingredients of the drink - if it's all plum juice you're good to go. If there's sugar you could probably get more flavor from fruit than juice.
2. SG of the juice you're adding.
3. Acid balance - the juice may be more basic or acidic and could throw off your pH

If you want to add more of the flavor without watering down the beer, reduce the juice before adding. This *can* backfire as aroma and flavor can be driven off during boiling, but it will also concentrate what you're adding.

 

[zmanzorro]

New Belgium just came out with a Pluot (plum apricot hybrid) beer for their Lips of Faith series. They used a simple Belgian ale base for it. It was interesting to try but dont think I'll be buying it again.

 

[Wreck99]

I say go for it... Wheat beer would be good, or a blond, etc. Something to showcase the special addition.

Things to keep in mind:
1. I don't know the ingredients of the drink - if it's all plum juice you're good to go. If there's sugar you could probably get more flavor from fruit than juice.
2. SG of the juice you're adding.
3. Acid balance - the juice may be more basic or acidic and could throw off your pH

If you want to add more of the flavor without watering down the beer, reduce the juice before adding. This *can* backfire as aroma and flavor can be driven off during boiling, but it will also concentrate what you're adding.

Ingredients written on the bottle:
- Filtered Water
- Sugar
- Pear Juice Concentrate
- Citric Acid
- Red Plum Juice Concentrate
- Grape Skin Extract (for color)
- Natural Flavors
- Acacia Gum

I'll check SG when I'm ready to brew this. I have ingredients for another beer I need to crank out first.

 

[JKaranka]

I've had two or three plum beers here in the UK, most of them have been porters!