Fruit Additions

[robert_heat]

Hello everyone! So I am a fairly new brewer, with about 10 extract batches under my belt, and I have decided to finally start trying some variations on recipes that I like. I have a nice brown ale that I would like to try various fruit flavorings with, and have been dong a little research. It seems like many people just use extracts purchased from brewing stores, but I am really more interested in some sort of purée from fresh fruits as I live in an area with great farmer's markets.

So here are my questions:
- for a typical 5 gallon batch, how many pounds of fruit should I use as a baseline if I am adding in secondary as a puree? I know ultimately the answer is "to taste" but I need SOMEWHERE to start.
- in terms of making the actual purée, should it be heated over boiling water to kill of any undesirables?
- when kegging, will I need to do any filtering?

I'm sure I will have more, but that is a good start.

 

[birvine]

1. I have done batches with raspberry in the secondary and have used 1-2 lb per gallon.
2. By adding it to the secondary, the alcohol should control any issues. Research it, but I think Campden tablets are another precaution.
3. What I did was rack through a pre-boiled strainer to remove any bits or seeds.

B

 

[terodox]

1) When I've done blueberries I've usually done about 5 pounds of puree.
2) Don't boil it in general. The process of boiling drastically changes the flavor of the fruit. In general just get it over 150 for about 5 minutes and that should do the trick!
3) YES! filter it. I just use a fine meshed nylon bag. Works pretty well.

 

[Zalf]

Hello everyone! So I am a fairly new brewer, with about 10 extract batches under my belt, and I have decided to finally start trying some variations on recipes that I like. I have a nice brown ale that I would like to try various fruit flavorings with, and have been dong a little research. It seems like many people just use extracts purchased from brewing stores, but I am really more interested in some sort of purée from fresh fruits as I live in an area with great farmer's markets.

So here are my questions:
- for a typical 5 gallon batch, how many pounds of fruit should I use as a baseline if I am adding in secondary as a puree? I know ultimately the answer is "to taste" but I need SOMEWHERE to start.
- in terms of making the actual purée, should it be heated over boiling water to kill of any undesirables?
- when kegging, will I need to do any filtering?

I'm sure I will have more, but that is a good start.

I usually use 1lb of frozen fruit per gallon as a starting point. I usually end up at 1lb per gallon +1-2 lbs for 5 gallon batches. Per a tip I read here I am also going to add 1/2lb lactose at the same time on the tarter fruits. Supposed to mellow the tartness without adding sweetness.

Strawberry and peach are my go to fruits so I usually plan to make a wheat of one and then a blonde of the other and then switch up the next two. Once I have a surplus of those four I start playing around with others.

I use frozen fruit so I am not sure on you purée questions.

I also bottle instead of keg. Clarity for me really comes down to time and having the fruit in a grain bag so I can get it completely out of the beer when it is done. I have added gelatin in a few but conditioning time(in secondary after the fruit is out and in the bottle) is the main contribution to clarity.

Just as an example the label on Abita Strawberry Harvest says they filter the lager then add fruit which causes haze. To me that says they don't have a good way to clear the beer after adding the fruit and feel the need to explain it away. So I just enjoy a good homebrew and smile if it happens to be perfectly clear even though I know I had little to do with it.