Fruited Beer and Bottle Conditioning

[BeerHooligan]

Hey All,

I have never made a fruited beer but looking to make it my next batch. Fruited sour or fruited ipa or maybe even a sweet stout, who knows. My question is, how can I properly carbonate with sucrose if the beer has some sugar from sitting on fruit? I want to ensure i dont overcarb and blow up the bottles.
Any guidance?

Thanks

 

[cactusgarrett]

Your (typically) completed beer will sit on the fruit roughly for 4-8 weeks (depending on preference). In that time, the yeast in the beer will ferment out any of the sugar associated with the fruit. The gravity should finish around where it did before adding the fruit, and the same "rule of thumb" bottling rule should apply: make sure your FG is consistent over a few days before bottling.

 

[thehaze]

Would you really wait 1 to 2 months for a fruited beer? For what? I am curious as I just added fruit ( some purees and some I macerated myself ) to 2 different sour ales I am fermenting at the moment. I am planning on bottling these in 2 weeks. They've been fermenting for 5 days.

 

[Jag75]

I've been doing the co pitch sours. Grain to bottles in 3 weeks . I only leave the beer on the blueberries for 2 weeks .

 

[thehaze]

I've been doing the co pitch sours. Grain to bottles in 3 weeks . I only leave the beer on the blueberries for 2 weeks .

That's what I was thinking. I don't believe the yeast would take 1 or 2 months to eat through whatever sugar there is in the fruit. There are advantages to leaving the beer on fruit for longer, but I associate that with more complex beers, such as fruited lambics, etc.

However, whatever beer you are fermenting, you have to make sure your FG is table for at least 3-5 days. That would tell you no fermentation will occur. ( there are exceptions for diastaticus yeast - especially when they aren't done fermenting when packaged, etc. )

 

[Soulshine2]

Hey All,

I have never made a fruited beer but looking to make it my next batch. Fruited sour or fruited ipa or maybe even a sweet stout, who knows. My question is, how can I properly carbonate with sucrose if the beer has some sugar from sitting on fruit? I want to ensure i dont overcarb and blow up the bottles.
Any guidance?

Thanks

the sugars from the fruit in secondary will kick the yeast back into fermentation. You'll have to wait for that to finish again before packaging.
What fruit are you wanting to use. because it will make a difference on how much to add for your intended outcome.
my only fruited sour beer I used wild blackberries ,locally sourced white wheat and used Goodbellys (Pomegranate Blackberry)to do the souring ,added hibiscus flowers and lime juice and zest as well ,also used nothing but my own homegrown hops. I prime using speiss too. I researched it all heavily before doing it. It was easier than I thought and made probably one of my best beers so far. I have to Thank Jag75 for the info.

 

[Jag75]

It definitely starts fermenting again after I rack on the 6# blueberries but it doesnt go on for more then 5 days . I just let it do its thing . The berries start losing their color because the beer extracts it . The color is beautiful and the blueberry flavor is spot on for the ones who I make it for .

 

[cactusgarrett]

Would you really wait 1 to 2 months for a fruited beer?

Not as important with clean beers, but for sours I've done longer, i've done shorter. It all depends on the flavor profile you're looking to get as well as the form of fruit you use. For example, a puree is obviously going to need less time than whole fruit with a hard skin (ex. cherries).

 

[Soulshine2]

Not as important with clean beers, but for sours I've done longer, i've done shorter. It all depends on the flavor profile you're looking to get as well as the form of fruit you use. For example, a puree is obviously going to need less time than whole fruit with a hard skin (ex. cherries).

for fruits with a skin like cherries and berries its a good idea to partially crush them or even freeze them to open the skin so the full effect of the flavors can influence your beer.

 

[BeerHooligan]

the sugars from the fruit in secondary will kick the yeast back into fermentation. You'll have to wait for that to finish again before packaging.
What fruit are you wanting to use. because it will make a difference on how much to add for your intended outcome.
my only fruited sour beer I used wild blackberries ,locally sourced white wheat and used Goodbellys (Pomegranate Blackberry)to do the souring ,added hibiscus flowers and lime juice and zest as well ,also used nothing but my own homegrown hops. I prime using speiss too. I researched it all heavily before doing it. It was easier than I thought and made probably one of my best beers so far. I have to Thank Jag75 for the info.

Thanks for this. I will be using Raspberries at first. I picked them fresh last year and have them frozen currently until I am ready to use. I will also use kiwi and other stone fruit in future brews.