Gender Reveal Fruit Beer

[TheBrewWarrior]

So my wife is pregnant! That being said, I just recently got her interested in brewing, and she wants to do some sort of fruit beer as part of a gender reveal party. True, she won't be able to drink it, but I'm just happy that she's curious! My recommendation was blueberry for a boy and prickly pear for a girl, though I'm open to suggestions. I'll be making both so for logistical purposes, I'd like to use the same base recipe for both beers if possible.

Anyone have a good base fruit beer recipe to share? We'll be going all grain, but since she's never brewed before, I'd like to keep it moderately simple if possible so that I don't scare her away from the hobby! Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ColoHox]

A hefeweizen or blonde ale are fairly simple, fairly drinkable for most people, and will probably work best with your fruit additions.

I have not used prickly pear, sounds interesting, and I see there are a few threads about this.

Blueberry is pretty common.

Both those threads use a wheat beer as the base.

 

[FRS]

I'd vote for an American wheat: 50% 2 row, 50% wheat 35 ibus with an ounce or two of flavor hops (I like hersbrucker or saaz) late in the boil. This makes a nice beer and with a clean yeast (think s05 or 1056 etc) should do well with the fruit additions.

Congrats btw!!

 

[November]

Beets in beer can lend a nice pink color that might be interesting. Not a fruit, but it could help to the color of the theme.

 

[VaBrewer]

There were quite a few beers out there in October for Cancer Awareness Month that had Hibiscus in them. Say 3 oz for a 5 gallon batch would make a light beer pink.

Cherries would work for pink as well.

For Blue, I think it would have to be blueberries.

 

[norsk]

We're not big fans of fruit beers, but we brew a few batches each year for friends and family who do enjoy them. Our standard platform is a simple Belgian with 50% German or Belgian Pilsner, and 50% flaked or torrified wheat. Typically 6-8 lbs of each looking for an ABV around 6%. EKG or Hallertauer coming in at a low IBU around 15-20. Raspberry has been the fruit of choice with 2 oz of extract combined with 2-4 lbs of real raspberries. Very simple, easy to brew beer with a clean taste that isn't too fruity...

 

[boswell]

Cool idea! I second the wheat idea, it's a beer that seems IMO to get along with fruit the best, as well as most people's tastes. However I vote raspberry for pink.

 

[TheBrewWarrior]

Thanks for the recommendations! I'm not huge on raspberry or cherry so that's why I thought about prickly pear. It's supposed to have a nice mellow taste.

Wheat does feel like the right way to go. Any thoughts on hops? I've heard that Saaz works very well with fruit beers, but I also thought about sorachi ace because of the mild lemon character. The main thing I want to avoid is an overly-tart blueberry beer.

 

[boswell]

I feel like sorachi ace may clash, but I've never done it so who am I to say? If it's a mixed group, personally, I would play it safe. But hey, it's your beer. Congrats are in order, kids are rad. Good luck.

Watermelon maybe? May have to dye it a little, but it makes a good beer