Getting Creative With Recipe Kits

[BlackQueenBrews]

I’m really excited! I had my first bottling day yesterday with Long Play IPA from Mr. Beer and everything is working out well.

I’m looking at he next kit I want to order and it’s their Watermelon Wheat kit but, I want to substitute either equal parts of passion fruit and orange juice or pomegranate juice for the watermelon juice. Will the substitution throw off the secondary fermentation?

Thanks and Cheers!

 

[IslandLizard]

Once their sugar ferments out, many fruit additions don't taste much like themselves anymore.

Passion fruit, Mango, Raspberries, Cherries, etc. fair better, can even withstand the flavor change due to (2nd) fermentation. But citrus fruit (e.g., oranges, grapefruit) taste vile without their sugar being present.

Now you could add some (fresh or packed) orange juice to a glass of beer (beermosa) and drink it that way, as the orange is still sweet. It can be delicious. Same is true for most fruit added to a glass of beer. And you don't have to commit a whole batch to the same fruit.

When fruit goes through fermentation their character changes too. Watermelon tastes a bit weird but is appreciable, but I did a Saison with Watermelon that became remarkable good after being almost 2 years in a bottle. Pineapple can be yummy, if some sweetness coexists.

Not sure about Pomegranate juice. Most bottles of it contain additional sugar, that make it taste good, but once that sugar ferments out, think about what's left...

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Yes, you can get creative (I haven’t had many watermelon wheats, but I wasn’t impressed) apricot is a fruit that seems to go well with wheat beers, you can also experiment with using different late addition hops such as Lemon drop or others, hoplist.com is my go to site for hop profiles, to add those flavors.

 

[IslandLizard]

Just thought of something.

Have you looked at the kit's ingredients or recipe instructions?
Most kits do not add real fruit at all, they add flavor extracts. They contain a small bottle or sleeve with the extract you add right before bottling.

Many of those extracts tend to taste more or less artificial, depending on their quality and origin. You should find out what you're getting.

That said, you could forego the extract pouch, and add what you want. Or buy a straight up wheat beer kit that's the same base, without the flavor packet, instead.

@Hoppy2bmerry gave some good alternative suggestions above.

 

[RM-MN]

But citrus fruit (e.g., oranges, grapefruit) taste vile without their sugar being present.

If you want to add orange flavor use orange peel and crushed coriander seeds. The coriander seeds give the orange flavor, the peel gives more aroma.

Most kits do not add real fruit at all, they add flavor extracts. They contain a small bottle or sleeve with the extract you add right before bottling.

Many of those extracts tend to taste more or less artificial, depending on their quality and origin. You should find out what you're getting.

Quality and quantity of the flavoring extracts is important. Sometimes a smaller amount of the extract so you only get a hint of flavor is better than the full amount which can make it really taste fake.

 

[IslandLizard]

If you want to add orange flavor use orange peel and crushed coriander seeds. The coriander seeds give the orange flavor, the peel gives more aroma.

I agree, as long as you mean with 'peel' the thin orange colored outer layer, not the thick spongy white pith underneath it.

Use a fine grater, microplane, sharp potato peeler, or a sharp (paring) knife to slice off the thin layer of the colored outer peel.
Same for all citrus fruit, that skin (zest) has a ton of the actual citrus flavor.

I'd steep in the hot but not boiling wort, or better yet, add later when the beer is done fermenting, for a few days.

 

[balrog]

Zest. Right. Such as used in lemon-lime hefe with sorachi ace and motueka hops.
But zest.
No pith. Pithless. Antipith. Pith-bar.

 

[IslandLizard]

Zest. Right. Such as used in lemon-lime hefe with sorachi ace and motueka hops.
But zest.
No pith. Pithless. Antipith. Pith-bar.

Pith has charm too, it lends a unique bitterness that works well in a Saison I brew. I use the peel of 3-4 Red Grapefruits, whole, pith and all in the whirlpool/hopstand. It takes a month in the keg to get into its own. Good for Summer parties.

 

[balrog]

Pith has charm too, it lends a unique bitterness that works well in a Saison I brew. I use the peel of 3-4 Red Grapefruits, whole, pith and all in the whirlpool/hopstand. It takes a month in the keg to get into its own. Good for Summer parties.

Yeah, I'm not much of a Cezanne fan myself--I prefer Monet. Wait. What?

 

[r4dyce]

Agreed with above. Citrus juice is probably not going to turn out well. Citrus zest is good. Remember when you're adding fruit to secondary you're also adding sugar , so it's going to take extra time to ferment that out.

 

[chickypad]

Looks like the kit has you adding 2c of fresh watermelon juice, which is about the ratio I use for my watermelon wheat every summer. I also like the same recipe with passion fruit juice but be careful with quantity - it is way more potent and tart than watermelon. I use a little less than half as much passion fruit juice for the same size batch (reconstituted from concentrate).

 

[balrog]

Looks like the kit has you adding 2c of fresh watermelon juice, which is about the ratio I use for my watermelon wheat every summer. I also like the same recipe with passion fruit juice but be careful with quantity - it is way more potent and tart than watermelon. I use a little less than half as much passion fruit juice for the same size batch (reconstituted from concentrate).

How much pomegranate in a 5g wheat would you use?

 

[chickypad]

Well I'd use none as I don't really care for it. I suspect it's strong enough to come through with a small amount though.