Which is a good fruit to add to beer?

[SteelPeat]

Hello folks,
I know that the answer might come down to personal opinion, but I am hoping to get a few tid bits of advice from this question.
I am brewing an ale now (partial mash) and I was planning on adding frozen raspberries (5lbs) to the secondary. Would I get some actual flavour from them?
But more importantly, which fruits are better to brew with? Which fruits actually impart their flavours into your brew the best?

Keep brewing, cheers

 

[beaksnbeer]

A lot will depend on yeast and OG to FG. I have found that if the yeast can eat through all the sugar in the beer as well as the fruit you end up dry and sort of wine like. So adding wheat or oatmeal, crystal malt will help balance the dryness and lend a more malty backbone. I don't care for strawberries mine always end up tart (so I add some brett and go sour)
5lbs will add some over 8lbs I tend to find overpowers BUT a lot depends on the fruit used and taste of the fruit used.

 

[drainbamage]

To answer your first question, yes, you will get flavor from adding raspberries to your secondary. Just make sure to strain out all the seeds when you bottle or keg.

Your second question is a lot more open-ended. If you've looked through the recipes section here, you can tell that just about any fruit you could ever think of (and then some) has been worked into a beer. Berries and cherries are probably the most commonly used and the easiest to work with.

 

[Zamial]

I have come to the conclusion that I prefer my fruit in wines and meads. I have tried many fruits in many places but fermented fruit does not taste like the fruit itself and it seems to add a wine like flavor that I am not a fan of into my beers.

I do REALLY like using citrus fruit zest with my late hop additions and/or secondary. I think those flavors translate the best into beers.

 

[elpenoso]

Im about to use pluots in a blonde i'll let u know how it turns out.

 

[Cyclman]

I think Apricots and Cherries really come through as what they are. I have had good blueberry beers, but not too many others I really liked. I agree, I think meads or ciders are a better fruit showcase.

 

[Alabamy]

I would stick to whatever is in season at the moment.

 

[harry_the_face]

I have done a raspberry beer and a half cherry wheat and both have a one out fine. Don't let the raspberry I boiled the berries for a few minutes to help the juice come out and then stained it into the bottling bucket with cheese cloth. It has a good raspberry flavor without the yeast eating all the sugar (by the way to on priming sugar). With the cherry wheat I made the mistake of adding it to primary after fermentation had slowed and then bottled it a few days later with 1/2 cup priming sugar and had a few bottles burst after a week a d every bottle that I open erupts like a geyser. It tasted good but like fermented cherries versus fresh cherries. I think I will bottle with all my juices now.

These very popular among the ladies.

 

[SteelPeat]

I definitely don't want anything tasting like a wine cooler, I want it to taste like an ale but with just a curious pinkish hue and a hint of raspberry. I will post my recipe:
1 kg Vienna malt
.5 kg Wheat malt
.5 kg German Pilsner malt
1 kg Golden Light DME
28 g Tettnager 5.3% aa (60 min)
2.25 kg frozen raspberries (10 days)
Danstar Bry 97 American West Coast Ale Yeast

is 5 lbs of raspberries too much?

 

[beerclone]

I made a wheat with raspberries and added to primary after about a week or so. I used about 2.5 lbs and the beer definitely has a raspberry flavor. I was surprised at how much. My wife seems to like it tho so that's ok.

 

[Darwin18]

OP - It depends on the style of the beer that you're brewing. Some styles hold up better with certain types of fruit than others. Designing Great Beers has a good fruit beer section that I've used successfully.

 

[distributistdad]

I have plans on my next 10 gal batch of oatmeal porter to try three different fruits: blackberries, cherries & blueberries. My plan is to put about 10-12 oz of each into three separate 1 gal glass jugs and rack the porter onto it after primary is done. I'll only end up with about 8 bottles of each, but I doubt that I drink any of it anyway it'll end up more for the Mrs.

I also have some frozen peaches from my in-law's tree that I've been thinking would be nice in a wheat beer. A local brewery when I was in college made a batch of peach-wheat each summer and that was really quite good.

 

[harry_the_face]

5lb is a lot of raspberries for a 5 gal batch I'd you boil the berries to get the juice . I use 36oz. If you are just adding the berries to primary 5lb might be good.

 

[quantumbeer]

you should try a pound of peeled and zested limes, along with Belgian Saison yeast.

Sometime I want to try tomatoes in a beer.

 

[kingwood-kid]

I've seen a lb/gal as the standard rate, regardless of the fruit used or the style and strength of the base beer. Obviously, that's a simplistic recommendation. I like fruit a lot in Oud Bruins (I make my without Brett), the sweet/sour nature of the beer works well with fruit, which has the same characteristics. I'd stay away from fruit in anything aggressively bitter.

Raspberries work well in beer, but they're pretty potent. I'd guess around 2lbs would be a good amount. Blackberries are my runaway favorite to add, but I've had good luck with cherries and blueberries as well. I used plums once; they didn't do much one way or the other.

 

[SteelPeat]

This is something I found in Beersmith. It answers a lot of my orginal inquiries. Useful information for choosing fruit I think.

Cherries – Traditionally used in many Belgian beers. Ripe, sour cherries are best as they blend well with the malt flavors. Generally a lot of cherry is needed, as much as 2-4 lbs per gallon of beer, which is why many cherry based Belgian beers are expensive. Also, cherry beers sometimes need extensive aging.
Peaches – Peach is one fruit that fades when used in beer. Apricot is a good substitute that creates a flavor similar to peach in the finished beer. Peach flavoring is also a possibility if you are determined to have peach.
Blueberry – Another fruit that does not hold up well in beer. Some brewers claim that cooked blueberry holds up better than uncooked.
Raspberry – Raspberry is one of the best fruits to use with beer. The flavor and aroma hold up well to fermentation, and come through well in the finished beer. The flavor is strong even at a rate of 0.5-1 lb per gallon, making raspberry a favorite of commercial beer brewers.
Blackberry – Blackberry, like raspberry, is another great fruit to use in beer. However, they do not come through as intensely as raspberry, requiring a larger usage rate of 1-3+ pounds per gallon. The color also carries over well to the finished beer.
Strawberries – Strawberry is generally a poor choice. The flavor, aroma and color fade quickly. If you are going to use strawberry you need fully ripe berries, must use a lot of them (2-5 lb per gallon) and you must drink the beer as young as possible as the flavor and aroma will be gone before you know it.
Apricots – Much better than peaches, but produce a peach like flavor in the finished beer. If you want peach flavor, use apricots at a rate of 1.5-4 pounds per gallon. Apricot extract also produces good results.
Apples – Produce only a mild flavoring. Generally apples are best used with meads and hard cider as they tend to be acidic in flavor.
Other Fruits – A variety of other fruits are less commonly used in beers and meads to include pears, dates, bananas, plums, mangos, pomegranate, etc… Most of these fruits produce only a mild flavor and aroma, though they add considerable fermentable sugars. I’ve had some success with passionfruit and mangos, which both have strong aroma and flavor

 

[DoctorMemory]

The only time I used fruit in a beer was a saison I brewed a couple months ago. I used a pound of raspberries, and it was just the right amount. I pasteurized them, then just dumped them into my secondary and racked on top of them. Came out pretty well, everybody at the homebrew club said they liked it.

 

[Darwin18]

This is something I found in Beersmith. It answers a lot of my orginal inquiries. Useful information for choosing fruit I think.

Blueberry – Another fruit that does not hold up well in beer. Some brewers claim that cooked blueberry holds up better than uncooked.

No offense, but you could not be further from the truth with regards to blueberries.

I brewed a 5-gallon batch of blueberry kolsch this past spring that placed at three consecutive competitions (A 1st in category and 3BOS, a 1st in category, and a 3rd in category) with all three scores above a 40.

 

[kingwood-kid]

This is something I found in Beersmith. It answers a lot of my orginal inquiries. Useful information for choosing fruit I think.

I think this is generally accurate, although they overstate how much fruit you need. If you used 5lbs of strawberries per gallon, you wouldn't have any beer left, you'd just have alcoholic jam. I'm sure there's a market for this.

 

[kh54s10]

The only fruit I have ever liked in a beer was pumpkin. Generally my answer to "Which is a good fruit to add to beer?" would be NONE. I don't even like lime or orange garnish on my glass.