Adding actual fruit to the FV

[Gavin_currie1]

Hi guys I’ve got a coopers Aussie pale ale scaled back to 15l in the FV at the moment. Now that the fermentation is finished I’ve chucked in about 40g of cascade that I had in the fridge. But as a bit of an experiment I’ve chucked in a segmented grapefruit, rind and all and 3 passion fruits in a muslan bag. Is there any merit/point of doing this? Will I get more fruity/citrusy/tropical flavour out of it or am I just running the risk of the fruit going bad and ruining my batch?

[Shamus O'Sean]

On 7/1/2019 at 5:30 PM, Gavin_currie1 said:

Hi guys I’ve got a coopers Aussie pale ale scaled back to 15l in the FV at the moment. Now that the fermentation is finished I’ve chucked in about 40g of cascade that I had in the fridge. But as a bit of an experiment I’ve chucked in a segmented grapefruit, rind and all and 3 passion fruits in a muslan bag. Is there any merit/point of doing this? Will I get more fruity/citrusy/tropical flavour out of it or am I just running the risk of the fruit going bad and ruining my batch?

No idea Gav.  But let us know how it turns out.

Maybe some of the fruit fermenters will tip in their thoughts.

[der kleine Drache]

This guy seems to have a nice method for fruit in beer: 

 

[Gavin_currie1]

Been doing a bit of googling on the subject and it seems wild yeasts and off flavours are my biggest obstacle here. I bottled it last night and had a quick sniff and taste and it seems alright. I’ll let you know in a few weeks how it tastes.

[Navigator]

I did the blushing blonde but with mango chunks in it on the 2nd day, it seemed fine when I keged it,  except its bloody orange when I filtered it.

 Cheers Chris 

[karlos_1984]

7 hours ago, der kleine Drache said:

This guy seems to have a nice method for fruit in beer: 

 

Yes. But his videos are painful to endure.

[Beerlust]

On 7/1/2019 at 5:00 PM, Gavin_currie1 said:

Hi guys I’ve got a coopers Aussie pale ale scaled back to 15l in the FV at the moment. Now that the fermentation is finished I’ve chucked in about 40g of cascade that I had in the fridge. But as a bit of an experiment I’ve chucked in a segmented grapefruit, rind and all and 3 passion fruits in a muslan bag. Is there any merit/point of doing this? Will I get more fruity/citrusy/tropical flavour out of it or am I just running the risk of the fruit going bad and ruining my batch?

Add your fruit & mix with sugar/dextrose & some water to a saucepan on the stove over a low heat & gently crush/squash the fruit to release the juices etc. to create a compote type lumpy syrup that is still fairly pour-able. Allow the mix to continue simmering until the fruit has broken down & softened (not disintegrated!). Keep adding water where necessary to avoid burning until you have that lumpy pour-able syrup & then remove from heat & allow to cool slightly. Add directly to the fermenter with the rest of your ingredients prior to adding the yeast.

Works well. 

Cheers,

Lusty.

[elLachlano]

1 hour ago, Beerlust said:

Works well. 

I've not heard of this method before Lusty. Sounds solid!

I'll have to give it a whirl.

[Beerlust]

Hi Ellachlano.

2 minutes ago, elLachlano said:

I've not heard of this method before Lusty. Sounds solid!

I'll have to give it a whirl.

I've not spoken at length about this method before as I don't make a lot of fruit beers TBQH & don't consider myself any sort of expert on them.

That said, well made beer is built on the principal of well made wort prior to it's exposure to yeast. It is widely accepted that the creation of wort from malt, refined sugar(s), & hop sources is an acceptable platform for this type of wort production, so why is it so hard to accept the production of wort using fruit based sources with this approach? 

The creation of wort consolidates an overwhelming percentage of the flavour factors of a beer & to some degree, the longevity of them.

I made a Blueberry Porter a number of years ago using this method of fruit compote/lumpy syrup, & the flavour & aroma still endured after 3 years bottled when I drank the last one (albeit slightly diminishing towards the end, but still present).

I stand by the method.

Cheers,

Lusty.

[ChristinaS1]

The thing about adding fruit to beer is that once the fruit sugars are fermented, they leave behind a lot of acid. For this reason I think it important to use a kit with low bitterness as the base. The APA kit is not bad as a base, but in this case you have decreased the volume to 15L, which makes it more bitter. Before bottling I would taste a small sample and, if you find it too acidic or bitter, dilute it up to taste.

With citrus fruits, you generally don't want the white pith of the rind, as it is very bitter. The zest and the flesh are more desirable. The zest contains many of the same essential oils as hops.

Adding unpasteurized fruit to beer is a bit risky, from a contamination standpoint. If using fresh fruit, dipping the fruit, prep equipment, and your hands in Starsan can help, as can adding the fruit a few days into fermentation....Canned fruit is pasteurized and is a good option for things like mango puree. Cooking fruit as Lusty suggested will pasteurize it but it causes cooked flavours, which works better with some fruits than others. Cooking also sets pectin, which can make for cloudy beer if the fruit is a high pectin. 

Freezing fruit before adding to the FV will rupture the walls of fruit cells and help release the sugar and flavour.

Cheers,

Christina.

 

[PaddyBrew2]

On 7/3/2019 at 11:39 AM, karlos_1984 said:

Yes. But his videos are painful to endure.

You have now come to the end of the video. If you enjoyed it please give a thumbs up and subscribe.  This is in no way a paid production ( despite him being a grainfather sales man in Norway )

[Graculus]

I did a Cerveza last year.
Added the zest and juice from 5 grapefruit & 4.5 litres of fresh grapefruit juice.

It was bloody lovely. I'm doing another one soon.