# Best fruit delivery system.



## Dave70 (15/5/13)

I'm planning a simple 50/50 wheat with sour cherries (and maby some pomegranates if I can get my hands on a few)

I'll be using cherries straight from the jar, blending them to a pulp, freezing the pulp, thawing the pulp, then racking the beer onto it after a week in the primary where it will stay for a few more weeks. 

Anyone got a better idea on how to go about it?


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## Nick JD (15/5/13)

Get some of this stuff.

http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=3392


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## Damien13 (15/5/13)

hmmm dunno... I reckon you will end up with cherry cough syrup if you use that stuff. Be sparing... be verrrrryyyyy sparing.


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## donburke (15/5/13)

Dave70 said:


> I'm planning a simple 50/50 wheat with sour cherries (and maby some pomegranates if I can get my hands on a few)
> 
> I'll be using cherries straight from the jar, blending them to a pulp, freezing the pulp, thawing the pulp, then racking the beer onto it after a week in the primary where it will stay for a few more weeks.
> 
> Anyone got a better idea on how to go about it?


I have used sour cherries straight from the jar and their flavour made it through without going through the whole blend/freeze/thaw process, so I don't know if its really necessary

a pomegranate beer I made had a real earthy, almost dirty flavour to it, I personally wont use pomegranate again, and I suggest you make a really small batch if you plan on experimenting


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## Nick JD (15/5/13)

Oh, yeah - forgot to mention that. One of those bottles does a shiteload of beer. Don't make the mistake of putting a whole one in!

My most memorable beer was a Boysenberry Triple. Used about a 5th of a bottle for a 12L batch. :icon_drool2:


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## Damien13 (15/5/13)

actually, I just realised Nick may have been being sarcastic. If so apologies Nick. I agree with Donburke (?!) with the not needing to freeze pulp etc. A few weeks should be plenty to cut through. It will also be easier and wayyyyy less annoying to then get the beer OFF the cherry mess.


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## Phoney (15/5/13)

Nick JD said:


> Get some of this stuff.
> 
> http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=3392


How does this stuff compare with using real fruit?

Not sure if you've ever tried Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat, but in that beer obvious artificial flavouring is obvious. It's a bit like cherry coke. Yuk.


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## Nick JD (15/5/13)

Nah - I was being serious! I had great results with those fruit extracts.

But I see the OP wants _sour _cherries anyhoo.

I think the prune dubbel was my last "racking off fruit" effort! Pain in the arse, fruit.


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## Nick JD (15/5/13)

phoneyhuh said:


> How does this stuff compare with using real fruit?
> 
> Not sure if you've ever tried Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat, but in that beer obvious artificial flavouring is obvious. It's a bit like cherry coke. Yuk.


I can't stand the taste of cherry, but the CB extracts (they're not artificial) are pretty good (raspberry and boysenberry, I've tried) IMO.

Give me a kg of real cherries and I'll eat the lot. So, possibly disregard all my advice.

And make a Boysenberry Wheat.


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## Dave70 (15/5/13)

donburke said:


> I have used sour cherries straight from the jar and their flavour made it through without going through the whole blend/freeze/thaw process, so I don't know if its really necessary
> 
> a pomegranate beer I made had a real earthy, almost dirty flavour to it, I personally wont use pomegranate again, and I suggest you make a really small batch if you plan on experimenting


OK, here we go - _I've heard that_ - freezing the fruit break's down the cell walls and so on and so fourth...
Could be in the same vein of 'invert sugar' for all I know.

Having said that, the most winningest beers in the fruit beer chapter of Designing Great Beers were a pretty even blend of extract - fruit _and_ malt and all grain whole or pulped, so again, it's what you do with it that counts. All the pulped or whole fruit was treated to a session in the freezer. 

Might give the pome's a miss. I was thinking of a Grenadine type flavor, but even the homemade syrup is basically 50/50 juice to sugar so I can see how it would wind up bitter once all the sweetness had been chomped out of it. 


I wont be using fruit extract simply because I'm prejudice toward it.


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## Dave70 (15/5/13)

Damien13 said:


> hmmm dunno... I reckon you will end up with cherry cough syrup if you use that stuff. Be sparing... be verrrrryyyyy sparing.


You mean like this?
I bought it from Dans, so it may well have been.


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## Malted (15/5/13)

Stick with your original plan. Perhaps put the fruit pulp into a hopsock to reduce the bits in the beer. I am led to believe that a lot of fruit pulp floats in beer rather than sinking to the bottom thus making clarification somewhat tricky. 
I have added rhubarb (fresh stuff stewed down) to near the end of fermentation of a wheat. The kegged version was great. The bottled version lost the punch. I would conclude that a bottled version would need more cherries/fruit etc than a kegged version; sounds like a rather obvious thing but it is still something to consider.

I wonder if a touch of cranberry juice could push it the way you were thinking?


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## Phoney (15/5/13)

Malted said:


> Stick with your original plan. Perhaps put the fruit pulp into a hopsock to reduce the bits in the beer. I am led to believe that a lot of fruit pulp floats in beer rather than sinking to the bottom thus making clarification somewhat tricky.


I just throw in some stainless steel cutlery into a mesh bag along with the fruit to make it sink to the bottom.


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## Damien13 (15/5/13)

ahhh Timmermans.... that stuff blows... BUT it did start me on the road to discovering lambics, so I shouldn't bash it too bad. Wish our booze selection was better in the Gold Coast.. sigh


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## Malted (15/5/13)

phoneyhuh said:


> I just throw in some stainless steel cutlery into a mesh bag along with the fruit to make it sink to the bottom.


Thought confirmed, cheers. Reckon I'll use a wee baggie next time!


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## stef (15/5/13)

Nick JD said:


> Nah - I was being serious! I had great results with those fruit extracts.
> 
> But I see the OP wants _sour _cherries anyhoo.
> 
> I think the prune dubbel was my last "racking off fruit" effort! Pain in the arse, fruit.


Does anyone know the recommended dosage for the craftbrewer fruit flavourings? This thread reminded me that i bought a few ages ago and never tried them. Not sure how much to add. Might just try it off in a few bottles first. Is there a listed amount of concentrate to add per litre of beer or something?

Cheers

and sorry for the off topic...


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## Dave70 (20/5/13)

stef said:


> Does anyone know the recommended dosage for the craftbrewer fruit flavourings? This thread reminded me that i bought a few ages ago and never tried them. Not sure how much to add. Might just try it off in a few bottles first. Is there a listed amount of concentrate to add per litre of beer or something?
> Cheers
> 
> and sorry for the off topic...


Oddly, I'm not being a smartarse when I say ask the man at the shop. Best via the phone for convenience. If they cant recommend a starting point, they shouldn't be selling it.

Never mind the off topic. I don't care if you start telling us how your dog ate your fruit extract, so long as it's and / or - funny / sad/ interesting / thought provoking / full of swears account.


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## Nick JD (20/5/13)

Fruit beers should still taste like beer ... just with a hint of fruit. You should be able to hand someone a fruit beer and they should be able to tell if it is a lager, or a hefe, or a porter. If not, you put too much in.

Those fruit extract bottles are STRONG. A quarter of a bottle in a 19L keg is a lot. One thing about them is when you add them to _cold_ beer, they kinda coagulate and go straight to the bottom. This makes them difficult to incrementally assess the required strength.

I found the best way to use them is to add small amounts in secondary (or primary, but when at FG) and then taste test out the tap. Walk away if you think it's not strong enough and have another taste a few hours later - like drinking coke after eating chocolate, your taste sensitivity can become oblivious to things.

I suggest adding 1/8th of a bottle and go from there. If it's a hefe you may only need that to give it a fruit zing; if a porter, you may need half the bottle. There's no hard and fast rule - especially if you are looking to turn your Swartzbier into raspberry sassparilla (please don't).


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