# Cleaning Out The Freezer & I Find Some Pureed Strawberries



## RobH (6/12/09)

In March this year SWMBO pureed some strawberries for topping on a cake - mixed in with them is pure icing sugar (i.e. 100% sucrose) - and typically there was some left over so just like everything else left over ... it went into the freezer. Today I found it in the freezer and she said "oh just chuck that out" ... but I have other ideas ... make up some Strawberry liqour.

It has so much sugar in the mix that it never froze solid.

There isn't alot, but I rekon I can safely dilute it to 1 litre & check the SG at that stage and dilute further if necessary.

I have some Coopers kit yeast I could use... that would do the trick wouldn't you think?

It's going to pretty much be an experiment, but if anyone can give me some pointers which might up the chances of a good result, then I'd like to hear them.

Cheers!


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## brettprevans (6/12/09)

Strawberry wheat. It rocks. There's a couple of recipes. I've got one in my sig but I'd go more strawberries, so u could dilute then add a kittle wheat and then chuck yeast. Ur problem is going to be alc tolerance. Maybe wheat yeast then champaigne yeast? 
Splash of vodka to fortify it.


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## Synthetase (7/12/09)

If you are fermenting that straight, I would caution against ale yeast as it wont have the alcohol tolerance. That will, of course, depend on just how much you choose to dilute it out. I tend to use champagne yeast when making sweet meads and melomels for exactly that reason.

Although as citymorgue says, strawberry wheat is a fantastic summer quaffer


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## Airgead (7/12/09)

RobH said:


> In March this year SWMBO pureed some strawberries for topping on a cake - mixed in with them is pure icing sugar (i.e. 100% sucrose) - and typically there was some left over so just like everything else left over ... it went into the freezer. Today I found it in the freezer and she said "oh just chuck that out" ... but I have other ideas ... make up some Strawberry liqour.
> 
> It has so much sugar in the mix that it never froze solid.
> 
> ...



RobH

If you dilute it too much you will end up with very little strawberry flavour left. Strawberry is one of those things that yuo need to use lots of to get a good flavour.

If it were me, I would make up a plain mead or cider or something to form the base then stabilise that to prevent re-fermentation (sorbate/heat treatment or do what I do and just fortify it up to 18% or so with brandy or vodka). Then add the strawberry mix to taste to get a sweet liqueur. 

You could even just add it to a base spirit to make strawberry brandy or strawberry vodka or whatever takes your fancy. 

If you do just ferment it, I would avoid the beer yeast. You are really making a fruit wine, not a beer. A white wine yeast would probably give a better result. Unless you did make a beer and added the fruit (after primary fermentation). Berry wheat sounds good... Maybe even a berry pils. You want something fairly light in flavour as the strawberry is easily overpowered.

Cheers
Dave


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## brettprevans (7/12/09)

not sur why i didnt think to suggest chucking some honey at it and making strawberry mead.


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## RobH (7/12/09)

Thanks for those suggestions ... I had not thought of a berry wheat beer, but that sounds good ... I have been making kit beers, so I am confident with that process, and especially since I recently accidentally bought 1.5kg of liquid wheat malt (meant to buy LME) it would be good to make up something with what I have in my current inventory... but no great problem if I need to order in a few other items.

Current inventory:
Liquid malts/kits:
1.5kg Liquid Wheat Malt
1.7kg Coopers Draught
1.7kg Tooheys Special

Grains:
1kg Munich
1kg Crystal (cracked), and
1kg Black roasted (cracked)

Hop Pellets:
Goldings
Ringwood
Cascade
Amarillo

Yeast:
Safale S04
Standard Coopers Kit brewing yeast

I also have yeast collected from the trub of past brews, Saflager S-23, Safale US-05, and Morgans Ale yeast, plus I have a couple of Coopers Sparkling Ales sitting in the fridge that I could potentially harvest from (never done any of that before, but am happy to give it a go).

With the amount of strawberry puree I have (not heaps) I would probbly tap half a regular 21-23 litre brew off into a secondary (making it 10-12 litres) & add the strawberry to the secondary.

I have been browsing through the recipe db, I guess all I need to do is to make up a fairly standard wheat beer with a hops level that won't be overpowering - so use the 1.5kg liquid wheat with the munich, or crystal (or both) and amarillo hops? ... not having made a wheat beer, or from an un-hopped extract before I guess I need some advice as to whether that sounds like a good combo.


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## brettprevans (7/12/09)

how much puree is not heaps? I used 3 or 4kg of strawbs in mny last 21L batch of straw wheat and it could have used more.


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## RobH (7/12/09)

have not weighed it, but approx 250 grams .... hmm maybe I need to do a really mini-batch to get any flavour.


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## Rod (7/12/09)

This maybe a help

http://www.homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop...f=14&t=2199


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## Airgead (7/12/09)

RobH said:


> have not weighed it, but approx 250 grams .... hmm maybe I need to do a really mini-batch to get any flavour.



250g is pretty much stuff all in terms of flavour. I'd use more than that in a 4l batch of mead. You would need maybe a litre or so for a half batch of beer.

If it were me I'd be be making some berry vodka or something like that. That would be enough to flavour a couple of litres of spirits. 

Cheers
Dave


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