# Raspberry Beer



## jeddog (3/12/08)

i know the raspberry thing has been done to death, as i have been reading about it for the last 2 hours on this forum. but want some questions answered.....


i was going to be lazy and use a "Brewers Selection" wort. 
which one should i use?
which yeast should i use?... wheat or ale
would it pour like Guinness if i used my nitro/CO2 


was going to add 2kg of raspberry's to the secondary


by the way 

TEMPMATES ROCK!!!!!!!!!! :super: 

jeddog


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## Effect (3/12/08)

jeddog said:


> i know the raspberry thing has been done to death, as i have been reading about it for the last 2 hours on this forum. but want some questions answered.....
> 
> 
> i was going to be lazy and use a "Brewers Selection" wort.
> ...




Do wheat beer kit and add the raspberries in to the secondary (well that is what I would do - actually I would put a pack of the gourmet mixed frozen berries in the secondary). Yeast WB-06. Ferment at 18 for a week, then bottle and send it my way!


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## raven19 (4/12/08)

PM Fourstar - he has just done a rasberry beer that sounded awesome. It shall be one of my first beers once I go AG...


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## francismcphail (7/12/08)

jeddog said:


> was going to add 2kg of raspberry's to the secondary



Just make sure your aware as to how tart a raspberry's are... I added 2KG of frozen berries from Wollies to the secondary in two days the raspberry's were completely white and stayed floating on the top of the wort.

Has taken about 2 months for the tartness to settle out and the 'beer' to become noticeable..

Perhaps a brew to make during winter, and then age for a really hot summer day..


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## quantocks (7/12/08)

I made up a Coopers Heritage Wheat and racked onto 1KG of frozen Coles raspberries, (defrosted them mostly of course) and the beer changed to an instant bright red colour. Been on the raspberries now for almost a week, I'm not sure when to rack to a keg and drink. I was thinking two weeks.

The thing is, with all the huge chunks of berry in there, how do I go about keeping the lumps in the fermenter and just the liquid in my keg? don't want a raspberry stuck in the dip tube like that fat kid from Willy Wonka.


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## jeddog (7/12/08)

i've used a Belgian Ale kit with 1 kg of dextrose and T-58 wheat yeast, the OG was about 1.062 . after 3-5 days in the primary i'm going to racking into a secondary fermenter and add the 2kg of raspberry's in a hop sock after racking into a secondary fermenter.......



how do i calculate the ABV% with the addition of the raspberry's?


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## quantocks (7/12/08)

if I can remember, my Coles raspberries (frozen) were 5.8g of sugar per 100gm of berries.


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## Jase71 (7/12/08)

I just steeped a kg of rasperries in a litre and a half of almost boiled apple juice, (obviously for a cider, not a beer), mashed it up, strained with a colander, squeezed out the juice then threw straight into the fermenter that's been brewing a week. I'm going to rack to secondary in about an hour. After trying to strain through muslin bags to get the finest stuff, realised its such a pain in the arse, and for little gain, consdering the pulps been largely removed anyway. 

Needless to say, the kitchen is a bloody mess. :wacko: 



jeddog said:


> how do i calculate the ABV% with the addition of the raspberry's?



After a week of looking into how I should calculate ABV (I made several juice additions in the last 7 days), I would suggest that the raspberries probably won't change you ABV by anything more than the smallest of measurement, considering they have such a low sugar content. Unless they were artificially sweetened product.


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## jeddog (9/12/08)

I just racked my Belgian Ale into the secondary, took a SG reading of 1.018 ( it's OG was 1.062 Saturday morning) which gives me an ABV 5.8% so far. Added 2kg of thawed raspberry's in a boiled hop sock. The raspberry's were 4gm sugar/100gm fruit, which should be roughly 80gm extra sugar.

How long should i leave it?

What can the SG get down to using the T-58 wheat yeast?

And any idea's what the FG will be?

Fermenting at 20c (using my new Tempmate ) :super: 



by the way.....good work on the 9 Lt keg bulk sale everyone, mines on its way


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## Adamt (9/12/08)

I got a beer down from 1.085 to 1.015 with T-58 a while back so maybe expect it to finish near 1.010.

Either way, leave it a week or two in secondary.


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## jeddog (19/12/08)

i got this raspberry beers SG down to 1.008 from 1.062 which make it approx 7.1% ( i think i will make it approx 7.5% from the added sugar in the raspberry's). I have had this beer chilling at zero c for the last day.

My question is, how long should i cold condition at this temp for before kegging?


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## raven19 (19/12/08)

jeddog said:


> My question is, how long should i cold condition at this temp for before kegging?



Are you cold conditioning to clear it up? Any additions?

If its clearing up nicely I would get it into the keg soon, pressurise it and let it settle/condition further in the keg.

My 2c.

I look forward to hearing how it goes, am keen to make a rasberry beer very soon!


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## jeddog (19/12/08)

yes cold conditioning to clear it up and no additions


i think i'll keg it


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## quantocks (19/12/08)

my raspberry wheat is in the keg in the fridge now, taste from sample was very promising, colour is a beautiful red. When I get home tonight and hook up my new taps finally going to force carb and have a sample.


only thing I'd do differently next time maybe use 2KG of raspberries instead of just 1kg, to get more berry flavour. Although it's VERY tarty at the moment, this is probably going to settle.


I'll post pics tonight


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## quantocks (20/12/08)

after cutting my hand open and having no beer taps for almost two weeks, I've finally done it!

here is my raspberry wheat, it smells beautiful, this is absolutely the best brew I have ever done!


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## yardy (20/12/08)

quantocks said:


> after cutting my hand open and having no beer taps for almost two weeks, I've finally done it!
> 
> here is my raspberry wheat, it smells beautiful, this is absolutely the best brew I have ever done!



that does look bloody nice, is the recipe anywhere here or is it a secret ?

cheers


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## quantocks (20/12/08)

hate to say it's a kit beer mate, no all grain recipe as such but this is what I've got in my notes:



> 23/11/2008 12pm,
> 
> 1x Coopers Heritage Wheat
> 1x Coopers Wheat Liquid malt
> ...



it smells so good, almost like one I had at the Belgian Cafe in the city, of course being a kit beer it won't be as good as if I used grains, etc etc.

hope it helps


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## barls (20/12/08)

ill post pics of my latest one soon when i open the bottle


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## yardy (20/12/08)

quantocks said:


> hate to say it's a kit beer mate, no all grain recipe as such but this is what I've got in my notes:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



no problem quantocks, as long as you like it mate, doesn't matter if it's kits & bits.

when adding the raspberries to the 2ndary, do you have to pasteurise them or are they right to go from frozen ?

cheers
yard


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## quantocks (20/12/08)

I let them partially defrost on the verandah for about an hour, they come in zip lock sealed bags and as they are frozen didn't bother pasturising them, just threw them in a spare fermenter and then racked the fully fermented wheat beer on top of them. I think because they were still part frozen, it kept the wort temp down a tiny tiny bit.

after two weeks in secondary, transferred to keg. the lawn got all the raspberries and crap and then I just force carbed earlier, apparently wheats are best drunk fresh? so I don't know whether it will get better or worse with age.


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## Fourstar (25/12/08)

wow the colour you got form 1KG of raspberries is nuts compared to mine. I even puree'd and pased all the seeds too to increase the fruit extraction!

that kit must be VERY pale as i did mine AG with nothing but base malts and the most i could get from it was a orangy/pinky colour.

Looks nice either way! how did it go with the wheat yeast? i used US05 in mine and it boosted the raspberries on the nose as that yeast is quite neutral when fermented low..


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## Barley Belly (25/12/08)

Looks cool

Might have to give it a whirl one day


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## barls (28/12/08)

here is what mugas had to say about mine from the nsw case swap. i think he summed it up nicely


> Sampling notes:
> Served chilled in pilsner glass.
> Halfway already! Thought I might tuck into the offering from the host of this Xmas swap.
> Loud fizz upon opening, slight foaming up the neck of bottle...I should pour it! Pours a billowing pink-tinged white head of foam atop a clear lively ros-like pink body.
> ...


heres a pics of the previous version.
ill try to get a pic of this years version for colour comparison


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## SJW (29/12/08)

I have stuffed around with fruit in beers before and I have come up with the best, easiest and most consistant way to get great results. Its called 500mls of Cascade Raspberry cordial. 500mls in a keg of Wheat Beer is perfect. Just that nice hint of sweet raspberries. I would not even bother with real fruit again, as the aim here is to make a good beer not a complicated exercise.


Steve


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## Fents (29/12/08)

racking onto 1KG of rasberries is a complicated exercise sjw? i thought u built a stir plate not long ago cant be any more complicated...

just kegged 20L pale ale i had sitting on 1.3KG of frozen rasberries. Must say its loveley out of the fermenter maybe a bit tart but im hoping that will back off. The colour is amazing. [email protected] post a pic when i crack the first glass.


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## quantocks (29/12/08)

yeah I was surprised at the colour of the beer with only 1kg of raspberries, people said to use more to get more colour but this is it when I cracked one the night.


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## jeddog (29/12/08)

Here's my attempt.. i filtered and kegged into 2 9lt kegs and cracked one for xmas day, I had to add some Bickfords Raspberry cordial because it was far to tart to drink on the day. I also added the Bickfords into the second keg. I poured this 7.8% beer using CO2/Nitro mix and got the cascade affect i was after.
The colour was a brilliant red, the head was a thick creamy pink and the flavour had a slightly bitter after taste.




I think the 2nd keg will be better left for some time for the tartness to mellow

Still a pretty dam good Xmas beer 

I called this beer "The Xmas Raspberry Granny Basher"


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## Fents (29/12/08)

that first photo looks amazing! is that a wheat beer jeddog?


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## jeddog (29/12/08)

Fents


i've used a Belgian Ale kit with 1 kg of dextrose and T-58 wheat yeast,

go to the first page of this thread  

it's got what i did

all the best


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## barls (30/12/08)

ok guys here is the nsw case version( the photo doesnt show the colour quite right


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## donburke (15/6/09)

fantastic work guys,

i'm about to make a raspberry beer,

i'm using a fresh wort hefeweizen, with wlp500, ferment for a week then rack onto 1.5kg of raspberries, then bottle a week or two after that

tartness seems to be issue for many using raspberries, 

would it help at all to add some maltodextrine to make it sweeter ?


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## barls (15/6/09)

it depends where your getting your raspberries from.
mine are farm fresh.


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## donburke (16/6/09)

barls said:


> it depends where your getting your raspberries from.
> mine are farm fresh.




so you are saying that the quality of the raspberries will determine the level of 'tartness' as opposed to the quantity ?


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## barls (16/6/09)

yeah it does the supermarket ones lack aroma and seem to be a bit tame compared to the fresh frozen ones i use.


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## petesbrew (16/7/09)

Here's my latest one... I've changed my mind from the raspberry porter to a belgian blonde version

Canadian Blonde
1kg LDME
100g Caramunich steep
100g Melanoidin steep
10g St goldings @60
10g Saaz @10min
WLP 550 Belgian Ale
1kg Raspberry Puree in Secondary.


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## petesbrew (22/7/09)

petesbrew said:


> Here's my latest one... I've changed my mind from the raspberry porter to a belgian blonde version
> 
> Canadian Blonde
> 1kg LDME
> ...



Screw it, I'm going to make up some candi sugar to go in this tonight. (or just add 300g white sugar on the day).
Raspberries might be upped to 2kg... I'll see how things go.


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## joshuahardie (22/7/09)

I might as well tag onto this thread

I am in the middle of a rasberry blonde lager.

I have the base beer finished, and lagering


Question, should I let the beer lager for a few weeks before transferring to secondary, and adding the berries then
or get a jump start on it, and add them now. and just transfer it to a keg in a few weeks time.

the beer has to be finished by the 22nd of august too, for a party.


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## petesbrew (22/7/09)

joshuahardie said:


> I might as well tag onto this thread
> 
> I am in the middle of a rasberry blonde lager.
> 
> ...


Lagers aren't my strong point, but IMO I'd get the raspberries happening now.


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## joshuahardie (22/7/09)

HMMMM 
would you get it off the yeast cake now too, 

This is about the 3rd lager i have done in my life, I am far from educated on the matter


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## petesbrew (22/7/09)

joshuahardie said:


> HMMMM
> would you get it off the yeast cake now too,
> 
> This is about the 3rd lager i have done in my life, I am far from educated on the matter


Yeah I'd throw it into 2ndary... the yeast should still be doing its job hey?
Someone else please add something?


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## eric8 (22/7/09)

something :lol: 
sorry h34r:


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## bconnery (22/7/09)

joshuahardie said:


> HMMMM
> would you get it off the yeast cake now too,
> 
> This is about the 3rd lager i have done in my life, I am far from educated on the matter


You said earlier that the base beer is finished and lagering so I'd rack it to another fermenter with the rasberries for a week or so. You could also just chuck them in, but I'd do it soon...
Then I'd chill and either rack or let it sit chilled for a few days to let the fruit really settle out. 
Then keg, letting it sit in the keg for a few weeks prior to the party. 

My standard fruit beer method is ferment, fruit in the end of primary/in secondary, chill, rack, chill again, keg/bottle. 
The extra chill and rack step helps get rid if the little bits of fruit pulp that get in and don't float at the top like the fruit tends to...


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## Warrior Poet (23/7/09)

Sorry if this sounds like a noob question but, when racking into the secondary, is priming sugar still used or just the raspberries are used for priming? :unsure:


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## joshuahardie (23/7/09)

In this case the fruit will be used for flavour and colour, and will be removed from secondary before bottling.
Despite moving to secondary I expect that there will be some yeast in suspension that will eat some of the fruit sugars up, meaning that priming sugar will still be used at bottling time.

In theory I am sure you can use fruit to prime your beer bottles, but the ratio of fruit to carbonation, I have no idea. Nor do I have any idea what percentage of fruit sugar yeast can consume.

Anyway I hope I understood your question correctly


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## HarryB (23/7/09)

made a nice witbier-based raspberry beer which is now in the secondary turning a nice shade of red.

22L batch: 2kg dingemans pilsner, 1kg german wheat malt, 1kg unmalted wheat. styrian goldings to 15IBU. OG:1.041. racked onto 1kg of raspberries.
(forbidden fruit yeast)

tastes delicious from the fermenter.


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## bconnery (23/7/09)

joshuahardie said:


> In this case the fruit will be used for flavour and colour, and will be removed from secondary before bottling.
> Despite moving to secondary I expect that there will be some yeast in suspension that will eat some of the fruit sugars up, meaning that priming sugar will still be used at bottling time.
> 
> In theory I am sure you can use fruit to prime your beer bottles, but the ratio of fruit to carbonation, I have no idea. Nor do I have any idea what percentage of fruit sugar yeast can consume.
> ...


There will be some yeast left in suspension and you will generally get a little additional fermentation. 

You wouldn't want to prime with fruit. I've had little chunks of fruit make their way into bottles and after a while the result is a gusher...

@Warrior Poet - as joshhardie has said, the idea of the fruit is to add colour and flavour. You don't even need to do it in secondary if you don't want, you can add to primary after the bulk of fermentation is complete. 
In the case of fruit beers I like to rack after the fruit to help clear it out and avoid bits of fruit getting in the final beer...


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## petesbrew (23/7/09)

bconnery said:


> There will be some yeast left in suspension and you will generally get a little additional fermentation.
> 
> You wouldn't want to prime with fruit. I've had little chunks of fruit make their way into bottles and after a while the result is a gusher...
> 
> ...


Looks like the tertiary idea (gettting it back off the berries) could be a goer, as I can confirm the gusher effect.


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## petesbrew (27/7/09)

Boiled this up last night.

Coopers Canadian Blonde
1kg LME
200g white sugar
80g Melanoidin
80g Caramunich I
8g Styrian Goldings @ 60min
8g Saaz @ 10min
WLP 550 Belgian Ale

OG=1044
Will rack onto 1-2kg Raspberry Puree in a week's time.


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## petesbrew (30/7/09)

petesbrew said:


> Boiled this up last night.
> 
> Coopers Canadian Blonde
> 1kg LME
> ...



After a slow start, last night there was a massive krausen, and it was happily bubbling away at approx 15 deg C.
Took a sample (naturally) and it tastes fan-bloody-tastic.

It's early days, but It's great to know a Knk Belgian CAN be knocked up simply.... If I couldn't be arsed AG'ing.


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## joshuahardie (30/7/09)

Ill throw my recipe in

Coopers Canadian Blonde Hopped Malt Extract
1.75kg Joe White Pilsner Malt
1.75kg Joe White Wheat Malt
10gms Glacier @ 10 mins
10gms Glacier @ 1 mins
Craftbrewer's Weihenstephan Lager Yeast

Stats
OG 1.069 FG 1.018 ABV 6.66% :lol: 
26.1 IBU 3.7 SRM

Fermented for 9 days, cleared for 5 days
Racked into secondary with 750gms of pasteurised raspberries

It is now lagering at 5 degrees. Flavours at the moment are very interesting. The yeast has put some wonderful fruityness into the beer, that is actually clashing with the fruit flavour, so hopefully that will blend nicely in the coming weeks.


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## saccarin63 (30/7/09)

joshuahardie said:


> Ill throw my recipe in
> 
> Coopers Canadian Blonde Hopped Malt Extract
> 1.75kg Joe White Pilsner Malt
> ...


 when i syphon to keg from secondary. i have a little hop bag that has string attached to it and i tie it around the end of my transfer hose. this stops any fruit seeds or pulp from going into the keg.


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## joshuahardie (30/7/09)

I should of added that my fruit is inside a sanitised stocking leg, that is knotted.

No fruit matter, should pass through the stocking material.
That is the plan anyway


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## saccarin63 (30/7/09)

joshuahardie said:


> I should of added that my fruit is inside a sanitised stocking leg, that is knotted.
> 
> No fruit matter, should pass through the stocking material.
> That is the plan anyway


no poblems, should be fine.


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## saccarin63 (30/7/09)

mickey eyes said:


> no poblems, should be fine.


i mean no problems, not to sure what poblems are :icon_cheers:


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## petesbrew (5/8/09)

Racked mine onto 2kg Raspberry Puree last night. Put the puree into some sanitised (boiled for 5 min) stockings, and racked blonde ale on top. Shall leave for 2-3 weeks.


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## petesbrew (10/8/09)

petesbrew said:


> Racked mine onto 2kg Raspberry Puree last night. Put the puree into some sanitised (boiled for 5 min) stockings, and racked blonde ale on top. Shall leave for 2-3 weeks.


Gave it a taste last night. I reckon I could've done it a bit early. The OG when I racked it was 1016, but it's now dropped to 1010 a week later. Raspberry flavour is great if a little thin, so I'll wait a few more weeks, hoping for more berry flavour. NIce and tart though.


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## petesbrew (18/8/09)

petesbrew said:


> Gave it a taste last night. I reckon I could've done it a bit early. The OG when I racked it was 1016, but it's now dropped to 1010 a week later. Raspberry flavour is great if a little thin, so I'll wait a few more weeks, hoping for more berry flavour. NIce and tart though.


Racked into tertiary with 700g blended raspberries. Will see how things go from now. FG=1008


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## Maxt (19/8/09)

I find that the tartness of raspberries seems to thin out your beer. For that reason I always finish the beer at least a few points early (well I do for the robust porter anyway).


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## petesbrew (27/8/09)

Sample taken last night. FG=1004.
Nice full pink colour, big raspberry flavour (if a little thin...see FG) and rather tart.
Ultra clear, but we'll see how this one racks with the loose berry sediment.
Shall bottle this one either tonight or Sunday. Throwing some wild yeast in a few bottles as well.


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## Maxt (27/8/09)

petesbrew said:


> Sample taken last night. FG=1004.
> big raspberry flavour (if a little thin...see FG) and rather tart.


Told you!


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## petesbrew (1/9/09)

Maxt said:


> Told you!


Yes you did!

Definitely a lot thinner than my 1st attempt.
Bottled last night, and yeah, threw in some lambic sediment in a few thick belgian stubbies.


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## petesbrew (16/9/09)

Well, I cracked open the first stubby last night. I should've taken a pic, but dinner was on the table.
Shaz had the first sip, and in her words "beery, but nice". :icon_chickcheers: 
For a beer-hater, I reckon that's as good a compliment as i can hope for.
And it's early days yet (2 weeks in the bottle), so hopefully it'll improve with age.

Colour is a nice deep pink. Crystal clear, carbonation good. A bit thin on the mouthfeel, but the rasberry definitely shines through. Would be good in the middle of summer. Overall I'm pretty happy with the outcome.
I'll post a pic in a few days time.


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## Slightly (16/1/10)

Hey,

just stumbled onto this thread. I'm in the planning stage of a Raspberry Wheat beer (kit), trying to get the plans 100% right so there wont be any mucking around when getting down to business. I have a couple quesitons, which may seem silly, but it would be great if I could get some input on a few questions.

Doing a Thomas Cooper Wheat Beer, with Dextrose and LDM, 1) *how long *and *what temp* should I keep this at in primary before moving it to secondary. That is, should I ferment it completely until the reading is close to 1010, then move to secondary?

Putting 2kgs of berries at the bottom of secondary, then move primary accross, 2) what's the best *method* and *equipment *to do this?

and 3) *how long *and *what temp* should I keep the beer and raspberries going? 4) Is the hydrometer reading no longer important during this stage?

A lot of quesitons, but any advice will surely help me. Cheers.

oh, and 5) what's the go with cold crashing? when?


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## bconnery (16/1/10)

Slightly said:


> Hey,
> 
> just stumbled onto this thread. I'm in the planning stage of a Raspberry Wheat beer (kit), trying to get the plans 100% right so there wont be any mucking around when getting down to business. I have a couple quesitons, which may seem silly, but it would be great if I could get some input on a few questions.
> 
> ...


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## petesbrew (17/1/10)

Slightly said:


> Hey,
> 
> just stumbled onto this thread. I'm in the planning stage of a Raspberry Wheat beer (kit), trying to get the plans 100% right so there wont be any mucking around when getting down to business. I have a couple quesitons, which may seem silly, but it would be great if I could get some input on a few questions.
> 
> ...


1. I usually give my beers 2 weeks in the primary (depending on how the yeast goes). Usually it's done in a week, that extra week lets the yeast drop to the bottom and clear out the beer.
Only done one wheat beer here, but I'd say 18-20c should be okay....

2. Clear plastic hose, about 6ft long, that fits over the tap from your primary. Actually mine has a bit of tube, like the little-bottler, that goes inside the tap, and the hose goes over that. Got mine from a LHBS years ago.
Other end of the hose either coils inside the 2ndary or attaches to the tap. 
Obviously make sure the primary is higher than the 2ndary or it wont work.
Turn on the taps, voila.
3. I'd give the 2ndary a couple of weeks. Hyrdrometer? Well, I take a sample anyway for tasting sake, but you may find it'll drop another point or two.
good luck
Pete


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## Slightly (17/1/10)

Cheers!

Also, about cold crashing, does the beer start the clear out at a certain temp (e.g. 10 degrees) or will it clear out at least some at say 15 degrees? Just the colder the better? Is it possible to just put ice packs all around the fermenter and it will at least clear the beer a little? (I don't have much fridge space but I like the idea of clear beer  

And, while it's on my mind, if I put the fruit in at the end of primary, will the ABV go up due to the sugars in the fruit? If so, how can this be measured?

Thanks again.


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## petesbrew (18/1/10)

Haven't really had much experience with coldcrashing as I've only got a barfridge. A fermenter won't fit in but a cube will.
Freezer bricks won't really cut it. The idea is to get it really low - like around 4celcius. And that'll drop out the yeast and crap to the bottom.

I'll say this as a guess only. Hopefully someone will correct me.
Adding the fruit to the primary, yeah I'm sure it'll add a bit more gravity, but the yeast cake is still at the bottom of the fermenter. It'll probably start back up again, and ferment out the flavours. The idea of transferring to secondary is to get it off the yeast. Yes there will still be a bit of yeast there, but not too much.


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## petesbrew (6/4/10)

petesbrew said:


> Well, I cracked open the first stubby last night. I should've taken a pic, but dinner was on the table.
> Shaz had the first sip, and in her words "beery, but nice". :icon_chickcheers:
> For a beer-hater, I reckon that's as good a compliment as i can hope for.
> And it's early days yet (2 weeks in the bottle), so hopefully it'll improve with age.
> ...


I'm sure i've got a photo of this baby somewhere... shall have a look today,
Had one last night, about 6 months old now. Really impressive. The wife had a sip, and said it was pretty good, and smelled gorgeous. Best compliment I've ever got!

I added a few dregs of a sour yeast from Rukh to a few bottles and it really gave it character! I recommend anyone give this a go to a few bottles of their batch.


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## NDH (30/6/10)

Hi guys,

figured I might as well bump an old thread rather than open a new one, brew went like this:

Thomas Coopers Wheat Kit

1.5kg of Dex
500g of DME
250g of Maltodextrin

(basically a brew enhancer with an extra kilo of dex to dry it right out and boost alc)

US-05 yeast

1060 OG
1010 FG

Racked to 2kg of semi-thawed fresh frozen raspberries in hop socks.


Sitting in secondary at the moment, has been for about a week or so. I let it ferment right out in primary before racking onto raspberries and now in secondary, there is minimal sign of fermentation. I had a taste the other day and it was great, tasted today and its getting a little tart, I intend to put some finnings in and bottle it but am a little concerned about the fruit sugars.

Will the unfermented fruit sugars ferment out during long bottle conditioning and, mixed with carb drops, give me bottle bombs or is there too little yeast/fruit sugars to be concerned about?

I just don't want to waste it or make a mess as I'm pretty amped at the flavour, not bad for a kit.

Cheers

NDH


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## kevin_smevin (30/6/10)

NDH said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> figured I might as well bump an old thread rather than open a new one, brew went like this:
> 
> ...




Wait a week or so before bottling and all the fruit sugars should have fermented. You should get a decent amount of extra fermentation from the fruit - i did when i made a raspberry beer. If you can, add some pectinase, it will break down all the fruit cell wall sugars that can cause haze. You can get it a grain and grape and i'm sure other home brew stores too.


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## jakub76 (30/6/10)

If it's had a week at ferment temps on the fruit then I reckon it's good to go. There isn't a lot of sugar in raspberries, I think it's about 5% so 2kg of raspberries would give you around 100g sugar. It won't be a frothing mass to chew through that. If you're worried then another week on the fruit won't hurt but I reckon it's good to go. Be careful not to aerate too much when bottling as this kind of beer oxidizes pretty quickly. Also you might want to rack to a bottling bucket or other fermenter to get the beer off all the fruit pulp and seeds. I used a piece of voile cloth over the end of the hose to catch all the lumpy bits.


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## NDH (30/6/10)

I've used a hop sock which I'm hoping has caught most of the raspberry chunks, its been at ferment temps and the raspberries themselves have lost most of their colour and are an off white colour now.

Might leave for a few more days then chuck the finnings in to clear it up a bit and might even clear some space in the keg fridge to crash chill it for a couple of days. Would love it to be a nice crisp pink colour.

My LHBS has the pectinase in a 50g pack, don't know much about it though. How is it added and how long does it need to do its thing? I reckon I'll take the raspberries out soon and let it sit for a week with this and the finnings in it then bottle time.


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## kevin_smevin (30/6/10)

NDH said:


> I've used a hop sock which I'm hoping has caught most of the raspberry chunks, its been at ferment temps and the raspberries themselves have lost most of their colour and are an off white colour now.
> 
> Might leave for a few more days then chuck the finnings in to clear it up a bit and might even clear some space in the keg fridge to crash chill it for a couple of days. Would love it to be a nice crisp pink colour.
> 
> My LHBS has the pectinase in a 50g pack, don't know much about it though. How is it added and how long does it need to do its thing? I reckon I'll take the raspberries out soon and let it sit for a week with this and the finnings in it then bottle time.




I'd have to have a look back at my notes, it was a while ago. It did clear up really nicely though so i'd definitely give it a shot,. If your interested and i haven't posted it means i've forgotten. Send me a PM and i'll get onto it.


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## zoidbergmerc (30/6/10)

I make raspberry wheat beer so I don't really go for clarity but my apple & Raspberry cider is brilliantly clear and I just cold crashed it in the keg fridge for a couple of days.


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## petesbrew (30/6/10)

Once you've done it, grab yourself a belgian lambic of some sort, and save the dregs.
Grab a handful of the raspberry beers, crack open, add a few drops of the dregs to each bottle, recap and leave aside for a few months.

I did this with mine, and it was awesome!


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