# Ag Fruit Beer Ideas



## SJW (4/12/07)

Wanting to brew a fruit beer of sorts. I have never made a wheat beer but from what I have read wheat beers with fruit go pretty good. Would be happy to try a wheat fruit beer but I dont like that tart yeast flavour.
So what should I base the recipe on? A light Lager or Ale? Low hop IBU's? Go with mainly base malt and little or no specialty malt? And with the fruit, could I just use tinned fruit like strawberries or raspberries or cherry's?
Any help would be great or even a tried and true recipe.

Steve


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## peas_and_corn (4/12/07)

for the fruit, use the frozen stuff you get at the supermarket


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## SJW (4/12/07)

> for the fruit, use the frozen stuff you get at the supermarket


I should of taken more notice that one time 15 years ago that I went shopping with the Mrs. So I should be looking for a bag of frozen 100% fruit in the freezer section. No preservatives I guess?


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## peas_and_corn (4/12/07)

Actually, I didn't notice whether the ones I got had preservatives. You need to put them in the secondary fermenter (as primary fermentation 'scrubs' the flavour away), so I don't think it would make much difference.

Here is a link to the AHB article on fruit in beers.


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## therook (4/12/07)

I tried randyrobs Cherry ale a couple of weeks ago and it was sensational, maybe he can give you some pointers on his brew. His grain bill was mostly Pilsner malt.

Rook


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## bconnery (4/12/07)

My berry weizen is in the recipe section here
If you don't like tartness then it isn't the way to go though, it was quite tart, and very pink. 

Otherwise strawberries on a wheat base but using something more neutral like k97 works well, but you need a lot of strawberries, 2.5kgs minimum for mine...

Wheat beers make excellent fruit beer bases. I like to do a 50/50 or 60/40 wheat pils split, lightly hopped with something like hallertau or almost anything german, then fruit in secondary. I've used fresh and those gourmet frozen berries and both worked well. 

You can also go down the darker beer route, a few have made fruit stouts, but I've stuck to pale so far...


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## Barge (4/12/07)

Ross's Banana Amber is a cracker. Definately worth a go.

Also, I've got a mango wheat to be bottled in the next couple of days. I used 8 kensington pride mangos for 15L. I can PM with taste notes if you want. I got my mangos 1/2 price as they were close to being thrown. They were still good though, just a couple of spots that had to be trimmed off.

Steer clear of tinned fruit as they have sugar added...fresh or frozen is the way to go.


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## Katherine (4/12/07)

> I tried randyrobs Cherry ale a couple of weeks ago and it was sensational, maybe he can give you some pointers on his brew. His grain bill was mostly Pilsner malt.
> 
> Rook



I'll second that... very nice!


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## Muggus (4/12/07)

I've currently got a Raspberry Hefeweizen in secondary. Kept the recipe for the hefeweizen quite simple. (2/3 wheat, 1/3 pale malt, hopped to ~15 IBU with Hershbruker/Hallertau, K-97 wheat ale, ferment around 20-24 degrees) Racked it around 15L of it onto 3kg of frozen raspberries I picked up at a wholesaler near my place. 
Gonna leave it on the raspberries for 2 weeks, and see how it goes.


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## Rick (7/12/07)

I have a wheat in primary right now and am considering adding apercots to. I have a tree full of them right now.


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## winkle (7/12/07)

Anyone been bold enough to try Lilly Pillys in a fruit beer?


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## Goose (13/11/15)

apologies to reply to a 'necro' thread, cheers bribie 

however I am about to attempt a plum infused beer and have a question on the wiki article that suggests that the fruit should be treated (pasteurised ?) at 80 deg C for 1 min and the fruit should also be prior frozen to break down the cell structures before adding to the secondary.

is it advisable to do both ? or would freezing the fruit also do the job of sanitation, or, should I pasteurise then freeze ?

tks in advance


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## IsonAd (13/11/15)

Freezing will get rid of some nasties but not all. I usually freeze then pasteurise. You could do it the other way round but obviously would need to bag it.


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## Yob (14/11/15)

Ive thrown frozen Raspberries at a RIS with no nil effect.. fookin delicious is what it was.. Wish I had more of it


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## Goose (14/11/15)

thanks for this.

finally, how long should you / do you leave it atop the fruit in the secondary for optimal flavour ?


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## IsonAd (14/11/15)

Varies hugely depending type of fruit, style of beer, alcohol, temperature, how much flavour you want and probably a million other things. Not a helpful answer I know. I'd try to investigate other people's experiences with plum in beers and go from there.


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## Weizguy (16/11/15)

Kiwifruit lager (recipe from Ausbeer magazine). Cali lager yeast, pale malt extract, big muslin bag of frozen kiwis - halved and thrown in the delicate brew. about 14 IBU of Hallertau hops iirc.

Can find the recipe if interested...?


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## pajs (16/11/15)

Citrus zest into the end of a boil isn't a bad way to start with fruit flavours, I reckon, including how they can interact with malt, yeast & hops. I've had a couple of goes at using rhubarb too - not entirely successful, those. Easy to get too sharp & astringent if you are working with fruits that can contribute tannins or other phenolics. For that reason, I'd be a little careful with plums. I'd try them in something not too wheaty and if the skins were too tannic, I'd blanch, peel and take the stones out (stones of stonefruit will give flavours of their own - think almond/marzipan/bitter almond/cherry brandy type flavours).

I freeze fruit and then thaw before adding, either at the end of the boil, or into the fermenter when pitching, or when racking to a secondary. For example, I've got a Belgian Cherry Dubbel finishing in the fermenter now. That was backyard fruit picked last summer, frozen, then added at the end of the boil. I meant to use a pectinase enzyme to deal with some of the haze risks of putting fruit into hot wort, but forgot. Unless you are working with really high pectin fruit, or really keen on clarity, you can probably avoid adding pectinase.

One thing I'd like to do but have not yet is use blueberries in a red ale recipe for both flavour and red colour. With plums, I'd be tempted to take a golden ale type recipe that fits well with a hop like Amarillo and use the plums in a secondary to complement the hops, maybe with Marris Otter on the grain side for something biscuity.

Best of luck.


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## smcc3573 (26/11/15)

I have made a rhubarb saison similar to this

http://chopandbrew.com/recipes/rhubarb-saison-homebrew-recipe/

came out very nice, tart and refreshing


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## shacked (26/11/15)

I did a cherry wheat: equal parts 2-row and wheat with a touch of Caramunich. Willamette at 60m to 18 IBU fermented with American Wheat Beer (WLP320 I think) then racked onto 2 kg of cherries for 3 weeks. 

I pasteurized my cherries in wort (made from DME). 2 mins at 70 degrees did the trick.


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## mofox1 (27/11/15)

smcc3573 said:


> I have made a rhubarb saison similar to this
> 
> http://chopandbrew.com/recipes/rhubarb-saison-homebrew-recipe/
> 
> came out very nice, tart and refreshing


Likewise - great inspiration that one! Although I subbed saaz for the late addition and did *not* add the rhubarb to the fermenter. I boiled 3kg rhubarb for a few minutes, then strained into the fermenter (rinsed with the wort for extra flavour extraction). I didn't want to mess with fruit as fermenter additions.

Some sugar in the mix ensured it got down low as well, 1.004.

Kegged in June... only blew this week 
Good run, though.


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## stilvia (19/7/16)

I love rhubarb and have been looking at doing this the chop and brew recipe. How strong does the rhubarb flavor come through?


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## mofox1 (19/7/16)

I don't reckon they use enough rhubarb (I used around 3kg)... but then again, I didn't add it directly to the fermenter (quick separate boil and strained into fermenter at pitch).

Also not sure their hop amounts/times are correct, too much 60min hops (I dialled mine back to get a total of 27 IBU). 3kg of rhubarb as a pre-pitch mini-boil was fantastic... definite aroma and flavour. Currently on tap again 

Linky stuff from the first brew:
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/19438-whats-in-the-glass/?p=1323924

Second brew:
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/19438-whats-in-the-glass/?p=1371206


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## Fents (19/7/16)

Making a clone of this soon, i thought it was a senasational beer when i tried it, cross between a sour and a fruit beer

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/brewdog-lizard-bride/353004/


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## rossbaker (24/7/16)

Has anyone had any success with adding fruit directly to a no chill cube?? I'm guessing you would want to steer clear of fruits that would produce tannins but it could make for a very simple process.


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## Killer Brew (24/7/16)

Im about to have my second attempt at a wheat with pomegranate and rasberry. First one i added the fruit straight after primary fermentation and got an infection (see infection thread)! This time i have pureed it and it is soaking in vodka for a few days. Will rack onto it once the wheat beer has fermented out. Fingers crossed.


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## barls (24/7/16)

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/articles/article39.html


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## rossbaker (26/7/16)

barls said:


> http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/articles/article39.html


Good read, sounds like secondary is the way to go. Cheers!


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## Killer Brew (26/7/16)

barls said:


> http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/articles/article39.html


Interesting. So looks as though my puree in vodka isn't goint to do the job. Might have to pasteurise as i can't bear tipping another batch because of nasties on fruit.


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## barls (26/7/16)

not sure how big your puree is but i use to do 1/4 of a candem tablet to 2kg of raspberries.
there have been threads on sanitising fruit for use.


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## barls (26/7/16)

another great resource 
Jamil's show 4/24/06
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/5546-belgan-rasberry-beer/page-2


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## Killer Brew (26/7/16)

Only around half kg of fruit (raspberry & pomegranate) as im only going to rack around 10L of a dunkel weizen im making now onto it to see how it goes.


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## Let's Brew Beer (4/8/16)

pajs said:


> Citrus zest into the end of a boil isn't a bad way to start with fruit flavours, I reckon, including how they can interact with malt, yeast & hops. I've had a couple of goes at using rhubarb too - not entirely successful, those. Easy to get too sharp & astringent if you are working with fruits that can contribute tannins or other phenolics. For that reason, I'd be a little careful with plums. I'd try them in something not too wheaty and if the skins were too tannic, I'd blanch, peel and take the stones out (stones of stonefruit will give flavours of their own - think almond/marzipan/bitter almond/cherry brandy type flavours).
> 
> I freeze fruit and then thaw before adding, either at the end of the boil, or into the fermenter when pitching, or when racking to a secondary. For example, I've got a Belgian Cherry Dubbel finishing in the fermenter now. That was backyard fruit picked last summer, frozen, then added at the end of the boil. I meant to use a pectinase enzyme to deal with some of the haze risks of putting fruit into hot wort, but forgot. Unless you are working with really high pectin fruit, or really keen on clarity, you can probably avoid adding pectinase.
> 
> ...


very true, i found that out the hard way when i tried to make a Apricot wheat last year and put halved apricots into the boil. what a blunder, tasted terrible had to biff it. Good learning experience tho.


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## rossbaker (6/8/16)

2 more questions:

- is there an ideal temp when adding fruit to a secondary? I have already crash chilled a weizen in the primary but I'm thinking of separating 5L for a fruit experiment when I rack it to a keg tomorrow. Not sure if the warmer batch should be brought back up to fermentation temps. 

- do frozen berries (store bought) need to be sanitized or pasturized before they are used in a secondary?


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## donald_trub (6/8/16)

I hear on the podcasts that a lot of breweries get fruit puree from a company called Oregon Fruit. Info here - http://www.oregonfruit.com/fruit-brewing/category/fruit-beer

Does anyone know of a similar supplier or product in Australia? Looks like the key is having the puree aseptic. Sounds like a really easy way to use fruit, if I could find this stuff on a smaller scale in Australia.


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## stilvia (6/8/16)

A while back I sous vide some fruit. I think this might be the best option as you pasteurise and break down the fruit without cooking the fruit at high temp. From memory 85c for 30min does the job..


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## barls (6/8/16)

donald_trub said:


> I hear on the podcasts that a lot of breweries get fruit puree from a company called Oregon Fruit. Info here - http://www.oregonfruit.com/fruit-brewing/category/fruit-beer
> 
> Does anyone know of a similar supplier or product in Australia? Looks like the key is having the puree aseptic. Sounds like a really easy way to use fruit, if I could find this stuff on a smaller scale in Australia.


craftbrewer had them at one stage


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