Belgan Rasberry Beer

[Airgead]

For all you fruit beer lovers, the Brewing Network had a show on Fruit beer this week. Jamil's show 4/24/06 :beer:

[post="122930"][/post]​

Its in the queue on my MP3 player now...

 

[petesbrew]

I've been wanting to try a raspberry brew as well.

Here's my first ever attempt at a recipe... feel free to criticise.

Coopers Canadian Blonde (& included yeast - I'm still a beginner)
1kg Bodybrew or (brew enhancer or whatever you like)
20g cascade hops
700g raspberries in primary
then 700g raspberries in secondary

MY fingers are crossed.... I'll post my results

 

[petesbrew]

Oh yeah, I'm trying it this weekend.
Think I'll cover the fermenter with a sheet or tarp, in case I have a mini-raspberry-Chernobyl-meltdown in the garage.

 

[Ross]

Oh yeah, I'm trying it this weekend.
Think I'll cover the fermenter with a sheet or tarp, in case I have a mini-raspberry-Chernobyl-meltdown in the garage.

[post="123150"][/post]​

No criticism, but I'd be adding all the fruit to secondary which will certainly avoid the above & give you more flavour for your $$$

Cheers Ross

 

[petesbrew]

Did it yesterday. Recieved your advice too late Ross, and I agree with you, moneywis, berries would be better in the 2ndary (i put 800g in).

Oh well. It tastes nice though. pale pink tint, with a fine raspberry flavour. As of last night the airlock was working overtime. The tarp is well placed... I hope.

 

[Airgead]

I've been wanting to try a raspberry brew as well.

Here's my first ever attempt at a recipe... feel free to criticise.

Coopers Canadian Blonde (& included yeast - I'm still a beginner)
1kg Bodybrew or (brew enhancer or whatever you like)
20g cascade hops
700g raspberries in primary
then 700g raspberries in secondary

MY fingers are crossed.... I'll post my results

[post="123149"][/post]​

I'd have to second the advice about adding to the secondary only. I've tried both and it gives a much better flavour in the secondary. in the primary the vigerous fermentation strips a lot of the aroma and flavour out.

I'm assuming this is a 20l batch so thats about 70g/l which is just under what I used last time. I find it overpowering but the missus loves it. I think there is a point where adding more fruit doesn't increase the flavour at all and I suspect 70g/l is past that point. I'll be trying 50-60 next time to see how that goes. I figure I can alwayse taste it after a week and add more if it needs it.

Cheers
Dave

 

[petesbrew]

Well, it's been in the primary for a week now, and it's settled out at about 1018 (down from 1050), I'll leave it go for another week or so and hopefully it drops further.

Nice flavour but definitely needs more berries in the 2ndary. 500g should do.
Thanks for the advice lads, I'll keep the results posted.

 

[petesbrew]

Seems to have almost stopped now. The SG reading was 1014 last night . I'd be tempted to rack it this saturday, but as it's a busy mothers day weekend, and too much on, it'll give it a chance to maybe drop further.

Geez, this better be drinkable!
:unsure:

 

[petesbrew]

Well I'm bottling the raspberry brew tonight. FG was 1014, threw in 500g extra berries in the 2ndary. Had a nice colour and taste last night.

I stuffed up and forgot to put that little thingy on the inside of the tap of the secondary barrel. It helps to stop the muck coming from the bottom. Seeing as I stopped most of the muck when i racked it, I reckon I should be right.

Couldn't be bothered bulk-priming - the carb drops are the go.

 

[petesbrew]

Bottled it on thursday night with the carb drops. Very bitsy with all the raspberry bits, so I'll be using a tea strainer when I pour them! Great colour when poured into a clear bottle!

If I ever do this one again, I'll just use strawberry/raspberry topping. Too much stuffing round.

Two weeks till drink time.

 

[petesbrew]

Cracked the first one the other night, and was pleased with the results!
The raspberries gave more of a sour tone than sweet, but it was still quite nice.
The wife wasn't too impressed, but said it wasn't overly disgusting. It was better than a Gueze Framboise we tried in Belgium, so I'll take that as a compliment.

I'll be putting the case down for about 3 months to see how it turns out

 

[petesbrew]

Final word, I brought in some longnecks to work for a trial on the girls and guys... the verdict was good. One guy reckoned he could do a big session on them. Everyone else disagreed, but the non-beer-liking girls gave it a thumbs up.
NOt sure if I'll do this one again. mAybe next time I'll just try raspberry topping. But it's good to have a success out of a stab-in-the-dark recipe!

 

[petesbrew]

A pic of the Blonde Berry Tart Fuel for you all to drool over...

The glass was a five finger special from some Belgian pub, of course.

 

[Airgead]

Looks good. Came out about the same colour as mine. Is it just the photo or has yours come out cloudy? I was expecting mine to be cloudy from the fruit pulp but it has come out crystal clear. I'm wondering whether I have just fluked it...

Cheers
Dave

 

[petesbrew]

Reasonably cloudy,
Lets put it this way, it needed a tea strainer cos of the pulpy bits (only a few bits in each bottle, but who wants that crap in their glass?!?!
Maybe a hops sock for the berries will be the go next time...
Still it was a good result for a first attempt.

 

[barls]

ok guys im just about to do mine but im not sure of the recipe so here it is so far
1 wals wheat
1kg of liquid wheat malt
12g of pacific Hallertau
1.6kg of raspberries( 300 in the primary,the rest in the secondary)
and fermented with white labs Belgian ale.
im not sure on the amount of raspberries i can adjust them as required, or the hops i also have some Sticklebract as well.
what do you all think

 

[Airgead]

ok guys im just about to do mine but im not sure of the recipe so here it is so far
1 wals wheat
1kg of liquid wheat malt
12g of pacific Hallertau
1.6kg of raspberries( 300 in the primary,the rest in the secondary)
and fermented with white labs Belgian ale.
im not sure on the amount of raspberries i can adjust them as required, or the hops i also have some Sticklebract as well.
what do you all think

Barls

That looks pretty good. 1.6kg of rasberries will give you a pretty intense flavour so you could back that off a bit if you wanted.

Which Belgian ale yeast are you using? I used the Belgian Wit (WLP400) rather than the belgian ale (550/570) as it produces more tartness and less of the heavy Belgian type flavours.

Cheers
Dave

 

[barls]

im using the 550 as its one that have already i might cut it back to 1.2 then

 

[Kerrs Rd Brewery]

I just kegged my attempt at this raspberry number...

1 tin Canadian Blonde
1 kg Brew Booster
Saaz teabag into primary
1 kg raspberries in secondary
Safale yeast

The first taste note was a definite sour/tart sort of hit, but then the raspberries really came through straight after that. Really interesting flavour, I simply made it to try and impress the girls, and will more than likely stick with my more masculine un-pink coloured beers, but am happy with my results.

Would recommend no more than a kilo of raspberries though barls. Liquid yeast will really add something extra though, will definitely use one next time now that the experiment has been a success.

 

[barls]

ok ill take that onboard but i think ill try about a kilo then i can adjust as needed in the secondary