Dragonfruit Ale

[Bongchitis]

Hi guys (and girls),

I love all things cactus and have been eating dragonfruit for a few years now. The colour of the red Dragonfruit is beyond anything I have seen in the fruit world so I thought of using it in a beer. The flavour is mild and will probably not come through in the beer but the brew will be bright red. I have not seen any info on this so I will post progress pics etc.

Recipe/method will be (23L):

Coopers lager kit
Coopers BE2
200g Light Crystal
200g Carapils
15g Cascade, dry hopped at end of primary
1 Dragonfruit
Kit yeast @20 degC


Scoop out the dragonfruit pulp and add to the carapils/crystal steepings after boiling for 30 mins i.e. Add to boiling water but not boiled. Then into the fermenter. Ferment and dry hop as normal. Filter into keg, the rest fill unfiltered into longies and prime.

Can't really go wrong but might be a bit girly so I will have to drink it covertly.

I plan to do this in the next couple of days.

Has anyone got some tips or thoughts before I brew?

Cheers.....Bongchitis

 

[Fourstar]

I have the feeling it may be like the watermelon beer somone made once (possibly disgusting)... especially with its custard apple like texture (flakey). You better make sure it all settles out well before bottling/kegging.

 

[Adamt]

Fourstar: The OP will be filtering before kegging, but it is still a valid(ish) point.

Probably best to make sure the batch is clear of floaties before you run it through your filter.

 

[Punkal]

Sounds good but i don't know anything about dragonfruit.

love to see some pic when you have them

good luck :beer:

 

[Fourstar]

Fourstar: The OP will be filtering before kegging, but it is still a valid(ish) point.

Sorry was skim reading... missed that.

 

[brettprevans]

id tend to treat it like any other fruit beer and add the fruit to secondary. that way more colour, flavour and aroma.

edit: if its just colour your after, red coloured herbal tea will do the same.

i'd also use more than 1 dragonfruit. strawbeery ale your using like 4kg. now Dragonfruit may be stronger in flavour so cut it back but i wouldnt think 1 will cut the mustard

 

[Bongchitis]

The flavour is very subtle and I doubt it will add a great deal to the finnished product but I guess I should sus it out and add a couple of them. Colour is very strong/intense like beetroot but more of a bright red hue and 'getting rid of' the dragonfruit the next day can be quite a surprise colour wise!

If I add the fruit in primary but at the end of primary i.e. with my dry hops, will I still get enhanced colour, flavour and aroma? I don't usually rack to secondary... try and avoid it if at all possible actually. I guess either way I will have to pasteurise the fruit before adding.

The tea idea is a good one but I doubt I could match the colour for hue and intensity.

It is quite a plain base beer, dont want to go over the top with the cascade but knowing the fruit is mild i'm thinking of adding a darker crystal for complexity. See how it goes.

Thanks for the replies guys so far.

 

[Ross]

Yeast will strip the colour out the beer. Ferment the main beer, crash chill to clarify, warm back up to 18c & rack onto the fruit.

cheers Ross

 

[Fermented]

I would probably recommend two or more for a 20+ litre batch to assist the colour.

Given that dragonfruit has a rather subtle flavour, I think that you will get colour but the flavour would be rather heavily masked by the rest of the ingredients.

The kit yeast is probably worth tossing. If you could consider using US-05, I think you would have a better tasting result.

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[Katherine]

Dragon Fruit is a bright pink colour on the outside, buts it's white with black seeds in the middle... Not sure how you will get the colour red from the white flesh.

 

[Fourstar]

Dragon Fruit is a bright pink colour on the outside, buts it's white with black seeds in the middle... Not sure how you will get the colour red from the white flesh.

When i was in Thailand last year they had the white and purple/red flesh varieties. the read was scary...

 

[Sammus]

if you just want colour may as well use food dye.

 

[Katherine]

When i was in Thailand last year they had the white and purple/red flesh varieties. the read was scary...

mmmm interesting Ive only ever had the white one... in Vietnam...

 

[kevin_smevin]

One thing i recommend in fruit beers is using pectinase. Pectin is found in the cell wall of fruits and can cause haze in your beer. I think they use it wine making too. I used it in a raspberry ale and it is probably the clearest beer i've ever made. I think i added it in the secondary at the same time as i added the fruit. You should be able to get it at any wine making store. I got mine from grain and grape. I can't remember how much i used. I have it written down somewhere so if your interested just let me know.

 

[bconnery]

I've only ever had the white flesh one but apparently the red flesh one also has a more intense flavour. I found the white flesh one to be fairly bland...

 

[peas_and_corn]

Sounds good but i don't know anything about dragonfruit.

love to see some pic when you have them

good luck :beer:

Some pics:

 

[Batz]

Little off topic but they can be white red or yellow.
We are preparing a site atm to plant a crop of these,we are planning to sell them along with our Paw Paws.


Red fruit are really spectacular

Batz

 

[Katherine]

ah pretty pink beer!

 

[peas_and_corn]

I've only tried the white flesh, what are the red ones like in comparison?

 

[Bongchitis]

There is a white variety that is said to be the tastiest, but it is quite thorny and has proven a commercial disadvantage. The red and white commercial varieties are about the same in flavour I believe but the red looks stunning.

I know there are easier ways to make a red beer but a food dye etc. in a beer that I lovingly brewed would be akin to painting the exterior of a heritage sandstone house. I am sure you all can appreciate the experimental value aswell. I would like some of the flavour aswell but I honestly don't think it will shine through like the colour will... and if it turns out shit then we all can avoid it like the plague!

A bit of a delay in brewing this, probably next week now as my fermenting fridge is occupied.

Will post pics and specs of the finnished product.

Cheers all...............Bongchitis