Limes or fruit in beer

[Ghizo]

Just getting back into brewing after a long break, and I am interested in adding fruit?
I am thinking citrus especially limes or oranges, maybe berries.
What is the process of doing this, what has been tried? What works

Thanks in advance

Tim

 

[Dave70]

https://byo.com/hops/item/1589-what-is-the-best-way-to-add-a-citrus-fruit-flavor-to-your-beer

Long story short, pretty much the only way to get citrus into a beer, other than dry hopping with a bunch of Moteuka or some such.
Berries are another story. Blend em, freez em and throw the desired amount in the fermenter.

 

[Matplat]

The only time I have put fruit in beer it tasted ****, I put 600g frozen berries in the fermenter with a canadian blonde kit a la coopers Blushing Blonde recipe.

Tastes like weak cordial. I still have 27 bottles of the stuff, I am waiting until summer as per the reccomendations of folks on the forum, but I anticipate pouring 26.5 bottles down the drain in November some time!

Sorry to be so negative, just giving my experience. Obviously I have done something wrong, as I have tasted many nice fruit beers before, mainly at belgian restaurants!

 

[superstock]

Craftbrewer has some flavour concentrates. Haven't used so can't comment.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Sorry to be so negative, just giving my experience. Obviously I have done something wrong, as I have tasted many nice fruit beers before, mainly at belgian restaurants!

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work

Only 9,999 to go then.

 

[Dave70]

The only time I have put fruit in beer it tasted ****, I put 600g frozen berries in the fermenter with a canadian blonde kit a la coopers Blushing Blonde recipe.

Tastes like weak cordial. I still have 27 bottles of the stuff, I am waiting until summer as per the reccomendations of folks on the forum, but I anticipate pouring 26.5 bottles down the drain in November some time!

Sorry to be so negative, just giving my experience. Obviously I have done something wrong, as I have tasted many nice fruit beers before, mainly at belgian restaurants!

It will simply be slightly aged **** come November I bet. I have some two year old cherry wheat you are welcome to try if you don't believe me. Tastes like slightly tart cough syrup.
Free up those bottles now and beat the summer rush.

 

[Yob]

Raspberry RIS is to die for...

 

[indica]

I squeezed a lime and a lemon and then dumped the leftover into a FV with Coopers Mexican thing and it tasted okay for sure. Nice and citrusy.

My Rosella Saison is great BTW.
There is definitely room for fruit in the right beer - as Yob suggests.

 

[kaiserben]

I've tasted some great blood orange IPAs.

I'm planning on making one - zesting and juicing some blood oranges and adding both late in the boil (methodology info comes from Beavertown Brewery, whose Bloody 'Ell IPA I really enjoyed).

 

[eMPTy]

I racked a wheat beer onto frozen raspberries in secondary and it was really quite nice. Understated rather than in your face.

I think lime could be interesting, but you'd need to be super super careful. I recently did a ginger beer with the skin of a line amongst other things i added after the beer had finished. It hasn't fully finished bottle conditioning, but when i had one to see how the flavours were coming along i concluded that the lime was probably a bit too strong for the balance of the beer. Obviously time will tell. Perhaps with carbonation and time it could mellow out somewhat.

 

[RdeVjun]

Lime Wit anyone?
http://www.homebrewdownunder.com/index.php?topic=1914.0

 

[panspermian]

I'm really liking dates at the moment....
(Sorry just had to add this...).

 

[eMPTy]

I'm really liking dates at the moment....
(Sorry just had to add this...).

That is a very interesting thought. I can easily imagine dates in a belgian dark style, not sure how it could work in others though.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Any juice of fruits give a wine taste in my experiments (no good) but have uses lemons occasionally with ginger and spice combo etc. Paralytically the rind can work ok (with one recipe repeated 3 times so far). Makes me feel like having another crack at it. Zests and spices added end of boil.
Remember that some of the best fruity flavors your after in Beer comes from choices of yeast and Hop additions.

 

[indica]

That is a very interesting thought. I can easily imagine dates in a belgian dark style, not sure how it could work in others though.

Burleigh has a date beer that is REALLY good.

 

[shacked]

I did a cherry wheat with equal parts pale and wheat with a handful of Caramunich and Willamette to 18 IBU. Used WLP320.

I pitted the cherries (next time I'll use gloves) and froze them. I defrosted and refroze them twice then pasteurized the berries in 2L of wort made from Wheat DME. Long story short but the room temp berries required the wort to be at 97 degrees for the end product to be at 70 which I held for 2 mins; strained and added to the secondary. I cooled the liquid and added that too.

It turned out to be a tasty brew. The 1.4kg of cherries seemed like about enough in 22L of beer.

 

[eMPTy]

Burleigh has a date beer that is REALLY good.

May have to attempt to "research" that...

 

[waggastew]

A mate recently did a really nice sour mash IPA with limes added. I think from memory he added juice and the zest. Was SUPER tart but delicious, acidity of the base beer really worked well with the lime.

 

[menoetes]

Another member; Seehussen told me how to make a citrus tincture to add to your beer. For example to add lime to your lager or cream ale;

Zest 3 limes
soak zest in a shot or two of vodka or gin in the fridge for 2+ days
strain and add liquid to your FV or bottling bucket immediately before bottling

I've done this in a cream ale and it turned out great. It's not in your face but a hint at the end of the mouthful, very pleasant.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Dried peel is supposed to work


The only people who put lime in beers are ********** & *********

You only put lime in **** beer.