Pomegranate Beer

[Killer Brew]

I'm looking to continue my experimentation with ingredients I can forage around my local area and noticed yesterday a very full pomegranate bush in my neighbours front yard. Before I go knock on their door with a couple of beers in hand though I had better get an idea of what I'm doing first!

A search has so far yielded that I should avoid using the seeds, that the style options include wheat beer, saison and Flanders, the pulp is best added in secondary and perhaps combined with another sweeter fruit such as blueberries or raspberries.

I'm interested in doing a Flanders Red Ale but don't have the patience to wait a year to drink it! Perhaps another time. So I might give it a go with a saison which I have a well developed recipe for and have been experimenting with a few flavour variables.

Title: Saison

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: Saison
Boil Time: 70 min
Batch Size: 23 liters (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 28 liters
Boil Gravity: 1.041
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)


STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.050
Final Gravity: 1.010
ABV (standard): 5.34%
IBU (tinseth): 20.15
SRM (ebcmorey): 6.62

FERMENTABLES:
3 kg - BB Ale (60%)
1 kg - Pilsener (20%)
1 kg - Wheat (20%)

HOPS:
15 g - Styrian Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 5.5, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 9.84
30 g - Hallertau Mittelfruh, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.75, Use: Boil for 30 min, IBU: 10.31

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 67 C, Time: 60 min, Amount: 15 L
Starting Mash Thickness: 3 L/kg

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
Pulp of 5 x Pomegranates (minus seeds) added to secondary after day 10
1kg x frozen raspberries thawed and added to secondary after day 10

YEAST:
Wyeast - French Saison 3711
Starter: Yes
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (avg): 80%
Flocculation: Low
Optimum Temp: 18.33 - 25 C
Fermentation Temp: 23 C
Pitch Rate: 1.0 (M cells / ml / deg P)

Anyone have any tips on this for me?

 

[sponge]

Just thinking out loud - isn't the flesh of the pomegranate surrounding the seeds? How do you plan on separating the two to remove the seeds?

Maybe I am missing something very obvious..

 

[Killer Brew]

Just thinking out loud - isn't the flesh of the pomegranate surrounding the seeds? How do you plan on separating the two to remove the seeds?

Maybe I am missing something very obvious..

Could be. Must admit I have never opened one up :unsure:
Could be a painstaking task but I'm prepared to suffer for my art.

 

[sponge]

Unless there's a simply way to do it that I'm unaware of, I think you'll find it to be a pretty darn painstakingly slow process.

Interested to see how this unfolds nonetheless.

 

[Matplat]

Could you push the flesh though a sieve with the back of a spoon? similar to passionfruit...

Passionfruit would be good for a wheat...mmmmmm...... :icon_drool2:

 

[Matplat]

or could you just stick them in a juicer....

 

[JDW81]

The seeds of the pomegranate are the bits you want. The pith surrounding the seeds is just a dry, fibrous house for those sweet little jewels of flavour.

If you wanted to use pomegranate I'd suggest removing the seeds then crushing them to extract the juice.

To get the seeds out, chop the fruit in half, put the cut surface face down over your spread fingers and bash the ***** out of it with a wooden spoon into a bowl. Like .

If you don't want to use them for beer, then take 2 tablespoons of seeds, place in a tall glass over ice, put in 2 nips of good quality vodka and top off with soda water.

JD

 

[AJS2154]

Passionfruit would be good for a wheat...mmmmmm.....:

Ohhh. Ideas man. Some passion fruit pulp and maybe some galaxy hops. That could be interesting.

 

[indica86]

I'd go the pomegranate and not he raspberry as I feel a kilo of raspberries will over power the pomegranate. Use more than five.

Pomegranate juice takes just minutes to make once you've seeded the pomegranate. Place the drained seeds in a blender or food processor, and blend or process until combined into pulp. Transfer the pulp to a sieve set over a bowl. Using the back of a spoon, press the pulp to release the juice. Taste the juice. If ripe enough, it shouldn't require any sweetener. Use the juice as a beverage or as an ingredient in sauces, salad dressing, juice blends, or cocktails.

 

[Beersuit]

I know Gavin from Croft brewing did one not so long ago. Maybe hit him up. He is usually very friendly to home brewers and may give you a few tips.

 

[Killer Brew]

Must have misread the bit about the seeds, lucky i checked in here first! Might up it to 8 poms and reduce raspberries to 500g perhaps.

 

[Blind Dog]

Must have misread the bit about the seeds, lucky i checked in here first! Might up it to 8 poms and reduce raspberries to 500g perhaps.

You're going to juice 8 Englishman? Might just stay indoors for a while...

 

[Danwood]

^ Stiff upper lip, old chap ! We'll make it through this.

On a slight tangent...has anyone used pomegranate molasses in a beer. I have a bottle and it tastes great...sweet and tart.

Hefe or Berliner would be my picks.

 

[breakbeer]

Beat me to it Danwood, I was about to suggest the molasses as I've been considering using it myself. I have a couple of cubes of Saison ready to go & a spare bottle of this on hand

 

[Danwood]

Yeah, I'd drink that !

Let us know how it turns out, BB.

 

[CoxR]

I have had a Pomegranate saison before and it was fantastic. From memory it was from Croft brewing.

 

[breakbeer]

Just added 1/4 cup of Pomegranate molasses to a keg of Saison. I'll report back when I've done some 'research'

 

[justatad]

Happy to be corrected but isn't pomegranate the main ingredient in grenadine.

 

[Killer Brew]

I brewed my above recipe a few weeks back and let it fully ferment before racking onto 500g pomegranate pulp and 1kg raspberry crushed just over a week ago. I looked through the glad wrap tonight and there is a white skin forming over the surface of the pulp on top of the beer. Am I right to assume this is mould growing? Should I rack it off asap?

 

[CmdrRyekr]

My old lady made pommygranite biscuits, I think they would work in a beer pretty well!