Raspberry Wheat Beer Method Advice.

[petesbrew]

You'd just stick you arm in with a cup. Why can't you just answer the question, Fourstar? Seems reasonable to me! h34r:


Scooping the yeast out is a really bad idea and pretty well near impossible (you'd more than likely just stir it up instead of pulling it out), Slightly.

You could conceivably just add the fruit to the end of primary in the same vessel leaving the yeast in but racking to another fermenter should yield cleaner results.

The second fermenter is a handy thing to have, Slighty.
Good for bulk priming all those different volume bottles, for racking fruit beers, and also for those cloudy beers that you want to clear out with finings or gelatin.

Reckon it'd be hard scooping out the yeast, as a lot of it drops to the bottom of the fermenter as well... wash that arm well.
If you do try adding it into the primary, let us know how it went. This site's full of hit's and misses, so it's good to know if it does or doesn't work out.

I've added some berries into the primary at the start of fermentation just because I could.
The raspbeerry flavour is there, but the intensity does drop off by the time it's fully fermented, hence the 2ndary fermenter addition.

The last raspberry blonde I made was okay, but a bit ho-hum ordinary. However I added some sour lambic dregs to a few bottles, recapped them and put them away for a few months. OMG, they were AWESOME. The sourness really goes well with the tart raspberry.
All the best.
Pete

 

[Fourstar]

the only thing i can suggest other than what has already been noted is if it isnt as tart as you expect, 10ml of lactic acid into the femrenter does wonders!

 

[bconnery]

and deal with the loss of flavour imparted by the raspberries which was what i was trying to get him to avoid.

maybe its just me but i dont like doing things 1/2 arsed!

Putting the fruit in at the end of primary isn't 1/2 arsed, just a different method. You might lose some fruit flavour but you may also gain character from some additional fermentation.
I've certainly noticed plenty of fruit character in all the beers I have made using this method.

I dont' disagree with putting it in to the secondary, and I did it that way myself at first, but I don't find my method 1/2 arsed.

I also find this method useful as it reduces the number of racking steps, as I like to rack again to reduce the floaties...

 

[Slightly]

Putting the fruit in at the end of primary isn't 1/2 arsed, just a different method. You might lose some fruit flavour but you may also gain character from some additional fermentation.
I've certainly noticed plenty of fruit character in all the beers I have made using this method.

I dont' disagree with putting it in to the secondary, and I did it that way myself at first, but I don't find my method 1/2 arsed.

I also find this method useful as it reduces the number of racking steps, as I like to rack again to reduce the floaties...

I've done what seems to be a huge amount of reading on the topic of primary fruit adding versus using secondary and all I can conclude is basically 'each to their own' and that neither way is 'right' as both have positives and negatives that go with them. SO I agree with you in what you're saying.

Just wondering, is there anything you can do to counter flavour loss in primary? perhaps really low temps?

 

[Fourstar]

Putting the fruit in at the end of primary isn't 1/2 arsed, just a different method. You might lose some fruit flavour but you may also gain character from some additional fermentation.
I've certainly noticed plenty of fruit character in all the beers I have made using this method.
I dont' disagree with putting it in to the secondary, and I did it that way myself at first, but I don't find my method 1/2 arsed.
I also find this method useful as it reduces the number of racking steps, as I like to rack again to reduce the floaties...

Not taking a stab at you bconnery but adding the fruit to primary just seems like a waste of time to me. Even worse if they are added at the beginning of fermentation. Sure adding them to primary will work, but i dont believe it is as effective of getting the most out of the raspberries as adding them to secondary. Also, when you transfer to secondary you will get some further fermentation as the yeast in suspension will chew away at the raspberries and this happend with mine and i was a couple points away from terminal gravity when i racked.

I just think its a waste chucking them into primary as the yeast will suck up the raspberry flavour and flocc it out like it does with hop flavours and IBU's. For the sake of 20 mins to sanitise a fermenter and rack across, i think its well worth the effort. Not to mention being able to avoid the issues that come along with 2-3 inches of fruity trub come bottling/kegging.

 

[bconnery]

Not taking a stab at you bconnery but adding the fruit to primary just seems like a waste of time to me. Even worse if they are added at the beginning of fermentation. Sure adding them to primary will work, but i dont believe it is as effective of getting the most out of the raspberries as adding them to secondary. Also, when you transfer to secondary you will get some further fermentation as the yeast in suspension will chew away at the raspberries and this happend with mine and i was a couple points away from terminal gravity when i racked.

I just think its a waste chucking them into primary as the yeast will suck up the raspberry flavour and flocc it out like it does with hop flavours and IBU's. For the sake of 20 mins to sanitise a fermenter and rack across, i think its well worth the effort. Not to mention being able to avoid the issues that come along with 2-3 inches of fruity trub come bottling/kegging.

Well yes, I'd agree that adding them at the beginning of primary would be a waste of time.
I certainly don't find it so at the end and I've made beers both of these ways.

 

[Slightly]

What's the best way, apart from cold crashing, to clear out the beer? Could I ferment the wheat beer, rack onto fruit, then rack AGAIN through a strainer into another container... then bottle?

 

[bconnery]

What's the best way, apart from cold crashing, to clear out the beer? Could I ferment the wheat beer, rack onto fruit, then rack AGAIN through a strainer into another container... then bottle?

Yes. Cold just helps the process along.