Style Of The Week 10/12/08 - Fruit Beers

[Stuster]

Well, it's just the season to start thinking about putting fruit in beer (you can look away now FGZ ), so by request this week we have BJCP Style 20, Fruit beer.

So there have been discussed a fair bit on AHB. First, there's the Wiki article on using fruit in beers, here. There are threads on fruit beers here, here, and the difficulties that can result here.

There's info on the style on Jamil's show here. An article on picking up armed only with fruit beer here. :lol:

So tell us about how you make fruit beers. What base beer do you start with? Grains, adjuncts, kits, hops? What yeast is good? What fruit do you use? Fresh, frozen, canned, cordial? How much? When do you add it? What about sanitation? What about haze? How long does it take to be ready to drink? Any other tips? Tell us all you know so we can all make great fruit beers. :chug:

20. Fruit Beer

Aroma: The distinctive aromatics associated with the particular fruit(s) should be noticeable in the aroma; however, note that some fruit (e.g., raspberries, cherries) have stronger aromas and are more distinctive than others (e.g., blueberries, strawberries)allow for a range of fruit character and intensity from subtle to aggressive. The fruit character should be pleasant and supportive, not artificial and inappropriately overpowering (considering the character of the fruit) nor should it have defects such as oxidation. As with all specialty beers, a proper fruit beer should be a harmonious balance of the featured fruit(s) with the underlying beer style. Aroma hops, yeast by-products and malt components of the underlying beer may not be as noticeable when fruit are present. These components (especially hops) may also be intentionally subdued to allow the fruit character to come through in the final presentation. If the base beer is an ale then a non-specific fruitiness and/or other fermentation by-products such as diacetyl may be present as appropriate for warmer fermentations. If the base beer is a lager, then overall less fermentation byproducts would be appropriate. Some malt aroma may be desirable, especially in dark styles. Hop aroma may be absent or balanced with fruit, depending on the style. The fruit should add an extra complexity to the beer, but not be so prominent as to unbalance the resulting presentation. Some tartness may be present if naturally occurring in the particular fruit(s), but should not be inappropriately intense.

Appearance: Appearance should be appropriate to the base beer being presented and will vary depending on the base beer. For lighter-colored beers with fruits that exhibit distinctive colors, the color should be noticeable. Note that the color of fruit in beer is often lighter than the flesh of the fruit itself and may take on slightly different shades. Fruit beers may have some haze or be clear, although haze is a generally undesirable. The head may take on some of the color of the fruit.

Flavor: As with aroma, the distinctive flavor character associated with the particular fruit(s) should be noticeable, and may range in intensity from subtle to aggressive. The balance of fruit with the underlying beer is vital, and the fruit character should not be so artificial and/or inappropriately overpowering as to suggest a fruit juice drink. Hop bitterness, flavor, malt flavors, alcohol content, and fermentation by-products, such as esters or diacetyl, should be appropriate to the base beer and be harmonious and balanced with the distinctive fruit flavors present. Note that these components (especially hops) may be intentionally subdued to allow the fruit character to come through in the final presentation. Some tartness may be present if naturally occurring in the particular fruit(s), but should not be inappropriately intense. Remember that fruit generally add flavor not sweetness to fruit beers. The sugar found in fruit is usually fully fermented and contributes to lighter flavors and a drier finish than might be expected for the declared base style. However, residual sweetness is not necessarily a negative characteristic unless it has a raw, unfermented quality.

Mouthfeel: Mouthfeel may vary depending on the base beer selected and as appropriate to that base beer. Body and carbonation levels should be appropriate to the base beer style being presented. Fruit generally adds fermentables that tend to thin out the beer; the resulting beer may seem lighter than expected for the declared base style.

Overall Impression: A harmonious marriage of fruit and beer. The key attributes of the underlying style will be different with the addition of fruit; do not expect the base beer to taste the same as the unadulterated version. Judge the beer based on the pleasantness and balance of the resulting combination.

Comments: Overall balance is the key to presenting a well-made fruit beer. The fruit should complement the original style and not overwhelm it. The brewer should recognize that some combinations of base beer styles and fruits work well together while others do not make for harmonious combinations. THE ENTRANT MUST SPECIFY THE UNDERLYING BEER STYLE AS WELL AS THE TYPE OF FRUIT(S) USED. IF THIS BEER IS BASED ON A CLASSIC STYLE (E.G., BLONDE ALE) THEN THE SPECIFIC STYLE MUST BE SPECIFIED. CLASSIC STYLES DO NOT HAVE TO BE CITED (E.G., PORTER OR WHEAT ALE IS ACCEPTABLE). THE TYPE OF FRUIT(S) MUST ALWAYS BE SPECIFIED. If the base beer is a classic style, the original style should come through in aroma and flavor. Note that fruit-based lambics should be entered in the Fruit Lambic category (17F), while other fruit-based Belgian specialties should be entered in the Belgian Specialty Ale category (16E). Aged fruit may sometimes have flavor and aroma characteristics similar to Sauternes, Sherry or Tokaj, but a beer with a quality such as this should make a special claim (e.g., amontillado, fino, botrytis). Beer with chile peppers should be entered in the Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer category (21A).
Vital Statistics: OG: Varies with base style
IBUs: Varies with base style FG: Varies with base style
SRM: Varies with base style ABV: Varies with base style

Commercial Examples: New Glarus Belgian Red and Raspberry Tart, Bells Cherry Stout, Dogfish Head Aprihop, Great Divide Wild Raspberry Ale, Founders Rbus, Ebulum Elderberry Black Ale, Stiegl Radler, Weyerbacher Raspberry Imperial Stout, Abita Purple Haze, Melbourne Apricot Beer and Strawberry Beer, Saxer Lemon Lager, Magic Hat #9, Grozet Gooseberry and Wheat Ale, Pyramid Apricot Ale, Dogfish Head Fort

 

[Stuster]

Ok, to bump this up, the last fruit beer I made was a raspberry wheat I made in May with the clean American yeast Wyeast 1272. The base beer was a simple blonde ale. Grain bill was 4.1kg JW Trad ale, 150g Bairds Pale Crystal, 100g JW Dark Crystal, bittered with NB to 25IBUs. That made 20L and half was put onto 600g of frozen raspberries which barls had picked up from the farm. They were definitely tastier raspberries than the standard supermarket frozen ones. So, it turned out pretty tart, though the crystal helped to balance it quite well. The colour came through really well. I'd say that's about the right level of raspberries for a 10L batch and personally I thought it worked better with a clean yeast than an earlier batch I'd made with a German wheat yeast. I was pretty happy, and more importantly my wife was happy with it too.

 

[newguy]

I don't have good luck with fruit beers. Most haven't turned out. The only one that did was a kolsch I added mango pulp to. Mango in a kolsch is actually really good. I just kegged my last effort, strawberries in a Belgian blond. I haven't had a taste of it yet, so I'm not sure how it turned out.

 

[kabooby]

I have not made a fruit beer yet. I enjoy them but not enough to have a full batch.

I think the first one I will do will be cherries in my Mocha porter. Something like a cherry ripe.

Maybe I should have thought about this earlier. I have relatives in young that we see every year for xmas. They always bring a heap of cherries. The thing is it's this Sunday . Might have to wait till next year

If anyone has any tips on how many cherries to add please let us know

Kabooby

 

[TidalPete]

I made my first fruit beer in early April. Did a Belgian Pale Ale with Leuven 3538 & wanted to add the McCain frozen raspberries. With no raspberries available at my local Woolies I tossed in 900g of McCain mixed berries (Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries). Too tart for my taste at first but now after 8 months very nice indeed. To my limited knowledge of fruit beers it seems that a long cc'ing period is beneficial. Hope that my second attempt, a Plum Pudding Ale, will be ok in time for Christmas after cc'ing for only two months?

Here's a pic of my Tuitti-Fruiti Belgian Fruit Beer. Doesn't seem to have as much colour as I had hoped but the taste is good.



TP :beer:

 

[Swinging Beef]

I stopped by a german market day on the same morning I planned to rack a belgian wit I made using hoegaarden cultured yeast.
The market people had a cherry nektar they were selling that was 100% cherry.
I split the batch into two 9s (for some reason, I never get to 20 litres) and added 600ml of cherry juice to the 9litres wit, after doing some very rough taste tests with eye droppers and medicine cups to get the quantities right.

The result was ok, but next time I would use more cherry. The beer turned a really groovy light strawberry blonde colour and the very dense head was vaguely pink. There was a veyry mild cherry aroma, and a slight tartness compared to the 'non cherry' wit.
I thinkk where I went wrong was that the yeasties ate some of the cherry falvour in the bottle conditioning.

I would make this again and the cherry complemented the wit beer quite well. The cherry wit got consumed before the regular wit.

 

[Stuster]

Cherry wit. Great idea. I've got plans (and the yeast in the fridge) to make a wit beer early next year so I'll have to try half with some cherries.

 

[petesbrew]

A simple one from a couple of years back...
Blonde Berry Tart Fuel
Coopers Canadian Blonde (& included yeast)
1kg Bodybrew or brew enhancer - not sure what I used, sorry.
20g cascade hops - completely stuffed up the measurements in the end
800g raspberries in primary
then 500g raspberries in secondary


Cascade was a bad move, too many contrasting flavours, but otherwise it was fantastic.
Kitwise, Just leave the hops out and let the berries do their work.

Since then, I've done a mulberry stout, not too bad, but not too good,
and another raspberry blonde last month, but sadly it got infected.

 

[newguy]

I suppose this is in keeping with the original post.....

Those of you that have brewed fruit beers, do you pasteurise the fruit or attempt to sanitise it in any way, or do you just dump it in? I pasteurise by heating to 80C and naturally cooling to pitching temp, then I pour it into the fermenter. I throw in 1-2 tsp of pectinase while I bring the fruit's temperature up to break down the pectin which avoids a pectin haze in the finished beer. I'm just way too paranoid about infections to leave the fruit alone.

 

[TidalPete]

I suppose this is in keeping with the original post.....

Those of you that have brewed fruit beers, do you pasteurise the fruit or attempt to sanitise it in any way, or do you just dump it in? I pasteurise by heating to 80C and naturally cooling to pitching temp, then I pour it into the fermenter. I throw in 1-2 tsp of pectinase while I bring the fruit's temperature up to break down the pectin which avoids a pectin haze in the finished beer. I'm just way too paranoid about infections to leave the fruit alone.

Newguy,

From the info I have gleaned from this forum I just put the frozen fruit (McCain's) into the secondary fermenter then sparge on top, then wait.
If this is the wrong procedure then I am always willing to learn?


TP :beer:

 

[winkle]

I made my first fruit beer in early April. Did a Belgian Pale Ale with Leuven 3538 & wanted to add the McCain frozen raspberries. With no raspberries available at my local Woolies I tossed in 900g of McCain mixed berries (Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries). Too tart for my taste at first but now after 8 months very nice indeed. To my limited knowledge of fruit beers it seems that a long cc'ing period is beneficial. Hope that my second attempt, a Plum Pudding Ale, will be ok in time for Christmas after cc'ing for only two months?

Here's a pic of my Tuitti-Fruiti Belgian Fruit Beer. Doesn't seem to have as much colour as I had hoped but the taste is good.
View attachment 23144


TP :beer:

Pete was that the beer at the bulk buy you were dishing out?, quite nice drop from memory. Have you found a significent fading of colour over time? All my acerola ales start off bright pink and fade to bugger all over a few months .

 

[TidalPete]

Pete was that the beer at the bulk buy you were dishing out?, quite nice drop from memory. Have you found a significent fading of colour over time? All my acerola ales start off bright pink and fade to bugger all over a few months .

That was the one Perry. No significant fading to my recollection but as I said, the tartness has mellowed somewhat.
Still got 7 bottles left. :beerbang: Got big hopes for the Plum Pud Ale in a few months.

TP :beer:

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Well, it's just the season to start thinking about putting fruit in beer (you can look away now FGZ

As that great American philosopher P Simon wrote ...................... and the words of the prophets are written on the subway wall ..

​

Consider myself looking as far away from this thread as I can !

 

[Stuster]

I've just added the frozen berries exactly as TP describes, racking on to them in secondary. No infection issues, but that's only for two batches of raspberries. I did do a batch of cherry wheat but all I could find at the time were cherries in a jar which would already have been sanitised.

 

[clay]

I don't have good luck with fruit beers. Most haven't turned out. The only one that did was a kolsch I added mango pulp to. Mango in a kolsch is actually really good. I just kegged my last effort, strawberries in a Belgian blond. I haven't had a taste of it yet, so I'm not sure how it turned out.

Hi Newguy,
my wife has been onto me about making a mango beer. Do you remember the fruit to beer ratio you used?

Also, has anyone made a strawberry beer? My neighbours recently gave us a heap, too much too eat, so I froze a big bag full to use in a beer.

 

[drsmurto]

Tis the season alright Stuster.

Fruit trees are looking pretty full this year.

2 x apricots, 1 fig that towers over the house, several plums of various varieties and the one i really want to find a use for is the nectarine.

The others i can make jam/sauce out of but everyone i speak to tell me the best thing to do with a nectarine is eat it. Cant argue so they are so damn juicy, like nothing you can buy in a supermarket.

SO i was thinking about fig in a simple pale ale similar to Stusters but not sure about the nectarine.

Wheat beers arent my thing so any suggestions.

Got plenty of strawberries growing in the garden along with some 1st season boysenberries but i reckon my chances of stealing the strawbs for beer are slim and FA.

 

[barls]

ive done a few fruit beers and meads. its the same process for me make the base. use frozen berries in the secondary with pecineze and camden tabets added. leave 24hrs then rack on to the fruit must.
i did a cherry mead with about 3kg of cherries but its a very mild flavour and thats in 5L.
also have a blueberry mead which had 800g of blueberries in it that needed more.
i find that 1kg of frozen raspberries from a farm i know is about the right mont in a 20L batch of wheat beer.
for all those that are looking in sydney try frozberry in hornsby

 

[bconnery]

Tis the season alright Stuster.

Fruit trees are looking pretty full this year.

2 x apricots, 1 fig that towers over the house, several plums of various varieties and the one i really want to find a use for is the nectarine.

The others i can make jam/sauce out of but everyone i speak to tell me the best thing to do with a nectarine is eat it. Cant argue so they are so damn juicy, like nothing you can buy in a supermarket.

SO i was thinking about fig in a simple pale ale similar to Stusters but not sure about the nectarine.

Wheat beers arent my thing so any suggestions.

Got plenty of strawberries growing in the garden along with some 1st season boysenberries but i reckon my chances of stealing the strawbs for beer are slim and FA.

I would second the eating idea with nectarines, however. I have long held the idea that perhaps a fruit apa, with the nectarine flavour completed by the likes of DSaaz, which I find to have a stonefruit like quality, would be worth a try...
The list is so long though that I havn't got around to it yet. Plus they'd be a bit of a pain to de-stone in sufficient quantities...

 

[bconnery]

As some may know fruit beers are a bit of a favourite of mine so this post is going to get a bit long Plus I'm bored...

I use real fruit in all cases.
I know people like extract and juice but to me no commercial or homebrewed fruit beer made so has been as good as those made with real fruit. Be it frozen or fresh it just seems to work better to me.
In all cases I do fruit in secondary, usually racking onto the fruit after fermentation is largely complete.
I freeze the fruit if it isn't already frozen and then defrost with microwave or boiling water.
I don't worry about additional sterilization or enzymes or anything.

The base beer is important. You want a good base that will work with your chosen fruit. I tend to use a light wheat base for most, the exceptions being my recent Cherry Dunkelweizen and my specialty Belgian Sour Orange Ale.

I think it is that simple. Good quality base beer that will complement the fruit of choice. Adjust the fruit amount for the type of fruit, which can be the challenge.
As with any ingredient the fruit can be the focus or a compliment to other flavours.

Noble hops, particularly tettnang in my book, are great in fruit wheats.
I like wb06 or k97. The spicy aspects of the former seem to compliment fruits to me.
If I do use a bavarian type I ferment lower and pitch plenty to reduce the production of banana etc

My mixed berry hefeweizen, which a few people have made, is here...
Boy was this beer pink! Had a great tart flavour but a sweetness too.

My family's favourite is the annual Strawbeery.
I've made this beer every year from kit days to AG.
Wheat beer base, currently 60/40 wheat/pils, keeping it low in alc. lowish IBU and always noble hops. Particularly hallertau or tettnanger.
3kgs min. of ripe strawberries, usually more like 4 - 4.5. I get a jamming box from a grower.
I usually use something like k97 or wb06 as opposed to a bavarian type wheat yeast.
This year I actually split the batch and used the same amount of strawberries in a half batch and it was a much stronger flavour, not surprisingly. A real tart end to the beer and a strong strawberry aroma.
You get a beer that isn't strong in fruit flavour but has a kind of background that works in well with the wheat.
Here's the most recent full batch version. I add some munich and things in this time but I don't think it needs it.


For the dunkelweizen I used the Morello cherrys in jars. 2*700g jars, liquid and all, in half a batch of the base beer below...
Recipe: Bob's Your Dunkelweizen
Brewer: Mooshells
Asst Brewer:
Style: Bavarian Dunkelweizen
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 24.00 L (Including kettle loss etc.)
Boil Size: 34.00 L
Estimated OG: 1.049 SG
Estimated Color: 44.2 EBC
Estimated IBU: 15.0 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 75 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
2800.00 gm Wheat Malt (Barrett Burston) (3.0 EBC) Grain 52.58 %
1800.00 gm Munich I (Weyermann) (14.0 EBC) Grain 33.80 %
400.00 gm Wheat Malt, Caramel (Weyermann) (115.0 EBCGrain 7.51 %
200.00 gm Wheat Malt, Choc (Weyermann) (1000.0 EBC) Grain 3.76 %
125.00 gm Caramunich II (Weyermann) (124.1 EBC) Grain 2.35 %
15.00 gm Hallertauer Aroma, New Zealand [8.50 %] (Hops 13.4 IBU
20.00 gm Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [3.70 %] (5 min) Hops 1.6 IBU
1 Pkgs Safwheat (DCL Yeast #WB06) Yeast-Wheat

And last but not least my Belgian Sour Orange ale.
I play with the grains and sugars in this one but the important part is lots of sour orange flavour. The sour oranges grow in the valley where my folks live and are apparently also known as a Rangpur Lime.
My original intention was to create a flanders red / oud bruin type beer without the bugs and it has worked well.
It took me a few goes to make a beer as good as the extract version of this but I feel I have now.
Here's the latest couple.

Recipe: From Flanders to Rangpur
Brewer: Mooshells
Asst Brewer:
Style: Flanders Red Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 21.00 L
Boil Size: 34.00 L
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 21.7 EBC
Estimated IBU: 17.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 75 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
200.00 gm Brown Sugar, Light (15.8 EBC) Extract 4.35 %
200.00 gm Brown Sugar, Light [Boil for 5 min] Extract 4.35 %
2800.00 gm Pilsner (Weyermann) (3.3 EBC) Grain 60.87 %
1000.00 gm Vienna Malt (Weyermann) (5.9 EBC) Grain 21.74 %
250.00 gm Melanoidin (Weyermann) (70.0 EBC) Grain 5.43 %
150.00 gm Caraaroma (Weyermann) (350.7 EBC) Grain 3.26 %
15.00 gm B Saaz [8.20 %] (60 min) Hops 15.9 IBU
20.00 gm B Saaz [8.20 %] (2 min) Hops 1.8 IBU
10.00 items Rangpur Lime Rind (Boil 60.0 min) Misc
500.00 ml Rangpur Lime Juice (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
700.00 ml Rangpur Lime Juice (Boil 60.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Forbidden Fruit (Wyeast Labs #3463) Yeast-Wheat


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 4200.00 gm
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
75 min Mash In Add 18.00 L of water at 69.4 C 65.6 C


Notes:
------
Caramelized 200g brown sugar with 700ml juice and all rind. Added 4L of first runnings for additional caramelization.
Caremlized for approx 60 mins, added @45.
Added 500ml of boiled juice direct in primary.

THe QLD Xmas case swap beer.
Recipe: Have yourself a sour little christmas
Brewer: Mooshells
Asst Brewer:
Style: Flanders Red Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 25.00 L
Boil Size: 35.00 L
Estimated OG: 1.054 SG
Estimated Color: 23.9 EBC
Estimated IBU: 20.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 70 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
2000.00 gm Vienna Malt (Weyermann) (5.9 EBC) Grain 33.90 %
1500.00 gm Pale Malt, Galaxy (Barrett Burston) (3.0 EGrain 25.42 %
1500.00 gm Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 25.42 %
200.00 gm Caramunich II (Weyermann) (124.1 EBC) Grain 3.39 %
175.00 gm Melanoidin (Weyermann) (70.0 EBC) Grain 2.97 %
75.00 gm Amber Malt (85.0 EBC) Grain 1.27 %
50.00 gm Caraaroma (Weyermann) (350.7 EBC) Grain 0.85 %
30.00 gm Northern Brewer [6.60 %] (60 min) Hops 20.1 IBU
15.00 gm D Saaz [4.40 %] (2 min) Hops 0.6 IBU
10.00 items Rangpur Lime Rind (Boil 60.0 min) Misc
500.00 ml Rangpur Lime Juice (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
700.00 ml Rangpur Lime Juice (Boil 60.0 min) Misc
200.00 gm Brown Sugar, Dark (98.5 EBC) Sugar 3.39 %
200.00 gm Palm Sugar (98.5 EBC) Sugar 3.39 %
1 Pkgs French Saison (Seasonal) (Wyeast Labs #371Yeast-Ale
1 Pkgs SafBrew Specialty Ale (DCL Yeast #T-58) Yeast-Ale

 

[MaestroMatt]

I remember during my uni days I used to drink a Koslch from the Wig and Pen Brewery in Canberra and always thought that adding fruit to a Kolsch would be a good idea - it already has certain fruity tones to me.

What would be a good fruit to put with a Kolsch base?