strawberry's-getting the flavour

[sam c]

i am thinking of adapting a lager kit to make a strawberry beer like fruli. im thinking of doing up a batch and before pitching the yeast syphoning off a gallons worth into a dj and adding some strawberrys to get the flavour. i might buy some strawberry syrup and go down that route or add fresh strawberry's. if i was to add fresh strawberry's what do you think would be the best way to extract the flavour? i read on the internet that blending them and simmering them in some water would work but im not sure.if so do you think i should boil them at a certain temp?and for how long?would i need to add any kind of chemicals to the brew if using fresh fruit? any thoughts would be great,
sam

[randomdave]

Good luck getting an answer to this one, ive posted 2 such queries without much success. I want to knock up some raspberry flavoured stuff to keep the mrs quiet

[Mogwyth]

Well I have been researching this too.

All the recipes I have found don't suggest boiling the fruit, some do suggest mashing them and freezing them to extract max juice which is normal wine making process.

Basically you ferment your beer base out which should really be a wheat beer, then add to a demijohn with the raspberries leaving room for fermentation which will restart and ferment out. Now I have a problem with this if I was making wine I would prepare the raspberries must by leaving in a bucket for 24 hrs to which a campden tablet has been added to kill any nasties and pectolase to break down the pectin before introducing the yeast.

You want about 1lb raspberries to a gallon of beer.

HTH

Bill

[marko]

I cant really help on the recipe side but i have some experience using strawberries and raspberries in vodka liquers.
I have found the softer the fruit the more debris/pips that ends up in the drink. I know you can filter but i cant see it being ideal in a beer type recipe you all have mentioned. This may be a long shot but why dont you try making a puree (most recipe books show you how) out of the fruit and then pushing the mixture through a sieve.
I hope this may be of some help at least any way,
good luck and i hope you post what you decide to do as it sounds a nice idea .

Regards Mark

[sam c]

cheers guys for you replies. maybe i will go down the strawberry syrup route first. i also saw on the coopers website they have a recipie for a strawberry beer which is basically a coopers canadian blonde kit with added strawberry clover honey. im not sure how much flavour this would add though?

[Bromley Brewery]

Just a thought - how about just using some strawberry jam ?

Presumably it will be sterile straight out of the jar and full of sugar too ?

[randomdave]

mm i might try the boiling an turning into puree method, i have a beer kit an a demi empty atm.

Let us know how strawberry syrup works.

[sam c]

i will let you know if i remember but it will be a while before i try this because i wont be going back to england for a few months yet. im just trying to gather up a few recipies for when im back. but the same goeas for you if you go ahead with stick a post up with some pics and your method. nice one

sam

[mope]

Good luck getting an answer to this one, ive posted 2 such queries without much success. I want to knock up some raspberry flavoured stuff to keep the mrs quiet

Not really answering your question, but have you tried the raspberry beer kit?

http://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/catalog/de ... BRE2145874

[sam c]

this kit is well expensive as it only brews 12 litres i think and i have read that they dont add that much fruit flavour to the beer.plus its fun to experiment

[marko]

With reference to the strawberry jam, i would think that it would be very sweet and the pectin content might have an effect on your beer. I would go down the puree route rather than jam.

Mark

[joel_m]

Sorry to revive an old thread!
I'm new to homebrewing but I know a bit about cooking! Could you not make a berry Compote and use that to flavour your beer as they are really easy to make and the cooking will ensure they are sterile so don't risk infection. Make it up and put it into the FV from the start. Cooking will take the acidity out of the fruit and if you were worried about pips you can always run it through a sieve.

Gordon Ramsey does a really nice and very easy compote

Its:
200g blueberries (might want to crush them in the pan for brewing)
100g strawberries (sliced)
2 tbsp caster sugar
splash of creme cassis (or water maybe be better is its going in a brew)

its literally sugar in the pan, tip in the blueberries and stawberries, splash in the cassis then cook over a medium heat for a couple of minutes until the berries are soft.. as Ramsey would say ...done...

Not sure it it would work for a brew but seems possible.

[sam c]

yer i had thought about a method similar to that. if i go ahead with this maybe i will split the whole batch into a few djs and try different methods in each. thanks for the post.

[joel_m]

just had a quick search around and I've found the recipe on the net. (its a good cheesecake too)!

http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/ch ... e_p_1.html

Was just thinking you may not have to sieve it as I wold imagine all the pips would sink and get bound in the yeast cake at the bottom.

If you try it i'd be very interested to hear the results!