Thu Nov 19, 2009 12:15 am
Freezing the fruit helps to break down the cell walls, definitely recommended.
When I do my strawberry wheat every summer, I just quarter the berries, no need to puree them.
Now, the big question, when do you add them. Fruit, like many adjuncts, can be added in several ways... in the mash, in the boil, dropping temp at flame out to pasteurize, primary, dry-hopped... Each is going to give different results and from my experience they're just different, none bad. Contrary to popular belief, allowing the sugars from the fruit to ferment doesn't take the fruit aroma & flavor out of your brew. It gives a different result than if you crash the yeast, but it's still there. I've played with a few of the techniques and for my wheat beer I crash the boil to 140F, add the berries & hold temp for 30 minutes to pasteurize them before cooling to pitching temp. I like the color extraction I get (after I hit terminal gravity, I rack off the berries which are pure white) and it gives a very interesting strawberry flavor, but not much berry aroma - exactly what I'm aiming for in that particular brew. Split the batch & start playing around with different techniques. You'll find one that produces the results you're looking for. As long as you have good/sanitary brewing practices, you don't need to worry about ruining the batch. It'll come out good & very drinkable, maybe just a little different than what you had in mind in the first place.
Lee
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