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Don't want to do this. Strawberry Blonde. Help!

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  • Don't want to do this. Strawberry Blonde. Help!

    I don't have to, but I am getting requests for fruit beers. I do not like making them. I would not mind doing a raspberry beer, buut that's a lot of money. I was thinking of a strawberry blond. Anyone make one they like? I was thinking of 15 - 20 % wheat, some oats, pilsner malt and lactose (50lb) in a 7 barrell batch. (1056) I can also gat some Trappist yeast. Then using 5 gallons of strawberries in the 2ndary. That should be sweet enough I'd think. I am not a fan of fermenting with fruit, espeacially when the price is so high. Any thoughts on this? Sorry to use this term, It's got to be chick beer. (Fruit beers are very popular here with men) Thanks.
    Last edited by jjs; 02-17-2009, 10:42 AM.

  • #2
    I feel your pain. My costumers love fruit beers. I do a raspberry year round and on top of that add on seasonal apple and apricot ales. I like the apricot and apple because the beer doesn’t end up pink so men are more likely to order one. As for yeast I like to use a very neutral yeast strain in order to let the fruit shine (you are going through all that work prepping the fruit don’t hide the flavor). I generally use 15# per BBL for a big fruit flavor; strawberries are quit mild in flavor as compared to raspberries. If you are attending CBC this year there is a section of my presentation devoted to fruit beer. Good luck

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    • #3
      Thanks. I Think I am going with Strawberry Concentrate 68 B. It's fairly strong. I just don't want it to be grossly sweet. I think the lactose will add body but I just want to aviod a syrupy beer.

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      • #4
        Fruit beer

        I'm with you on not wanting to brew fruit beer. That said, have you thought of using extracts? The ones they use in coffee shops for all that fru-fru coffee. I have used them with great results. Just put a drop in the bottom of the glass and pour on top. It mixes well and you get two or three differert beers for the price of one. Just make sure the extract is a quality product, the more natural and less sugar the better.

        Just my 2c.

        Jeff Lockhart
        Head Brewer
        McClellan's Grill & Brewing Co.
        Canon City, CO
        719-276-3400
        Slainte,
        Jeff Lockhart
        Brew Master
        Red Leg Brewing Co.

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        • #5
          I got some extracts from a local place (Detriot) Loaded with propo/ethylene Glycol. Smelled OK, Problem with extracts is you don't get any sweetness. This makes them a non-starter for me.

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          • #6
            So, kriek is a sissy beer?

            The most memorable beer I ever had was a Girardin Kriek served on tap at a little hotel south of Brussels with a plate of blood sausages in the company of a good friend. Perfect! I think making (and enjoying) fruit beers is highly underrated. Just because you haven't found one you like, doesn't mean there isn't a great one out there. Or that you can't make one. Fruit, vegetable, spices, flowers, herbs, sugars, starches, lactic/malic bacteria, anything with compatible flavors and "kein Reinheitsgebot" are welcome in my brewery (as long as I control them). Variety is the spice of life! Don't make something you don't like! Your strawberry blond may turn out to be fantastic but if you don't have a passion to make it, it's unlikely to be inspired. Randy Mosher's "Radical Brewing" is a nice piece of work and a great reference to be inspired by. Push the envelope and go where no man has gone before! The last thing America needs is another copy of someone else's beer. Good luck!
            Phillip Kelm--Palau Brewing Company Manager--

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            • #7
              Choose your extract carefully as not everyone is approved for use in beer by the TTB. When in doubt, contact the Alcohol, Labeling, & Formulation Division (ALFD) of the TTB for guidance.
              Dave
              Glacier Brewing Company
              406-883-2595
              info@glacierbrewing.com

              "who said what now?"

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              • #8
                Strawberries have very little acid. Difficult to convey flavour through fermentation to pint glass. Raspberries, cherries, or others are much easier to work with.

                Extracts - never met an extract beer I even remotely liked. Admittedly, I'm not your target market. While I enjoy an occasional Kriek or Frambozenbier, extract beers often make me gag.

                Think about something like a fruit puree. Easy to work with, pure, stable and quite yummy. The missing seeds/stones however, will affect the complexity of your final beer.

                Good luck!

                Pax.

                Liam
                Liam McKenna
                www.yellowbellybrewery.com

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                • #9
                  Screw it, I'm making a cherry wheat. But Thanks for all the input.

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