Cranberries

[Reviled]

Has anyone brewed with cranberries before?

Im thinking of doing a cranberry wheat beer for summer, I figure the sweetness in the wheat beer will counter the tart/sourness of the cranberries...

Ill probably use about 1-2kgs of cranberries to start with, but the only ones ive found are ocean spray 'craisins' at $4 for 170g theyre a bit pricy, so does anyone else know of a good source of bulk cranberries?

Also - any info on what to do with the fruit would be awesome, from what ive read putting them into secondary is best, but should I boil the cranberries first? Or chuck em in and maybe get some funky wild yeast thingy going on as well???

Cheers

[Paul McBride]

A fairly cheap place to get cranberries is the asian supermarket on Mercury Lane, just off K Rd.

I can't remember the exact price but I remember thinking they were cheap when I saw them...

Their phone no is here if you're interested:
http://www.zenbu.co.nz/entry/1121947-new-gum-sarn-supermarket

Paul M.

[Reviled]

Cheers Paul, do you remember what sort of cranberries they were? ie dried or frozen? Thanks

[Paul McBride]

They were dried...

[Reviled]

Cheers Paul... Im trying to avoid the dried ones, as ive read (and been told by a cranberry seller) that all of the dried ones are oiled after they are dried to stop them sticking together, the oil would have a detrimental effect on the beer no doubt, so frozen should be the best bet... Cheers tho :o)

[Paul McBride]

Hmm, fair enough, never thought about that.

Well good luck! I guess it'll either be an expensive experiment or a small batch...

[Reviled]

Only going to 10litres with cranberries, and ive found 375gm frozen cranberries at the online supermarket for about $6, so not too bad, ill probably throw 6 packs at 10 litres, now I just need to find one local that stocks them...

This is them - http://www.woolworths.co.nz/berries_cranberries_orchard_gold_272875...

Reckon they would be pasteurised in any way? Prolly not eh?

Might do Glens trick and thaw freeze a few times to kill anything or slow it down at least...

[Paul McBride]

I'm sure a little rinse with some boiling water wouldn't do any harm either.

[Reviled]

Good idea Paul, ill do that, thaw and freeze maybe three times, then give them a rinse off with boiling water before I chuck em into the fermenter :o)

one more thing - Do I need to transfer the beer off the yeast cake before I put the fruit in??? Is there any need for this?

[Reviled]

Sorry - I asked this but it didnt get answer and I really want to know :o)

Is there any need to get the beer off of the yeast cake before I dry fruit the fermenter?? I cant think of a reason why there would be? but just checking :o)

Cheers

[MrC]

I didn't rack off the yeast. I bagged the fruit in a muslin bag and it floated untill I removed it on bottling day. Too easy :-)

You may want to rack off the yeast if you plan on a long secondary with fruit.

Also, if you don't bag the fruit you'll probably need to strain it when you keg it.

[Reviled]

Cheers mate, ive got a heap of Muslin so ill def be bagging it most likely.. Dont want to bother with straining/filtering...

[denimglen]

Condensed version of BCS's section on fruit beers.

Do not add fruit to boil - drives off delicate flavours, gives cooked flavour, causes pectin haze.

Add fruit to beer when fermentation is slowing.

You may quickly parboil if using whole fruit to sanitise, then freeze to break down cell walls.

JZ adds fruit to secondary, racks beer onto fruit. Longer on fruit = morer the fruit flavour

Not really much more info than what's already been posted.

My raspberries were a bitch to filter out when I transfered, I'd put my fruit in a sack next time.