What are you brewing?

[nzbrewer]

Since this is the most popular thread on the RealBeer.co.nz forum I thought I would start it here just to see what happens

[denimglen]

Do the fruit beer!

I've just heated some raspberries to 70C to sanitise a little, will be adding to secondary with a porter soon.

[Bambule]

Hey, that sounds nice. Could you offer a recipe? I'm sure blackberries would work in a porter. I've always wondered with fruit beers, how do you handle the fruit. When do you add it, is it part of the fermentables or add it after the fermentation. cheers

[denimglen]

This is my first fruit beer and first porter, so grain of salt and all that :-P

The recipe is from BCS by JP and JZ.

75% Pale malt
11% Munich
6% Crystal (~40L)
5% Chocolate
3% Black

1.064

30-35 IBU of bitterness (no flavour or aroma additions)

Neutral ale yeast

The recipe calls for 1.4kg (20L) of puree, but I went with 2kg of frozen fruit.

There are all sorts of ways of adding fruit, but seems the most common is to add to secondary when the fermentation is almost finished, this will kick of a secondary fermentation. This way you apparently lose less of the aroma to fermentation.

If you want more info one of the recent BYO mags, the Stone Brewing issue, has an article written by JZ about fruit beers. Includes the above recipe and one for apricot wheat. The article is almost word for word of what's in BCS book.

[Stu McKinlay]

I've had really good success (with morello cherries in my only fruit beer) adding to secondary - go for it.

[Bambule]

Nice, looks like my next brew is sorted. Might need to do another blackberry sortie. Cheers!

[Bambule]

Blackberry Porter
All out of crystal so...

5kg ADM Pils
1kg Munich
0.3kg Chocolate
0.2kg Black

Hallertauer @ 60min to 35IBUs
US05
I've 2kg of Blackberries ready for the secondary. May need to work out how to overcome all the seeds.

Thanks for the ideas.

[Martin Bridges]

I'd be really interested in how this turns out, coz I love porter and I love blackberries.

I've just made a robust porter using the Jamil recipe above and it's tasting gorgeous. I was looking to perfect a good base porter and this looks like it.

[Bambule]

Sure, will let you know how it goes. Might be able to get a bottle up to you at the end of March, (if the results are worth it!). Shame about not having the crystal on hand but I find the Munich gives a reasonable amount of sweetness.

[denimglen]

Sounds nice, the ones from the jar?

What base style of beer?

[Stu McKinlay]

Yeh. Base was an english pale mild.

[JoKing]

Experiwheat

3kg German Pale Wheat
2kg German Pilsner Malt
10g Nugget 11.6% 60mins
20g Nugget 11.6% 10mins
20g Cascade 5.8% 10mins
20g Nugget 11.6% 1min
20g Cascade 5.8% 1min

90 min boil
1.053
1.010
34 IBU

[Mike Neilson]

Dont even know if there is a style for this beer but here is Sundays brew! Jumping on Jokings band wagon of beers with no style!!!!

Experibeer?

5kg Munich 2
150g Caraafa 2
150g Melanoiden
100g Pale Chocolate
100g Cara aroma

22 ibus of CZ Saaz @ 60
40g of CZ Saaz @ 15

1.057
32 Ibus

Wyeast 2112 (cheers Joking)

Never tried a lager but will ferment @ 15 for as long as it takes? then lager for how ever long you do?