Coopers stout with prune juice???

[H0PM0NSTER]

Having tried a bottle of Titanic Plum Porter this weekend (highly recommended), I was thinking of brewing something similar. I've read a few threads where people have suggested prune juice instead of plums. I'm not sure the taste would be quite the same but it could prove an interesting addition to a stout or porter.

I have a Coopers Stout kit waiting to go on, so thinking this could be worth a shot. Has anyone tried anything similar and what quantity of juice would you recommend? I'm thinking 4 litres of prune juice but a little worried that I could be about to destroy a perfectly good brew!

 

[terrym]

Be careful.... prunes are a natural laxative!

 

[mike77]

Any way you can split your batch in half?

Also would you be replacing water with juice. Just adding extra juice on top would leave it under hopped

 

[rodabod]

Sounds like a decent plan to me. I would judge the proportion of prune juice to add by tasting the wort, and also buy checking how it will affect your specific gravity.

 

[clibit]

You could stick some rose hip syrup in too. And some cod liver oil. A bottle of Sanatogen perhaps.

Make a post war health boost beer. :thumb:

 

[rodabod]

Or just skip to the end result and spray it all over the toilet pan.

 

[H0PM0NSTER]

Thanks for the replies guys.
I was thinking of replacing water for the juice but brewing to 23 ltrs so it wouldn't be too short. I could split the brew as I've got a spare FV - that's a good idea. It will be interesting to see if it retains any laxative qualities. I'll have to add a warning to the labels if I give them out at Christmas!

 

[clibit]

Thanks for the replies guys.
I was thinking of replacing water for the juice but brewing to 23 ltrs so it wouldn't be too short. I could split the brew as I've got a spare FV - that's a good idea. It will be interesting to see if it retains any laxative qualities. I'll have to add a warning to the labels if I give them out at Christmas!

Do it, it's got to be worth a try. You might make something you love. I can't see it being horrible. I love prunes, mind.

 

[Godsdog]

Bookmarked for future reference

 

[Smileyr8]

Mentioned adding Prune Juice to stout a good while ago, I really thought it would work but never went through with it, I expect the best thing to do would be boil the prune juice to drive off any baddies that may be in there maybe the WOW guys could advise better, let us know how it turns out.

 

[Godsdog]

http://www.lifewithbeer.com/home-brewing/fruit-beer/fruit-beer-brewing-tips.html
Found this on another forum

 

[H0PM0NSTER]

Great article - thanks.
I'm not sure what to make of the reference to prunes in a stout: "Prune-Plums: 0.9 kgs (2 lbs) in a Stout puts the fruit and malt flavours in conflict. Try 0.45 kgs (1 lbs) in a less full-flavoured beer." Is having the fruit and malt flavours in conflict a good or bad thing?? Who knows, but I've just bought 4 litres of prune juice so it's all going in!

I'll let you know how it all ends - hopefully not with a long stint on the toilet!

 

[H0PM0NSTER]

Took a bit longer than planned to get this one going. I couldn't decide whether to steep some chocolate malt with it. After ordering the malt I changed my mind as I didn't want it drowning out the fruit flavour from the prune juice.

So, how did it turn out? Well, it's a bit early to tell as the batch which I bottled has just been moved to cold storage after 2 weeks carbonating. I did try a bottle this evening (because I'm always impatient) and it's sort of promising...

On brew day the taste from the trial jar was overwhelmingly pruney and I had high hopes. But it seems to have lost much of the flavour during fermentation - by bottling day there was no real fruit flavour at all, and was the most disappointing of the 3 Coopers Stout kits that I've brewed. This could be the lack of chocolate malt which I added to the previous kits.

The bottle I tried tonight has slightly improved, but it's not great. I know it's far too early to tell, but my previous stouts have been the quickest to condition, so I'm hoping it will be better in a few weeks. I'll keep you posted!

 

[taxidiver]

I'll have to add a warning to the labels if I give them out at Christmas!

Don't tell people, it all adds to the surprise at Xmas, you can always tell them it must have been the sprouts.

 

[Bigcol49]

23 litres should keep you going for a few weeks :lol: