Novice Advice

[Joc9410]

Hi all
Complete novice here. I've done a couple of kit beers which have turned out ok. Currently drinking the coopers irish stout. Tastes OK but poor head retention. Anyway the advice I'm looking for is I've a Coopers hefe wheat in the fermenter at the moment. Kit plus 1.5 kg of malt wheat in it. SG 1048. Been in 2 weeks and now dropped to 1008 so looks like not to far off and tastes not bad. I read somewhere that you can throw in 250g of frozen raspberrys for last couple of days for flavour. Anybody have done that?

 

[kelper]

Are you going to bottle or PB? If bottling why not add some raspberries to SOME bottles and comparing in a few weeks or months?

 

[Anto2006]

I just put the same kit on Saturday brewed short to 20l With 1.5 LME also added 500g light malt Extract came out at 1060.. went off like a rocket I do like the idea of the fruit tho! But not the idea of raspberries in the bottle, I wonder could a flavour Baking extract be Used?

 

[Joc9410]

Kelper I am going to be bottling and had never thought of that.
Anto mine was very lively at the start. Lifted lid of fermenter. 1060 start tho

 

[terrym]

One can kits have an advantage to kit brewers because they give you potential to change things round to your liking, but knowing how to do that comes with a little experience.
So if you are brewing a kit for the first time, or are new to brewing, its probably best to make it up close to as recommended so that you know how it will turn out. Then, for subsequent brews with the same kit or one like it, you can decide how you want to modify it.
But if you really must chuck stuff in because you read that someone thought it a good idea do as @kelper has suggested.

 

[kelper]

But if you really must chuck stuff in because you read that someone thought it a good idea do as @kelper has suggested.

Do you think the raspberries would go 'off'?

 

[nixhaz]

Are you going to bottle or PB? If bottling why not add some raspberries to SOME bottles and comparing in a few weeks or months?

I just added raspberries to my wheat in the FV for the last week of fermentation. Even with marbles in the bag, they still floated to the top so not sure how that would work in a bottle. They looked absolutely disgusting at the end when I pulled them out!

 

[Fireside Ales Homebrewery]

Personally, I have watched a friend learn to brew and he has always been eager to throw in a bit of fruit. I don’t get it... anyway. 90 percent of his beers turn out crap. I think this is because he is too eager to experiment and not patient enough to learn the basics first. He has stripped back to basics recently and is turning out some excellent stuff. Point is, I would try the recipe first and then experiment later.
Good luck.

 

[terrym]

Do you think the raspberries would go 'off'?

In the extremely unlikely event that I would want to add fruit to beer I would look at the fruit syrup option. People add Lowicz syrups to TC so I guess the principle is the same, and if you have Tesco near you they sell it, including Raspeberry :hat:

 

[Joc9410]

Cheers for the advice. I think I'll maybe leave experimenting for a while and brew turns out drinkable which is always a bonus.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I've added frozen mango to an IPA and frozen raspberries to a wheat beer with good results on both occasions.

 

[Joc9410]

I've added frozen mango to an IPA and frozen raspberries to a wheat beer with good results on both occasions.

Did you add them at the end of fermentation in a bag?

 

[gar]

Sometimes at bottling, i put some fruit into a demijon and rack a gallon of the beer in, and leave it to soak for a week. Then bottle as usual. That lets me keep the rest of the batch as regular beer. It has worked well with raspberries or strawberries in a pale. I do the same with a vanilla pod in a stout.

 

[Bobtheblob]

That's a good idea I might try next time. When you put fruit in, do you need to use any another chemicals such as preservative. Or is the fruit safe in your beer without doing anything else?

 

[gar]

I used frozen, rinsed in a campden solution, rinsed in water then sprayed with starsan. The fruit fizzled over the week, but the gravity didn't change. The colour drained from the fruit into the beer.

 

[Joc9410]

Finished article
Quite pleased with it
Wheatier than I thought it would be after reading reviews. A lot of action in glass and top popped of bottle with a pleasing sound