Sterilising fruit for secondary fermentation

[WelshPaul]

What's the best way to do this for soft fruits like raspberries and peaches? I'm concerned that if I boil and cool them that they will simply fall apart in the fermenter. That said, could I simply throw them into a hop bag?

 

[graysalchemy]

When I make elderberry stout I extract the juice and then boil. However if you are just wanting the fruit for aroma and tasted added late on in the ferment ie when you have plenty of alcohol, I would soak then in some water with a crushed campden tablet, this should sterilise them. Fruits like raspberries and starwberries are best added at the end, elderberries IMHO are best added in the last 10 minutes of the boil and fermented from the start.

:thumb:

 

[WelshPaul]

I'm planning a 2 month-long secondary in a carboy so they will be just for taste, aroma and colour rather than for sugar content. I'll give the campden tablet idea a try, thanks.
I would assume that the campden tablet would put an end to any further yeast activity, so how would priming the beer work when it comes time to bottle?

 

[graysalchemy]

No campden ony stuns brewing yeast it would restart after a few days. However natural yeasts and bacteria on fruit aren't as robust so it knocks them on the head. :thumb:

 

[CRoark]

I've also heard that if you throw them in the freezer it ruptures the cell walls in the fruit so that the flavour is extracted easier. I've also read that it's not necessary to sterilize the fruit in this method. I have yet to try a fruit beer but I know people have had good success doing it that way.

 

[graysalchemy]

No I would sterilise it even if it is fermented out and has alcohol in the beer you could risk adding infection. Freezing doesn't sterilise.

 

[WelshPaul]

No campden ony stuns brewing yeast it would restart after a few days. However natural yeasts and bacteria on fruit aren't as robust so it knocks them on the head. :thumb:

As a thought, do you know if it has any effect on lactobacillus? I'm planning to add some to make a nice sour beer and don't want the campden stopping this process.

 

[graysalchemy]

No the campden dissipates out anyway after a few days. and in any case you treating the fruit not the whole beer. :thumb:

 

[WelshPaul]

Good stuff, thanks. :thumb:

 

[CRoark]

Here is a good resource on the subject...
http://byo.com/european-dark-lager/item/679-fruit-brew-part-2-techniques

 

[Pawlo7671]

I'm thinking of adding a kg of raspberries to a 5 gallon batch in secondary, since buying fresh raspberry would set me back nearly a tener I'm opting for asdas frozen ones at half the price, since these raspberries have already been gamma rayed and frozen would sterilisation still be necessary ?

 

[graysalchemy]

Do you know they have been gamma rayed or are you assuming? Its not hard to sterilise and have piece of mind. :thumb:

 

[Pawlo7671]

Do you know they have been gamma rayed or are you assuming? Its not hard to sterilise and have piece of mind. :thumb:

I would have thought so, I don't have any campden tabs in at the mo, would sodium metabapisulphite do the trick without harming the yeast ?

 

[Pawlo7671]

Campden tabs are sodium metabisulphate arn't they ? Or so a google search has just revealed !! Cheers grays il steralise them in any case

 

[graysalchemy]

Yes you are correct it is. :thumb: