Microbrewing With Fruit

Adding fruit to beers will add a new and unique
twist of complexity to the beverage.  A raspberry
wheat for example, would add a tart flavor as peach
would add the smooth sweet taste that we all 
associate with peaches in your brew.

If you plan to add fruit to your brew, it's highly
recommended that your fruit is fresh.  The longer
fruit is allowed to ripen from the time it has
been picked, the greater the chance that airborne
bacteria can infect your batch.

Although the fruit will most likely be boiled with
the wort, the precaution above is still highly
recommended.  Alternately, you may decide to use
fruit puree, which will offer homebrewers the
chance to brew with fruit without having the fear
of contamination.  Regardless of your style of
brew, you can normally add fruit to it.

The process of adding fruit is simple.  Crush,
chop, or break up the fruit that you are planning
to use.  Next, place the processed fruit into a
sparging bag then let it steep in the hot wort
for five to ten minutes after the boiling has
been finished.

When you are transfering your brew mixture to
your primary fermenter, you may choose to sparge
your fruit with some added water to extract every
last drop of essence from the fruit.  Always
keep in mind that when you add fruit, you are
adding additional sugar to your wort.  This added
sugar concentration will effect your original 
and final specific gravity when you measure it
with a hydrometer.

Some fruits that you use are actually easier to
work with than others.  Raspberries for example,
may leave seeds in your primary fermenter if they
aren't properly filtered.  The basic object to 
achieve a quality fruit beer is to capture the
essence from the fruit then remove all that 
remains before you start the primary fermentation.

Adding fruit to your microbrew will give your
brew a unique taste.  There are many brews out
there that take full advantage of fruit, many of
which are extremely popular.  Fruit can bring 
a very refreshing taste, especially when it is
brewed the right way.

For homebrewers all over the world, fruit is a
nice addition to any microbrew.  You can use
virtually any type of fruit you can think of,
which is one of the reasons why fruit brewing
is so very popular.  Just like wine, fruit can
make any brew taste like a tropical paradise.

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