Adding fruit to wheat beer...What? When? How?

[Crinkle]

Yeah, let us know, I never thought of Rhubarb in beer before. Could be interesting.
Crinkle

[whiteManCanHop]

The only thing is, I also used some regular table (cane) sugar...would that have fermented out since it's not a simple sugar?

Cane sugar is indeed a simple sugar. And, yes, it will be consumed by the yeast.

[AaronWesternNY]

Good info- my 2 cents, I puree any fruit I can (rasp, blueberries) in a blender and add it during chilling after the wort is below 170, turn off chiller and let it set for 10 min, continue chilling. Add pectic enzyme to prevent pectic haze from the fruit (Extreme Brewing).

[poohbaah85]

I have a peach tree in my yard and I am getting ready to brew an american wheat. Anyone have any suggestions on the amount of peaches I should use? I was planning on pitting and then freezing them to help break them down. Any help would be great. I love using home grown items. I am also thinking about a pepper beer this fall since my garden is going insane right now.

[Crinkle]

You'll probably need more peaches than you think. They're like strawberries, the flavor seems to get lost in the translation of beer. I would guess at least 3-5 pounds. I love peach wheats though, I usually make one every year. I like a pound of frozen peaches, and one pound of dried apricots. The apricots have the same basic flavor, but a little bolder. I also like to add 1-3 oz. of candied ginger, it lends itself nicely to the peach. Good luck!

[brewinhard]

I have a peach tree in my yard and I am getting ready to brew an american wheat. Anyone have any suggestions on the amount of peaches I should use? I was planning on pitting and then freezing them to help break them down. Any help would be great. I love using home grown items. I am also thinking about a pepper beer this fall since my garden is going insane right now.

I would start at a minimum of 2#/gallon of peaches in your beer. You are on the right track with washing, depitting, then freezing the fruit. I would also recommend to mash your peaches a bit right before adding them to your beer in secondary. Let the peaches sit a minimum of 1-2 mos for best results.

Good idea as well from Crinkle using the apricots. They do tend to lend a peachy flavor that is hard to achieve fully with peaches alone.

[poohbaah85]

thanks for the tips, ill let everyone konw what i decided on and how it came out

[IndianaPaleAle]

Well the beer has been finished for a few weeks now, but I was trying not to drink them too fast to be sure they were 100% finished.

The batch turned out quite well overall. I was surprised at how much the beer ended up tasting/feeling like a Belgian Wit. The sugars from the fruit must have fermented out too because it ended up being about 6.5% instead of the expected 4.5%.

The only problem I really noticed, is that it is a bit sour. But not unpleasantly sour. The strawberry and rhubarb are faint, but present.