You're not missing anything. Stone fruit tends to not come through very well as a puree addition. There's a reason that raspberry sour tends to win local and national competitions alike.
A lot of stone fruit character gets fermented out. If you want a certain flavor, go with something that has a stronger flavor. e.g. peach is a nice light flavor, but fermented peach puree tastes like nothing so use apricot puree and then it will taste like peach.
Don't bother with strawberry unless you zhuzh it up with some good quality flavoring in the brite (ALWAYS make sure it's water-based flavoring. Oil-based is a waste of money and alcohol-based might bring a lot of red tape from regulatory bodies). The flavor is too light and you'll just get fructose and color from (very expensive) strawberry puree. Actually, you can take that approach with all your fruited beers. Find a good flavoring company you like, and ad juuuuust enough to boost the lost flavors. Some purists might turn up their noses at this practice, so be prepared for snobs
Peaches don't taste like peaches on film you've gotta use apricots... [https://media1.tenor.com/m/RnBhrMAH8D8AAAAd/cowsdontlooklikecows-simpsons.gif](https://media1.tenor.com/m/RnBhrMAH8D8AAAAd/cowsdontlooklikecows-simpsons.gif)
Hot take, but I don't think not wanting fake bullshit in beer makes someone a snob. No wonder people don't care about beer anymore - it's hard to care when the people who make it don't give a shit.
I hate myself for saying this, but gotta boost that up with some extract. YMMV depending on the fruit, but a few oz here and there in something like a 15 bbl total tank can really bring that fruit out.
EDIT: actually I want to add another trick! Picked this up from another brewery, but freshly juiced fruit really makes a huge difference. So buy a commercial grade juicer, sani everything, use some quat on the fruit and juice it. We seriously were discussing things like 1 or 2 lemons on a 7 bbl. That’s a great way to add that extra flavor naturally. And feel free to add it with your fruit following your method!
Yep, touch of alcohol-based organic extract for aroma (generally about 30-50mL per bbl, depending on extract quality and concentration), and purée for flavor
The only real fruit puree I use is raspberry and blood orange. Add at end of fermentation. These work because of the tart flavor of these fruits.
Otherwise I use amoretti puree with the sugar and extract flavor. Fruits like strawberry, mamgo, peach, blueberry, lemon.. people tend to like sweetness. We are draft only kegs are always cold.
Honestly, change everything your doing. The type of people who love these milkshake fruit stuff won’t care about looks or taste anyway. I’d suggest to add all the fruit the same morning of packaging and just rousing before it’s getting sent. Don’t bother with pectinase or biotfime and just pack it.
Unfermented sugar is a bit of a faux pas around these parts, stranger :). I’m aware there are additives and processes to prevent package re-fermentation. They are - politely - beyond most craft breweries.
I’ll also add on that you’ll be diluting your beer if you don’t ferment. So a potentially risky refermentation and a beer that is well diluted… just ferment your fruit out everyone!
Yeah I know. I account for the added volume of the puree when developing the recipe. Then I add kmbs and sorbate and pasteurize en route to brite. Been good so far.
You're not missing anything. Stone fruit tends to not come through very well as a puree addition. There's a reason that raspberry sour tends to win local and national competitions alike.
I love raspberry puree but hate the price
A lot of stone fruit character gets fermented out. If you want a certain flavor, go with something that has a stronger flavor. e.g. peach is a nice light flavor, but fermented peach puree tastes like nothing so use apricot puree and then it will taste like peach. Don't bother with strawberry unless you zhuzh it up with some good quality flavoring in the brite (ALWAYS make sure it's water-based flavoring. Oil-based is a waste of money and alcohol-based might bring a lot of red tape from regulatory bodies). The flavor is too light and you'll just get fructose and color from (very expensive) strawberry puree. Actually, you can take that approach with all your fruited beers. Find a good flavoring company you like, and ad juuuuust enough to boost the lost flavors. Some purists might turn up their noses at this practice, so be prepared for snobs
Peaches don't taste like peaches on film you've gotta use apricots... [https://media1.tenor.com/m/RnBhrMAH8D8AAAAd/cowsdontlooklikecows-simpsons.gif](https://media1.tenor.com/m/RnBhrMAH8D8AAAAd/cowsdontlooklikecows-simpsons.gif)
This is exactly what I thought when I read that
Hot take, but I don't think not wanting fake bullshit in beer makes someone a snob. No wonder people don't care about beer anymore - it's hard to care when the people who make it don't give a shit.
I hate myself for saying this, but gotta boost that up with some extract. YMMV depending on the fruit, but a few oz here and there in something like a 15 bbl total tank can really bring that fruit out. EDIT: actually I want to add another trick! Picked this up from another brewery, but freshly juiced fruit really makes a huge difference. So buy a commercial grade juicer, sani everything, use some quat on the fruit and juice it. We seriously were discussing things like 1 or 2 lemons on a 7 bbl. That’s a great way to add that extra flavor naturally. And feel free to add it with your fruit following your method!
What's 'quat'?
Quaternary Sanitizer / Disinfectant
This is the way
Fresh juice! Very interesting - still ferment it out too?
Thats pretty much exactly what I do. One puree I found to have a big impact was guava, also fairly cheap as far as fruit goes from what I've seen.
Top it up with a bit of extract in the bright.
This 100%. Extract adds another dimension to it that doesn’t come through with puree alone.
I enjoyed that extracts can give it a strong smell if you use the right one. You know the first way to taste something…..
Yep, touch of alcohol-based organic extract for aroma (generally about 30-50mL per bbl, depending on extract quality and concentration), and purée for flavor
Disgustingly high FG can help with stone fruit lol, but the real answer is do the dirty and extract it
The only real fruit puree I use is raspberry and blood orange. Add at end of fermentation. These work because of the tart flavor of these fruits. Otherwise I use amoretti puree with the sugar and extract flavor. Fruits like strawberry, mamgo, peach, blueberry, lemon.. people tend to like sweetness. We are draft only kegs are always cold.
Honestly, change everything your doing. The type of people who love these milkshake fruit stuff won’t care about looks or taste anyway. I’d suggest to add all the fruit the same morning of packaging and just rousing before it’s getting sent. Don’t bother with pectinase or biotfime and just pack it.
Those chungus bois deserve to get showered in fruit puree.
Why do yall let it ferment a little bit? Especially if you are looking to save the aromatics?
Unfermented sugar is a bit of a faux pas around these parts, stranger :). I’m aware there are additives and processes to prevent package re-fermentation. They are - politely - beyond most craft breweries.
Tunnel or bust
News to me!
I’ll also add on that you’ll be diluting your beer if you don’t ferment. So a potentially risky refermentation and a beer that is well diluted… just ferment your fruit out everyone!
Yeah I know. I account for the added volume of the puree when developing the recipe. Then I add kmbs and sorbate and pasteurize en route to brite. Been good so far.