I've been obsessing over what fruit to add to my upcoming Pucker Up Batch 2. Since this is a 5 gallon batch, I have a little more leeway with what I want to do. I have yet to decide for sure but I think I want to only fruit 2.5 gallons. The other half I will leave alone and it will be a true Berliner Weisse. Maybe I'll get some woodruff syrup for it and try that out.
That leaves me with the decision of what fruit to use. I initially wanted dragonfruit or passionfruit but come to find out, they're not in season right now. That left me wondering about another attempt at raspberry, blueberry, blood oranges or mango. I bought a mango to taste and it just doesn't appeal to me so that's out. I kind of want to do something other than raspberries, so they're out. Blueberries just don't quite get me excited about in a berliner. I went to the grocery store and tried to find a blood orange but they didn't have one, so I got a grapefruit instead. It was wayyyy too sour and just didn't have that aroma or bright taste that is needed in order to not get overwhelmed by the sourness in the berliner weisse. I've been throwing around the idea of peaches now, because they are in season and I've had a few successful beers that use peaches, but I'm going to take a trip to the store to search for more fruits soon.
Once I get my fruit, I am wondering what is the best way to add them to the brew. I'm a little worried about just chucking them in there because of the risk of contamination. I pasteurized my raspberries last time by adding a little water, heating them to 160F and holding them there. I know they were safe, but I wonder if the taste suffered a bit. I've read online that some people freeze fresh fruit, effectively killing some bugs in addition to breaking down the cell wall, making it easier for yeast to convert. I might just brave the risk of infection and chuck some fresh fruit in. Worst case scenario, the beer gets a little funkier right?
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