How to make fruit beer...

[Brewski]

my airlock has stopped bubbling. the fermenter has been between 65-70 degrees since it started, but the fermentation only lasted for about a day.... and the bubbling wasn't what i would call "vigorous". is there any way to get the fermentation going again? should i add another yeast packet? i'm very concerned that the alcohol content is going to be lower than it should be, just like my last batch, so i'd like to do anything possible to make sure the fermentation is fully done. please help!

[bwarbiany]

Post your recipe, first and foremost.

Then, if you have a hydrometer, post your OG reading, and take a current reading to see where you're at.

If you don't have a hydrometer, go buy one and then test the current gravity. Between that and your recipe, we'll have a decent idea of whether you're anywhere near your target gravity.

--The only way to know where you're at is to measure.

[backyard brewer]

--The only way to know where you're at is to measure.

Yep. Sometimes a wheat ale at that temp could finish that fast, but not likely. In my experience wheat beers go through an explosive (literally) fermentation that lasts about 72~96 hours before it starts to settle down.

[brahn]

I have a bucket lid where the hole for the stopper isn't perfect and the stopper doesn't fit against it snugly. When I use this lid I'll only see bubbling through the airlock for maybe a day when fermentation is really active, otherwise the co2 is just leaking out around the stopper. It's never hurt the beer, but it sure confused me for the first couple batches. Maybe you've got something similar.

[Brewski]

i used 6.6 LBs Muntons Light Liquid Extract, and 1 LB Dried Wheat extract... I also steeped 1/2 LB. of grain at the start, and added 1oz. of hops in the beggining of the boil, i believe it was hallertauer.

i also poured the wort through a strainer when i transferred to the fermenter to filter out the grain particles. was this a bad move?

like i said before, i made the wort tuesday evening and it was bubbling by early wednesday morning... it only bubbled for about a day and a half though, and it wasn't explosive or vigorous, but it was steady.

i don't have a hydrometer currently, but i plan on buying one before my next batch...

any thoughts?

[Brewski]

oh, i forgot a few things...

i added half of the liquid extract (3.3 LBs) as a late addition, with 20 minutes left in the boil. i also added irish moss with 15 min left, and yeast nutrient with 10 minutes remaining.

after the fermenter stopped bubbling for a day, i added some yeast energizer and mixed it in by shaking the bucket.

[backyard brewer]

Brent's mention of the leaking bucket is probably on target. After I read that I remembered the same thing happening to me, the CO2 was escaping from all around the lid and not going out the airlock. That was on one of my conicals when I didn't have the lid screw down tight enough.

[dhempy]

Get a hydrometer ... I think Brent and Derrin are probably on track. Get us a reading and we'll be able to tell you a lot better where you're at.

Don't worry about the strainer, as long as it was sanitized, you're ok. I've used a strainer plenty of times with no ill effects. About the only negative is that your wort will perhaps get a little oxidized.


Dan

[Brewski]

cool, i just ordered a hydrometer online so i should have it in a few days. i transferred the batch over to a secondary fermenter and added some blueberries just for the hell of it. is it cool to leave in the secondary for a few days while i wait for the hydrometer or should i just transfer it over to the keg, carbonate, and hope for the best?

sorry for another question, but i'd like to get these questions out of the way now rather than wonder how i eff'd up later.

thanks again

[brahn]

If you added blueberries you're going to want to wait a few days before doing anything with it. The blueberries will add additional sugar and you'll want the yeast to consume that before you keg. I suppose it's not as important with a keg as it would be with bottling, but I still think you should wait and let the yeast do their thing.

[hjw]

Has anyone made a beer with Apples? Someone asked at work about that and I wasn't sure.

[backyard brewer]

If you were wanting apple character I don't think it would work. Apples ferment to hard cider which has a distinct flavor.

[Marotte Brewery]

I'm also interested in making an apple beer. Not so much an apple cider or cyser, but a beer with a hint of apple. I haven't seen many commercial forms of this, so I'm not sure if there isn't much of a market for it, or if the end result tastes more like a road apple...

I was going to go simple and make a basic cream ale (B3 Berry Beer minus berry extract) and then add 4 oz of apple extract at kegging (or bottling if I have to).

Any suggestions or experiences, before I ruin this batch...

Thanks
Jeremy

[backyard brewer]

I'm also interested in making an apple beer. Not so much an apple cider or cyser, but a beer with a hint of apple. I haven't seen many commercial forms of this, so I'm not sure if there isn't much of a market for it, or if the end result tastes more like a road apple...

I was going to go simple and make a basic cream ale (B3 Berry Beer minus berry extract) and then add 4 oz of apple extract at kegging (or bottling if I have to).

Any suggestions or experiences, before I ruin this batch...

Thanks
Jeremy

That's not a bad idea. It's funny, but I as hard as I try to avoid an apple flavor in my beer, I wouldn't mind an apple flavored beer. It's one of those things I don't think you can use apples for the flavor though.

[Rezzin]

I've never used apple extract but I have used a peach extract before. All I have to say is be careful with it. I'd buy a beer that's similar to the base beer you plan on brewing and dropping in a drop or two of the apple extract and test it out. I made the mistake of not doing that and completely ruined a perfectly good batch of beer from using extract.

Once you determined how many drops gives you the flavor you're looking for, you can always scale up.