Watermelon Dry Hopping

Yes you'll still want to add priming sugar as the sugar in the watermelon will ferment out. Also watermelon is a very subtle flavor overall. If you want to get some watermelon flavor, you probably want to supplement with watermelon extract. Add a bunch of watermelon puree once primary slows down, then dose with extract at bottling/kegging time to taste. That's what I'd do...

 

I have never brewed a watermelon beer but I found the below post via a web search:

“Making a beer with real watermelon could be very tricky. It would be hard to know how much to add and the natural sugars in the fruit could kick up a secondary fermentation that could eventually dry the beer out to the point of tasting like watermelon wine. I also agree that the extracts carried by most homebrew suppliers are subpar at best. I have found some good extracts at OliveNation and they carry an assload of flavors. These are culinary, all-natural extracts and have a much better flavor and aroma than the LD Carlson or Crosby & Baker stuff. A little pricey, but possibly a way to make a very nice fruit beer without the hassle. I have a raspberry ale in secondary that I made this way and it looks promising. Cheers.”

Cheers!

 

my local homebrew shop has a recipe for using Watermelon Jolly Ranchers as the priming sugar:
http://www.keystonehomebrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Jolly-Rancher-Wheat.pdf

 

Never thought about adding watermelon to beer, but I must try this sounds good. And watermelons here in Guadalajara are extremely cheap. Cheers!

 

You can't dry hop with watermelon b/c watermelon is not a hop.

 

A place I really like for juice, concentrates, oils, and extracts is Nature's Flavors

Ive made some pretty kickass Perry over the years using their pear juice concentrate, a little vanilla, and a sprinkling of oak

 

I've never used this, but maybe consider adding only the rind (the white bit, not the green skin) so you'd be adding flavor without the sugar and water.

That said, I have actually boiled watermelon juice before...tastes terrible.

 

The rind of a watermelon doesn't have much flavor. It kinda reminds me of cucumber. Cooked watermelon definitely tastes like sweet cucumber.

 

Watermelon without sweetness is probably not going to work well in beer, in my estimation, and the sugars should ferment out. Also, can't imagine how the flavor comes across amidst the hefeweizen yeast profiles. Someone's gotta try (not me).

 

Hell or High Watermelon Wheat is our summer seasonal beer available from April through September in six pack cans and on draft. We start by brewing a classic American wheat beer, which undergoes a traditional secondary fermentation using fresh watermelon. A straw-colored, refreshing beer with a kiss of watermelon aroma and flavor.

• Alcohol Content
  4.9% by volume
• Color
  Pale Straw
• Bitterness Units (IBUS)
  17
• Bittering Hops
  Columbus
• Hops
  Magnum
• Yeast
  Top Fermenting Ale Yeast
• Flavor
  100% Fresh Watermelon Pure
• Malts
  Two-Row Pale, White Wheat

The secret lies in our supplemental fermentation utilizing fresh watermelon, which results in a truly refreshing beer with a fruity aroma and taste.

No idea how homebrewer friendly these guys are, but couldnt hurt for you to shoot them a mail. http://21st-amendment.com/beers/hell-or-high-watermelon/

 

It has enough flavor, IMHO. People make cucumber beers with success, so the same should apply to the watermelon rind. To me, watermelon rind tastes like watermelon without the sugars. I guess I would call it "watermelon essence."

Of course I have no idea how much you'd need, and I have certainly never tried it.

I agree that this does taste subtly of watermelon...but I do not enjoy the beer. I believe it's because despite saying they use watermelon, it has something of an artificial taste to me.

The Bros do give it an 80, so it certainly isn't universally panned or anything.

FWIW, I do enjoy their other beers.

 

Ive actually never had it, but its a generally well liked(moves fast at my bottle shop) commercial example he can maybe take some notes from..Ive never been blown away by any of their beers though

 

Yeah, the reviews are mixed. I really wanted to like it, but not even my wheat loving wife could drink the stuff.

I agree about their other beers, they are solid, but they won't blow your mind.

 

I thought Hell or High Watermelon was terrible - I didn't even finish a 3 oz sample at a brewfest.

 

I know its not well rated here but I work at a bottle shop and it sells well. Its generally liked by the masses.

 

Coincidentally, today's Drunkspin article is on that beer. The author liked it:
http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/a-perfect-picnic-beer-for-fruit-realists-1705561696

 

So, this seems relevant:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt...-sweetest-watermelon-the-south-has-ever-known

 

Boop:

http://www.olivenation.com/Pure-Wat...5Fj3O7B0uM1-jxNrSyZYha0-gtnQvWX-S8aAnz_8P8HAQ