Anybody Ever Use Bitter Apples for Bittering Beer?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by mudbug, Aug 28, 2015.

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  1. mudbug

    mudbug Pooh-Bah (1,762) Mar 27, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    #1 mudbug, Aug 28, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 28, 2015
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  2. Naugled

    Naugled Pooh-Bah (1,944) Sep 25, 2007 New York
    Pooh-Bah

    I've never tried it, but I would believe that the bittering compounds found in apples are different from what is found in hops. I think apples get their bitterness from tannins, which is typically unpleasant in beer.
     
    #2 Naugled, Aug 28, 2015
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  3. inchrisin

    inchrisin Pooh-Bah (2,013) Sep 25, 2008 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

    Agreed. I skimmed the link and I think that you wouldn't need to worry about the extra sugars that apples add to a beer. I believe apple cider tops out around 1.050. It wouldn't help the gravity of your beer, it might hurt it with fresh apples, and I think the tannin in the apples would really hurt your chances of making a good beer. Maybe you can make this work in a green (apple) tea kind of way that is desirable. Honey malt and naked oats would be a must in this beer. Save the mulling spice for the g̶l̶a̶s̶s̶ mason jar.
     
    #3 inchrisin, Aug 28, 2015
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  4. Brew_Betty

    Brew_Betty Initiate (0) Jan 5, 2015 Wisconsin

    I find your interest in this odd subject to be even more odd since you don't brew. Do you have a surplus of bitter apples and hope to find a market for them?
     
    #4 Brew_Betty, Aug 28, 2015
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  5. nottherealEBW

    nottherealEBW Aspirant (239) Aug 13, 2015 Indiana

    Maybe I'm not understanding the question but unless apples have bittering acids in them that can be extracted during a boil I don't think this is possible.
     
    #5 nottherealEBW, Aug 28, 2015
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  6. mudbug

    mudbug Pooh-Bah (1,762) Mar 27, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    I can see why it seems odd but it all started with a simple question about growing apples from seed. Which led to American history and Johny Appelseed which led to Apple cider and apple jack in the early 1700s. which led to popular alcoholic drinks in early America i.e.. Cider and Beer and it just went on from there. You never know what you are going to learn when you start looking without expectations and this search has uncovered, for me, some interesting information. And no I don't have any bitter apples, but the cider industry desperately needs more heirloom apple orchards. An interesting thing I found out was that a vast majority of bitter apple orchards were cut down during prohibition.
     
    #6 mudbug, Aug 29, 2015
  7. MrOH

    MrOH Grand Pooh-Bah (3,995) Jul 5, 2010 Virginia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    I think that the reason it has not been done is for a couple of reasons.
    1. Hops do more than just provide bittering. They also inhibit bacterial growth. It's why almost the whole world moved away from gruit.
    2. It would be hard to produce a consistent beer doing this. Every year's harvest of crabapples, pippins, what-have-you, will have different levels of sugars, acids, tannins, etc. These levels will also vary do to storage conditions, as apples are a climaractic fruit. Bittersweet or bittersharp apples like they use in the English west country, northern France, and northern Spain, are also in pretty short supply in the US, with the exception of crabapples, which you can find here and there. There are a ton free for the taking in DC in the medians of northern 16th St. and SE Pennsylvania Ave.
     
    #7 MrOH, Aug 29, 2015
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