i am brewing tomorrow and I think I know what I am doing, which is exactly when I get into trouble. I am doing BIAB wheat and will be adding 2 tbsp of coriander to the last 10 minutes of the boil and then adding 5 lbs of cranberries to the fermentation. I am doing a 5 gallon batch. I am wondering if we think that is enough cranberries? I tried googling adding fruit and berries and haven’t found anything specific to cranberries. I did see that a pound per gallon is not out of line, and seems to be a mid range. I like that tartness of cranberries and the bite of coriander so I expect this to be a fun combo.
I don't have an answer for you because I've never used cranberries, but here is a link to a search of this forum that uses 'cranberries' in the thread title and maybe some advice is in these two threads: https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...=cranberries&o=date&c[title_only]=1&c[node]=8 Here is also another search link that asks for all threads where 'cranberries' appears anywhere in the threads: https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/search/118022556/?q=cranberries&o=date&c[node]=8 I hope there is discussion about using fresh cranberries in the fermenter and methods to sanitize the berries because I think you need to be slightly concerned about introducing wild things from the skin of the berries. It would also seem to me that you need to define the taste character that you're wanting to get in this beer because cooked cranberries will likely have a huge difference in flavor when compared to fresh berries. Happy reading.
I read through these, thank you very much. My plan was to cook down the cranberries as if I was making a cranberry sauce. We had the Leinenkugel Cran Ginger Shandy and really liked that. After looking thru these posts, I think 5 lbs will get us close
#/G depends on what you're trying to achieve. 1#/G gets you in the door. Use 50% more for a bolder presence. A food mill will make short work of crushing well-rinsed berries. Add crushed and bagged berries to the 2ndry. No need to sanitize or pasteurize. Rest one week. Pitch _crushed_ coriander with 5 minutes left in the boil. For my money ... 2 TBS be too much unless you want its character vice the cranberry front and center. You might find this post helpful ... http://beerandwinejournal.com/zinger-ag/#more-3815
I put cranberries in a cider a couple years back. I pulse chopped the berries in a food processor. I used two 12 oz bags in 2 gallons It was as tart as I could stand it, with the first bracingly sour gulp of each glass getting caught unpleasantly in the back of my throat. It was a sipper, not a gulper, which I had to relearn with each glass. Another lesson is to use a bag to hold the fruit. Chopped cranberry chunks will clog your siphon.
I did a weissen with two tbsp of coriander and it was definitely in your face but I didn’t mind it. My wife likes the boldness of it. I will up the cranberries some to get more of that influence. We shall see. It is all an experiment to start with. We can fine tune it as we go. Thank you for your input
