Was thinking about adding just a bit of some dried apples into the fermentor for either a pale or ipa brew coming up. Anyone ever adventured into this realm?? Howd it turn out?
Other than some apple flavor and aroma added, and loss of beer what are you trying to achieve by adding dried apple? I'm definitely not knocking the idea, just trying to understand what the purpose is. You might be better off fermenting your beer with some apple cider instead of adding the dried apples. Dried fruit also often contains preservatives... not exactly something you would want to introduce to your beer especially if you plan on bottle conditioning the beer.
If you have a dehydrator, you could dry them yourself to eliminate preservatives from store bought. Or go to a natural foods coop type place to look for some w/o sulfites. As for whether it will work, I think you can will impart some apple flavor and tartness, and I usually think of tartness as contrasting with the bitterness level of an IPA. I'd think it could work better in a lower hopped beer.
Well a guy at work says he really enjoys ciders but wants to delve into the craft ipa/pale ale scene. He was asking about apple ales and I didnt really know what to say. I guess what im going for is more apple in the aroma and just a slight note apple taste in the beer. If I use dried apple, I would definitely use fresh apples and dehydrate them myself but am open to the cider idea aswell...
I would go the other way and use fresh pressed cider. It will ferment out just fine, and won't soak up all of your wort.
