We are thinking of making a batch of cranberry beer for Thanksgiving (don’t like the idea of pumpkin beer too much). Just for flavor, not cranberries as the primary source of sugar. At first we were planning to just use cranberries (frozen), which might remain the main plan. Options:
Do ya think we could just use cranberry juice concentrate, perhaps 2 cans for a 5 gallon batch? Would the excess sugar do something odd to the fermentation (processed glucose, I suppose, as opposed to the sugars that whole berries would provide-- I doubt unsweetened cranberry juice is available. . . Is it? I should look at my local groovy co-op)?
Would we just add it (in whatever form) to the boil?
Oh crap, I just realized that we couldn’t boil the fresh or frozen fruit for long, because of the pectin. . . What about just steeping it (in a hop bag?) right after the boil as it cools? Or should we hold off until secondary so the yeast doesn’t go mad?
Or what about just using cranberry juice concentrate instead of dextrose for priming at bottling (or cranberry liqueur, if there is such a thing)? (I don’t like the ‘extracts’ that the brewer supplies have-- they sometimes have an odd artificial side taste that reminds me of mold)
Suggestions?
WWGD?(What would Gambrinus do?)
Thanks in advance.
Well, if I were making it…
I’d use fresh or frozen fruit, not concentrate. If you use fresh, you have to mush them a bit to break the skins. Not necessary with frozen. Add them to the wort right after boiling. You probably want to use 3 to 5 pounds of fruit. They don’t need to be boiled, but they should be pasteurized. Adding them to the hot wort after boiling will accomplish this.
Dump the whole mess into your primary fermenter. (You need a covered food-grade plastic bucket—glass carboy won’t work in this application) You can also add some aroma hops at this point, if you wish (dry-hopping). I’d suggest, say, 1/4 oz. saaz hops.
After about three days, remove the fruit and hops (if any) with a strainer and rack to secondary (glass). Ferment as usual.
I did this once with raspberries (fresh), and twice with cherries (frozen). Turned out excellent each time.
Grambius would check out the Cats Meow database of homebrew recipes 
or check out Brew Your Own magazine
Apparently pure organic cranberry juice (not concentrate) can be used “in a pinch”
I would go with fresh fruit also, and as Ferrous said, make sure you pasteurize it to get rid of any bacteria as well as any stray yeast. If you do go with juice or concentrate, make sure it’s all natural with nothing added. Any additional sugars will ferment out with no ill effects. Primary fermenting will get you the beer quicker, but if you add them to the secondary the fruit flavors will come out much better. You can compromise and use an extra pound or two of fruit in the primary. I would not use concentrate/juice for priming unless you can calculate exactly how much sugar is in x amount of juice. You are asking for flat beer or exploding bottles. Another option would be to check the supermarkets. With all the cooking extracts available now, you might be able to find a high quality one, rather than the beer ones. I’ve used vanilla, garlic, and lemon extracts in beer with excellent results. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
Ditto what Ferrous and Turbo said. Also, soak the primary bucket in a baking soda solution to get the plastic taste out of it. I neglected this step for my first fruit beer and got five gallons of strawberry weizen that tasted like it had been fermented in… well, something plastic.
Ethilrist,
I never had to soak my plastic bucket, and never had any plastic taste in my beer. Perhaps you were not using the right king of plastic?
It needs to be “food grade” plastic. Otherwise, yes, plastic taste will come through, since alcohol is a solvent.
Don’t use the regular 5-gallon plastic buckets from hardware stores. A good homebrew supply store should have acceptable food-grade buckets.
Charlie Papazian of The Complete Joy of Home Brewing. agrees with what’s been said. Add the fruit at the end of boiling the wort, allow to steep at 150-180 degrees F for fifteen to twenty minutes. Fruit must be crushed and should be removed after primary fermentation.
Cheers
Another trick I learned living overseas and having no home brew supply store for thousands of miles is to use the 5 gallon plastic carboy that bottled water comes in. Just slap an airlock on the baby. Of course, that won’t work with fruit, but for an easy brew it works like a charm.