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I am attempting to add fruit to my 1 gallon brew: Bavarian Hefewaizen + Raspberries.

My research said to use 1 pound of fruit per gallon of beer and to add it after a few days of fermentation.

I added the 1 pound of Raspberries to an empty 1 Gallon carboy/jug and racked the beer over the top of that (leaving behind the trub).

After doing this, my wife asked me if leaving behind the trub would inhibit the fermentation. I have never used a second carboy/jug and am hoping that I did not mess this one up. The air-lock still seems to be bubbling, though.

Thoughts/insight?

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    Hey I just finished drinking all 5 gallons of my Bavarian Hefe from Northern Brewer. Would you tell me how this turns out? I will be interested. You will have a direct comparison with a non-raspberry version, right?
    – Matthew Moisen
    Commented Jul 23, 2013 at 3:31
  • I have not made the Bavarian Hefe before, so no, I will not have a comparison. My intent was to brew two (2) half-gallon batches, one with and one without. However, I lost my second screw cap and could only seal one carboy.
    – kbjohnson90
    Commented Jul 23, 2013 at 20:50
  • @Matthew, I really liked how it turned out, except I may have used too many raspberries. It was very tart.
    – kbjohnson90
    Commented Aug 28, 2013 at 13:41
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    Awesome, I would like to try this. Would you suggest using half a pound of raspberries per gallon of beer?
    – Matthew Moisen
    Commented Aug 28, 2013 at 17:07
  • @Matthew, my next step would be to try 1/2 pound of raspberries. Although, the taste was not bad; I enjoyed it. My wife wanted it a little sweeter, but she normally does. Give the 1/2 pound a try (it is also cheaper!).
    – kbjohnson90
    Commented Sep 17, 2013 at 19:48

1 Answer 1

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After only a few days in primary, there's almost certainly enough yeast suspended in the beer to ferment the sugars in the fruit.

There are a couple exceptions to this rule:

  1. Very high gravity beers. The high alcohol levels in the finished beer are toxic to yeast.

  2. Beers that have aged for many months. Most of the yeast will have precipitated ot.

In these cases, you're advised to add fresh yeast to induce a secondary fermentation.

BTW - you probably should be concerned about head-space, given that you're fermenting in a one gallon jug. The renewed fermentation will produce CO2, which will push the fruit to the surface. A vigorous fermentation might push through the airlock and make a mess. It's best to use an oversized fermenter that provides a around gallon of head-space to avoid this situation.

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  • Thanks! Also, I do have a problem with head space in the 1 Gallon jug. After each of the first two days (especially with this brew, before the fruit was added) I had to clean and replace the air lock. I will be looking into a larger jug for my 1 gallon batches.
    – kbjohnson90
    Commented Jul 22, 2013 at 19:54

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