Sweet Blueberry

Zak2428

New Member
Trial Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2020
Messages
26
Reaction score
6
Points
3
Is it possible to get a sweet blueberry flavor in beer? I've been trying to whip up a Blueberry Wheat beer that's somewhat muffin-y sweet, but Lactose doesn't seem to cut it. I've tried it during the boil (1/2lb in 2 gallon batch) and at bottling (1/4lb in a 2 gallon batch) and both don't seem to add anything to it. I can get it to taste like blueberry using fresh blueberries, but with that comes a bit of tartness to it.

I don't have much faith in this fixing it, but I thought about softly mashing blueberries with sucrose and adding either right after primary or to secondary but that'll re-start fermentation and dry out the beer.

Or Maltodextrin is said to be slightly sweeter on the sweetness scale, but reviews also say it's fairly bland.

Is there maybe a yeast out there that'll provide a sweeter flavor? Anyone have success creating a blueberry beer that's more sweet than tart?
 
Maybe a combination of malts that leave residual sweetness like golden promise, and a high mash temperature will get the sweetness you are looking for. True blueberry taste is actually pretty tart.
I am sure that others with better ideas will have more to offer.
 
No experience with this but you might try organic pasteurized blueberry juice to add at kegging or bottling. Be sure to ensure the juice is pasteurized.
 
I remember enjoying a beer many years ago that featured blueberries. It was made by Kennebunkport(?) Brewing Co (KBC) and sold at Trader Joe’s as a seasonal beer. I think it was a blueberry wheat ale, and I found it appealing. Maybe some searching might turn up a recipe, or at least some discussion to lead you further?
 
Last edited:
Is it possible to get a sweet blueberry flavor in beer? I've been trying to whip up a Blueberry Wheat beer that's somewhat muffin-y sweet, but Lactose doesn't seem to cut it. I've tried it during the boil (1/2lb in 2 gallon batch) and at bottling (1/4lb in a 2 gallon batch) and both don't seem to add anything to it. I can get it to taste like blueberry using fresh blueberries, but with that comes a bit of tartness to it.

I don't have much faith in this fixing it, but I thought about softly mashing blueberries with sucrose and adding either right after primary or to secondary but that'll re-start fermentation and dry out the beer.

Or Maltodextrin is said to be slightly sweeter on the sweetness scale, but reviews also say it's fairly bland.

Is there maybe a yeast out there that'll provide a sweeter flavor? Anyone have success creating a blueberry beer that's more sweet than tart?

Try playing with some Canadian honey malt. 1/2lb is noticeably sweet in a 5gal batch. I put a # in a 10gal Saison and any fruit of choice, peaches, huckleberry and recently cherries. It doesn't make a sweet beer but it takes the bitter tart away. You will need to experiment but for what you are looking for you might start with 1/2lb in 2 gal batch.
 
The sweetness your looking for seems only achievable with back sweeting. You can find a bunch of ways to back sweeten cider on the internets by stopping the metabolism of the yeast with campden and sorbate, then adding table sugar. Another way is to add splenda or some other artificial sweetener. I don't see why you couldn't back sweeten a beer the same way you would a cider. Start with a small glass of the finished beer and add your sweetness to that. Once you have an idea on how much sweetener to add, you can back sweeten the whole batch. Back sweetening works best with a kegging system.
 
@Craigerrr @Head First Right now I'm using Biscuit Malt, Carastan, and Metollius Malt - all three are said to have sweet/bread-like characteristics. I think I'll try out the Honey Malt and see how much that'll impact flavor.

@Frankenbrewer I thought of using Blueberry Juice, but I'm pretty sure that'd have the same effect as mixing blueberries with sugar and adding to the primary or secondary - both are going to re-start fermentation.

I'll try looking into ways of "back sweetening" as @HighVoltageMan! suggests too. Is the yeast still able to carbonate my beer if I'm using products to stop their metabolization? After just a little bit of researching it sounds like you should only do it when kegging, which I haven't started doing yet...

Anyone have experience putting fruit juice in the wort towards the end of the boil, does that give off a better sweet flavor? Or using Stevia rather than Lactose?
 
Last edited:
Sweet in beer is hard. If you kill fermentation as @HighVoltageMan! suggests, no, your beer won't carbonate. Force-carbonation is the option there, meaning kegs.

The problem is that most things that sweeten get fermented, desired or not. Killing off the yeasties lets sweet come out, but precludes carbonation. Perhaps a synthetic sweetener like Aspartame, which is unfermentable, might do it, but be stingy with it - just a hint of sweetness or it can be cloying and overpowering.
 
Sweet in beer is hard. If you kill fermentation as @HighVoltageMan! suggests, no, your beer won't carbonate. Force-carbonation is the option there, meaning kegs.

The problem is that most things that sweeten get fermented, desired or not. Killing off the yeasties lets sweet come out, but precludes carbonation. Perhaps a synthetic sweetener like Aspartame, which is unfermentable, might do it, but be stingy with it - just a hint of sweetness or it can be cloying and overpowering.

Would you suggest Aspartame over using Stevia? I haven't used either, but I would assume you boil with your priming sugar, correct? Or is it safe to add these direct?
 
Would you suggest Aspartame over using Stevia? I haven't used either, but I would assume you boil with your priming sugar, correct? Or is it safe to add these direct?
Don't know about the difference between the two but I would def boil it to a) make sure it's well dissolved into the solution b) just to be safe on the sterilization/sanitation side
 
Would you suggest Aspartame over using Stevia? I haven't used either, but I would assume you boil with your priming sugar, correct? Or is it safe to add these direct?
There no need to sanitize either. It may de-nature or change it's flavor with a boil. If you really feel a need to sanitize it, mix it in with a small amount of vodka. You could bottle and condition the batch or a portion of the batch and then play with sweeteners when you pour the beer. Berliner Weiss is often served with sweetened fruit syrups in Germany. The beer drinker adds as much or as little as they want right at their table.

Sometimes if you overthink it or try to develop a complete process for your objective all at once and it doesn't work, you can get lost trying to figure out what went wrong or if the idea is even do-able. Start with small steps and grow into a full process.
 
@Craigerrr @Head First Right now I'm using Biscuit Malt, Carastan, and Metollius Malt - all three are said to have sweet/bread-like characteristics. I think I'll try out the Honey Malt and see how much that'll impact flavor.

@Frankenbrewer I thought of using Blueberry Juice, but I'm pretty sure that'd have the same effect as mixing blueberries with sugar and adding to the primary or secondary - both are going to re-start fermentation.

I'll try looking into ways of "back sweetening" as @HighVoltageMan! suggests too. Is the yeast still able to carbonate my beer if I'm using products to stop their metabolization? After just a little bit of researching it sounds like you should only do it when kegging, which I haven't started doing yet...

Anyone have experience putting fruit juice in the wort towards the end of the boil, does that give off a better sweet flavor? Or using Stevia rather than Lactose?
I always put fruit in after fermentation has started. Just heat it to 150 to 170 for sanitation then cool to ferm temp. You can secondary it if you want. I quit doing secondarys a few years ago. Boiling takes away some of the aromas you are looking for.
 
Blueberry is really hard to get in beer and I'd venture to say that all the ones available on a commercial scale, use flavoring of some sort to some degree. If it were me, I'd probably make a tincture with some high proof grain alcohol like Everclear. The higher the proof the easier it is to pull the flavors and the less you have to add to your beer. I would then probably adjust the blueberry flavor with an extract. Also, as @HighVoltageMan! suggested, those fruit syrups are actually really nice and we've done that here at home. You can add as much or as little as you like. This is a decent brand that's easy to find. I've had the blueberry and it's tasty also.
16094359906266436088730638935472.jpg
 
Full disclosure: Never tried to make a sweetened beer.

Aspartame came to mind, but Stevia is likely about the same. I agree, don't boil it, add it just before bottling, with your priming sugar. You will need to experiment with quantity to find a good spot: Take a measured sample (say, 10 oz) and add a tiny bit (like half the size of a match head, or less) and see if that's OK. Repeat until the taste has some sweetness then multiply that out to see how much for the whole batch.

Fair warning: Uncarbonated beer tends to seem more bitter than it ends up, so don't try to compensate for bitterness or tartness, focus on absolute sweetness. As it carbonates it will mellow.

Vodka, at least what is sold in the USA, is generally 40% alcohol (80 proof), so if you can get it, a small amount of Grain Alcohol (usually 95%, or 190 proof) mixed with the sweetener would deliver real sanitizing. 40% (as we learn in a pandemic) isn't quite enough. More sanitizing cannot hurt.
 
@Craigerrr @Head First Right now I'm using Biscuit Malt, Carastan, and Metollius Malt - all three are said to have sweet/bread-like characteristics. I think I'll try out the Honey Malt and see how much that'll impact flavor.

@Frankenbrewer I thought of using Blueberry Juice, but I'm pretty sure that'd have the same effect as mixing blueberries with sugar and adding to the primary or secondary - both are going to re-start fermentation.

I'll try looking into ways of "back sweetening" as @HighVoltageMan! suggests too. Is the yeast still able to carbonate my beer if I'm using products to stop their metabolization? After just a little bit of researching it sounds like you should only do it when kegging, which I haven't started doing yet...

Anyone have experience putting fruit juice in the wort towards the end of the boil, does that give off a better sweet flavor? Or using Stevia rather than Lactose?
Stevia in beer is downright nasty. Here are a couple of approaches: Lactose, as you mention. Another is high mash temperature. Add the juice to the fermentor after a couple days. It'll kerp more flavor that way and, if commercially packaged, is ssnitary.
 
40% (as we learn in a pandemic) isn't quite enough. More sanitizing cannot hurt.
Bacteria starts having trouble surviving 2% alcohol, that's one of yeast's defenses against bacteria. Most microbes that infect beer will be killed by 40% alcohol. Hand sanitizer is different because it needs to kill viruses in a matter of second because of evaporation. Viruses can survive when bacteria can't. It's apples and oranges. Vodka works and has been used for decades to make sanitized tinctures for beer and the food industries.
 

Back
Top