AC Current / Crabby Haze

Fruit-based wheat beers.

1. "Poach" 4-6 lb. fruit in a gallon of water to sanitize, place in fermenter.
   We used:
   • Black currants in one half-batch, and
   • Crushed crabapples in the remainder.
2. Mini-mash:
   • 3 quarts water at 130 degrees F for 30 min
   • 1-1.5 lb pale malt
   • 1 lb crystal malt
3. Add 2 qt. hot water to bring to 150 degrees, hold 10 min.
4. Raise temp to 158 degrees, hold 15 min, add to brewpot.
5. Boil 6-6.5 lb wheat/malt extract in as much water as you can.
6. Simmer 1 oz. Northern Brewer hops pellets 45 min, for bittering
7. Simmer 1 oz. Goldings hops pellets 15 min, for finishing,
8. Chill into two fermenter on top of fruits and make up to 2.5 or 3 gallons.
9. Pitch yeast. (We had to use Edme dry).

Original gravity was 1.038, was held in primary for two weeks; secondary a bit longer. Upon bottle maturation, we noticed that the currant color had faded. Those few bottles which were refrigerated for maturation maintained their original wine-purple color while the room-temperature ones lost it. Since we did not label individual bottles, this makes it a game of "guess that fruit" upon opening. Both fruits add a pleasant bouquet to the beer, making these all-too-few beers the rivals of some champagnes we've enjoyed! (But we're biased).

There are some beers out there with fruit flavorings, largely extract-based. Our experiences have convinced us that real fruit is the only way to go. Here's to stuff in your beer!