This probably has been addressed many times over the years but I’ve got my first fruited beer in secondary now and have some questions. The beer is an old ale with prunes, sultanas and zante currants - a mix for a possible “Christmas pudding” seasonal ale. I steeped the fruits whole or coarsely sliced in spiced rum for 1-2 weeks before dumping everything into secondary. I’ve done this before with simple liqueurs.
I’ve seen reference to making a puree in a blender and heating on the stovetop to create a soupy paste and then to deglaze the pan with the fermented beer, wine, etc. and then to add to secondary. Has anyone done this and to what advantage/disadvantage over extraction in alcohol (high proof or otherwise)? Do I need to worry about pectin levels? Could this method apply to all fruits and other misc ingredients?
Fermentation restarted when I added the fruit and it’s been 2 months in the carboy. While the beer tastes different from the base, I’m not sure I got good extraction.