raisins

Ingredients
1

Hello, on Brew like a monk there is a dark strong belgian recipe that use raisins when boiling is finished…does anybody has used before? any tip? are there some pectin issues do i have to be aware?

thanks!

2

I’ve used raisins a couple times.  My method is to wait til the beer has finished primary fermentation, then caramelize the raisins in a super red hot wok.  Deglaze with some beer from primary, add it all to a secondary and rack the beer onto it.  I have also added raisins directly to secondary, but the wok method brings out a lot more flavor.

3

Very interesting!  I like it.

4

Also works great with figs!  Herman Holtrop’s Rochefort 8 recipe with figs added in done this way is fantastic.

5

Thanks!! do you know how much raisins per 5 gallon batch?

6

1-2 lb.

7

I used 2 lbs of golden raisins for a Raison B’Etra "clone’ (10 gallons). I pulled out a quart of wort right before knock-out and put that and the raisins in a blender to soak for 15 minutes. I then gave it a couple of quick blender pulses to chop up the raisins a bit, then put it into the primary fermenter. After 2 years the raisin flavor is still evident.

Carmelizing them first is a good idea. Thanks Denny. I will try that next time.

8

Zombie thread!!!

Denny I am going to add some raisins to the stout that’s finishing up primary. Just wanted to check, did you pre-soak the raisins at all before the walk treatment? or just the ‘dry’ raisins right in the pan?

9

I find that raisins add a bit of sourness to a finished beer. I made a stout, and let it secondary on raisins for 10 days, and it definitely had a sourness to it, that didn’t without raisins. Used 1.5 lbs, just threw them in with no prep like Denny. Good flavor. Gonna try it on an old ale soon…

10

Glad this thread popped back up. I’m brewing an RIS this weekend and plan on doing a parti-gyle with a smaller stout for the second beer. Maybe I’ll have to try the raisins in the second beer.