Pomegranate

[Mark Sheftick]

I just had some pomegranate for the first time and I thought it was tasty. Lo and behold someone else was kvetching about the Michelob Ultra Pomegranate and how it did not belong in beer. I, however, begin to think it might be okay in a nice stout.

My question is: Has anyone tried it out? How was it?

I am an extract brewer so here is my concept (some of which is based on my supplies on hand or local).

6.6 lbs of Light LME
1 lbs Black patent for steeping
1 oz. of Perle 8%AA@60min
1 oz. Cascade 6% AA@30min
2 pomegranates (either @5min or dump in a flameout)
Nottingham yeast (it's all I have)

By pomegranates I only mean the juicy, seedy bits. I figured lightly crushed would do the trick. I'd like to maybe mix in some chocolate malt but we don't have it in stock at our local.

Any thoughts?

[Rob DeNunzio]

He'Brew makes a pomegranate beer called Origin which, while it didn't really work for me, might provide you with another commercial sample to base your recipe off. But ho boy that's a lot of black patent. What are you going for in your base recipe?

[Mark Sheftick]

Tarnation! I forgot that He'Brew did one. I am pretty sure my buddy has tried it. I'll ask him his opinion, I hazard a guess he'll think the pomegranate flavor was too much.

Admittedly I failed to consider the base. I guess I haven't really made anything with that much black patent. Maybe I should reconsider. Let me think about it.

[Ray Grace]

I've thought of making a pomegranate hef, I know Moylan's makes it although I've never had it.
I'm also not sure how much flavor you'll get with just two fruit, maybe blend in some of the juice in secondary if the flavor isn't where you want it.

[Chipper Dave]

I haven't tried that beer or brewed with it myself but I HAVE had a beer that has Pomegranate in it. The Fort Collins Brewery here in Fort Collins Colorado has a brew named Major Tom's Pomegranate Wheat that is very good. The wheat is accented with just a hint of the fruit and makes for a sweeter wheat brew. Recommended.

[Deege]

I'm not sure you want to add them to the primary fermentation. You'll get better fruit flavor and extraction if you wait for most of the fermentation to complete, then rack the beer onto the pomegranates.

How much does 2 pomegranates weigh? 2 might not be enough for a good flavor.

My $0.02

[Zak Davis]

Hey all. Zak from HE'BREW. Not sure how I didn't see this thread until now. We do indeed make a pomegranate strong ale called ORIGIN. It's an imperial amber foundation and the pomegranate juice goes in during fermentation, so it's not overly fruity. We actually have the recipe on our website (http://shmaltz.com/HEBREW/origin.html) if you want to take a look at what we've done. I'm not a highly experienced brewer, but if you have any specific questions, feel free to email me at [e-mail] and I'll do what I can do get you some definitive answers.