Changes

For commercial brewers in the US, any ingredient not on the [https://www.ttb.gov/beer/exempt-ingre.shtml TTB exempt] lists needs to be approved by the TTB regardless of where the beer is sold. When seeking approval, it is helpful to show previous use and scientific articles supporting the safety of consumption of the ingredient being used. For example, if the item is on the [https://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/gras/ucm083022.htm FDA GRAS] list(or potentially FDA approved [https://www.cfsanappsexternal.fda.gov/scripts/fdcc/?cat=FoodIngredientsPackaging&type=basic&search= Food Ingredient and Packaging Inventories]; see also advice from [https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/posts/4889765437718298/?comment_id=4889893777705464&reply_comment_id=4889906237704218 Andrew Zinn]), then providing this information to the TTB or possibly having the FDA GRAS department work with the TTB for approval can help. See also [https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=bd3ebd8d0f96086d22829fda14923623&rgn=div5&view=text&node=27:1.0.1.1.20&idno=27#sg27.1.25_153.sg4 ''Formulas for fermented products'' on GPO.gov].

Whenever fruit is added to a beer that hasn't been pasteurized, a re-fermentation will occur because new sugars from the fruit are introduced to the microbes that are still alive in the beer. This re-fermentation can take some time to being, and some time to finish, depending on the beer. In general, the fruit should be allowed to finish fermenting before packaging. An alternative method is to ferment the fruit more quickly in a separate fermentation tank with ''S. cerevisiae'' and then blend the fermented fruit into the beer; see [[Soured_Fruit_Beer#Other_Alternative_Processing_and_Fermentation_Methods|Other Alternative Processing and Fermentation Methods]] for more information. For information about packaging beer with unfermented fruit/puree/juice, see [[Unfermented Fruit Beer]].

Most Unless very large amounts are added, most fruit does not greatly change the overall alcohol content of the beer that it is added to since most fruit with a high water content is within the 1.045-1.060 starting gravity range, or lower <ref>[http://www.brsquared.org/wine/CalcInfo/FruitDat.htm Ben Rotter. "Fruit Data: Yield, Sugar, Acidity, Tannin". Improved Winemaking website. 2011. Retrieved 03/16/2018.]</ref>. Wine grapes are a notable exception to this, which have high starting gravities that produce 10-15% ABV wines. When adding fruit with average gravities to beer and allowing it to re-ferment, small changes to the ABV can occur based on the amount and type of the fruit, the format of the fruit, and the ABV of the beer. For example, if a fruit puree that has a typical gravity of around 1.045 is added to a 10% ABV beer, the more puree that is added then the more it will dilute the total ABV of the beer. Fruit concentrates and dried fruit may add more alcohol than when added in juice/whole fruit format because the water content of the fruit has been removed, although lower dosages of concentrate/dried fruit might result in only small or insignificant ABV increases. The gravity of whole fruit or juice can be fairly easily determined by using a refractometer. [http://sourbeerblog.com/a-guide-to-blending-sour-beer-with-fruit/ Matt Miller of Sour Beer Blog] provides a calculator that can help predict alcohol changes based on the gravity and quantity of the fruit (and beer), and [https://www.themadfermentationist.com/2010/10/adding-fruit-to-beer-increases-alcohol.html Michael Tonsmeire of The Mad Fermentationist] provides a calculation as well.

* Jamil Zainasheff recommends fermenting the fruit into a fruit wine using a ''S. cerevisiae'' strain in a separate fermenter. Doing so allows for a fast fermentation since fruit consists of mostly simple sugars, and allows the brewer to blend the fermented fruit wine into the finished beer at the desired proportions. This reportedly can produce "brighter" fruit character than fermenting fruit in sour beer for a longer period of time. The fruit would have to be in liquid format, and high sugar fruits such as wine grapes might need to be diluted with water first in order to ensure a quick fermentation. See comments by Zainasheff in [https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/4183221418372707 this MTF thread] for more details. * Caramelization of fruit juices, smoking, spontaneous or kombucha based pre-fermentation, and other culinary inspired methods can also be used to help transform fruit. Paradox Beer Co's Pineapple Upside down sour was created using a candi syrup created from pineapple juice raised to a PH of around 6 with baking soda to increase the maillard effect and provide a more intense long lasting caramelized flavor <ref name="Airman_MeadHouse" />.

* Pineapple - Leave the skins out. See also [https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/4359006897460824 this MTF thread].

* Strawberry - It is thought that the seeds might carry a lot of p-coumaric acid, which can transform into 4-vinylphenol and 4-ethylphenol in the presence of ''Brettanomyces'', which tastes like plastic. Some people have had luck juicing strawberries and removing any seed or vegetal material (or using strawberry juice) to avoid plastic flavors <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/1300991233262421/?comment_id=1301153443246200&reply_comment_id=1301956473165897&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R1%22%7D Discussion with James Sites on MTF regarding strawberries and 4EP precursor. 05/09/2016.]</ref><ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/1599245436770331/?comment_id=1599288443432697&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R1%22%7D Conversation with Kyle Pittser on MTF regarding the use of strawberries. 03/01/2017.]</ref>. To remove pulp and seeds, MTF members have advised using a [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flotte_Lotte flotte lotte], basket press, or Breville Juice Fountain Elite juicer <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/1624796030881938/ Ingo Janssen, Thomas Creighton, and Ryan Adam Bickley. Milk The Funk Facebook group. 03/24/2017.]</ref>. There have also been reports that removing the seeds did not remove the plastic phenol with the hypothesis that the strain of ''Brettanomyces'' used might play a role <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/1989785807716290/?comment_id=1990127514348786&reply_comment_id=1990140754347462&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R6%22%7D Tim Moriarty and Justin Amaral. Milk The Funk Facebook gropu group post on removing seeds fro mstrawberriesfrom strawberries. 02/15/2018.]</ref>. See also this [https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/2653654431329421/ MTF thread]. Phillip Emerson of Almanac Brewing Co reported getting no plastic off-flavor when using freeze dried strawberries. He also reported ancedotally anecdotally that white skin seems to correlate to plastic off-flavors <ref>[http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/sour-hour-episode-119/ Phillip Emerson. The Sour Hour Podcast, episode #119. 02/14/2020.]</ref> (~40 minutes in). Several brewers in MTF reported getting no plastic off flavors when using Oregon Fruit strawberry puree <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/3532479380113584/ Several MTF members on using Oregon Fruit strawberry puree. Milk The Funk Facebook group thread. 05/25/2020.]</ref>.

| Cranberry || 32 fl oz/5 gal <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/1180202708674608/?comment_id=1180204098674469&reply_comment_id=1180204535341092&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R8%22%7D Conversation with James Sites on cranberry juice on MTF. 11/17/2015.]</ref>|| || || || 1 lb/gal <ref name="carver_cranberry">[https://wwwdocs.facebookgoogle.com/groupsdocument/MilkTheFunkd/permalink/11778516455763811eS22xBkquX4T9-jy-AWqKPyQadJSz-wfoK4rF6twHsg/edit?comment_id=1177863095575236&offset=0&total_comments=11&comment_trackingusp=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D sharing Conversation with Dustin Carver on MTF for cranberry usage. 11/16/2015.]</ref> || 6-8 weeks ||

| Pineapple || 1.36 - 2 litres per 20 litres of beer (Dole sugarless)<ref>Richard Sigesmund. Private correspondence with Dan Pixley. 10/06/2020.</ref> || || 2 lbs/gal (skins on)<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/1167993543228858/?comment_id=4676369612391216 Lars Meiner. Milk The Funk Facebook group post about pineapple usage. 06/06/2021.]</ref> || || 1 pineapple/gal <ref name="MTF_Thread"></ref> || 6-8 weeks ||