More raspberry flavor in raspberry rhubarb?

[oppyland]

I have a batch of raspberry rhubarb going, just transferred it into secondary (SG is 0.995, so it's ready). pH is 3.5, haven't tested TA (ordered some supplies to start doing it). It has a decent taste - quite tart/acidy right now, but it's young and I plan on backsweetening.

One thing I'd like to do is punch up the raspberry flavor a little bit. Would adding raspberry concentrate during backsweetening work for this? If so, any recommendations for product and ratio?

EDIT: after doing some more reading, I wonder if just doing an fpac with frozen raspberries makes more sense?

 

[winemaker81]

Either will work. I'd backsweeten at least a month before bottling, expecting more sediment.

 

[oppyland]

Either will work. I'd backsweeten at least a month before bottling, expecting more sediment.

Thanks! The concentrate is a lot more expensive than I thought it would be (~$100/qt), so I think I'll just head to my friendly neighborhood Walmart and pick up a couple bags of frozen raspberries.

 

[Jovimaple]

Thanks! The concentrate is a lot more expensive than I thought it would be (~$100/qt)

Raspberry concentrate always seems to be more expensive than most others.

 

[Rice_Guy]

A quart of concentrate will be a lot to use up. Have you looked in your frozen juice section at the grocery store? I think Langers (at Woodmans Janesville/Milwaukee/Mad) has put out a 100% juice mixture of raspberry and apple. The apple is mainly a sugar source/ hides in the background. Red raspberry has high acid (my crop gets picked at about 2.2% TA) and as a concentrate will be very high titratable acidity. This translates to it needs more sugar.

I'd like to do is punch up the raspberry flavor a little bit. Would adding raspberry concentrate during backsweetening work for this? If so, any recommendations for product and ratio?

Ratio? This will work like an F pack. ,,, The normal suggestion is run a bench trial (as 100ml/ 2oz in a half pint canning jar > take a syringe (as for dosing kids meds) and measure concentrate drop by drop). When I have used concentrate for sweetening it takes at least one can and possibly three in a five gallon carboy.
Sugar is magic, just by balancing acid/ sweet ratio it will seem to have more fruity flavor.

 

[oppyland]

A quart of concentrate will be a lot to use up.

Any idea of shelf life? I hate to spend $100 and use a half cup of it.

Have you looked in your frozen juice section at the grocery store? I think Langers (at Woodmans Janesville/Milwaukee/Mad) has put out a 100% juice mixture of raspberry and apple. The apple is mainly a sugar source/ hides in the background. Red raspberry has high acid (my crop gets picked at about 2.2% TA) and as a concentrate will be very high titratable acidity. This translates to it needs more sugar.

Yes, Walmart has Old Orchard frozen blend too, but I'd rather adjust the raspberry taste and sugar content separately - that way I have more control over the final product.

Ratio? This will work like an F pack. ,,, The normal suggestion is run a bench trial (as 100ml/ 2oz in a half pint canning jar > take a syringe (as for dosing kids meds) and measure concentrate drop by drop). When I have used concentrate for sweetening it takes at least one can and possibly three in a five gallon carboy.

Thanks! If use the juice concentrate, that was basically the method I was going to try.

Sugar is magic, just by balancing acid/ sweet ratio it will seem to have more fruity flavor.

That is definitely amazing! A few years ago, I made two batches of pear - one dry and one backsweetened to about 1% residual sugar. The backsweetened version was so much fruitier (and better IMO).

Thanks for the info!

 

[oppyland]

Raspberry concentrate always seems to be more expensive than most others.

I was expecting $30-50. Crazy!

 

[Noontime]

I think frozen/fresh raspberries would be the way to go. I've found raspberries to be very potent flavor that easily dominates others, so it shouldn't take much to punch it up a bit (although post fermentation you might want to put them through a food processor or really mulch them up when thawed). Another option, perhaps not "cheap" but maybe for next time is Vintners Harvest puree'. It's processed to remove the seeds and such, and one can packs a lot of punch.

 

[oppyland]

I think frozen/fresh raspberries would be the way to go. I've found raspberries to be very potent flavor that easily dominates others, so it shouldn't take much to punch it up a bit (although post fermentation you might want to put them through a food processor or really mulch them up when thawed).

I picked up a couple 24 oz bags of frozen raspberries from Walmart yesterday. The plan is to make an fpac out of one and strain it, hoping to minimize the amount of seeds and pulp. Once I add that, I'm going to do some bench trials for backsweetening. After I get the sweetness right, I can decide whether it needs more raspberry flavor. Thanks for the info!

 

[oppyland]

Added the fpac and 1/4 cup of glycerin yesterday afternoon while re-racking. The fpac definitely added some color, which is nice. I'm going to wait a bit for clearing before I backsweeten and bottle.

 

[oppyland]

Bottled it up yesterday evening. Added 300ml simple syrup - just enough to soften the acid bite from the rhubarb. Looks and tastes pretty nice!