Priming with Pineapple juice.

Reddog4613

Reddog4613

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Howdy!

I have hazy NEIPA that I'm ready to bottle. Instead of priming sugar, I want to use pineapple juice. I've been researching it and getting a lot of info. So has anyone tried what I trying to do? I have organic pure pasteurized pineapple juice (serving size 8 fl. oz., 26 g sugar). Using the priming sugar calculator there is no setting for using juice so I thought I would use the the 'table sugar' setting and try for 2.6 volumes of CO2. Am I totally off base here?

Any advice is appreciated.
Ron
 
I have no advice to offer but I am very interested to see the other answers. I don't see why not as pineapple juice provides 3 different fermentable sugars in glucose, sucrose and fructose but I wouldn't begin to know how to calculate the amount.
 
How's it been pasteurised? You can sometimes hit some problems if there's a bit too much of either of the metabisulfites left in the juice as it can kill the yeast and stop the conditioning. Heat pasteurisation won't cause any problems with the conditioning. Not sure, but I think the ascorbic acid based pasteurisation isn't as big of a problem for the conditioning.

Looks like you've worked out your sugar numbers and it certainly sounds like it's worth the experiment. Maybe try filling one PET bottle as an early warning system in case there's more sugar than on the label. If the PET bottle starts to stretch then get all the glass bottles into the fridge, or drink them quickly.
 
Mark Farrall said:
How's it been pasteurised? You can sometimes hit some problems if there's a bit too much of either of the metabisulfites left in the juice as it can kill the yeast and stop the conditioning. Heat pasteurisation won't cause any problems with the conditioning. Not sure, but I think the ascorbic acid based pasteurisation isn't as big of a problem for the conditioning.

Looks like you've worked out your sugar numbers and it certainly sounds like it's worth the experiment. Maybe try filling one PET bottle as an early warning system in case there's more sugar than on the label. If the PET bottle starts to stretch then get all the glass bottles into the fridge, or drink them quickly.
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I wouldn't say I've "worked out" the sugar numbers but this is what I've come up with per the priming calculator, I have:
  • 0.86 volumes of CO2 in the beer
  • Calculator says I need 0.9 oz Table Sugar (closest to pineapple juice) per gallon of beer
  • 1 oz = ~25 g
  • So if serving size is 8 fl. oz. has ~26 g sugar, then 8 fl. oz. per gallon is what I need
I going to use Lakewood Organic Pineapple Juice. It doesn't specifically describe the pasteurization process but I have to think it is heated.

I do like your idea of using PET bottle.
 
Pineapple contains bromelain, otherwise known as meat tenderizer. If you use it without denaturing that enzyme, it can destroy your beer's head. I don't remember offhand what temperature it takes to denature bromelain but I believe it's adequate to pasteurize the juice. You ban Google bromelain to find out.
 
For the chemical pastuerising you'd be looking for sodium or potassium metabisulfate or ascorbic acid in the ingredients. If they're not there then it's definitely heat pasteurised. Which was probably a flash pasteurisation approach, not sure how long at those higher temperatures it'd take to denature the enzyme Nosybear mentions.

If they are there then the heating to denature the enzyme would do a fair bit to minimise the K/NA metabisulfate.
 
Mark Farrall said:
For the chemical pastuerising you'd be looking for sodium or potassium metabisulfate or ascorbic acid in the ingredients. If they're not there then it's definitely heat pasteurised. Which was probably a flash pasteurisation approach, not sure how long at those higher temperatures it'd take to denature the enzyme Nosybear mentions.

If they are there then the heating to denature the enzyme would do a fair bit to minimise the K/NA metabisulfate.
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GOOD TO KNOW!!
The label doesn't show those items except potassium but the levels are the same as it naturally occurs in pineapple. Also label claims all sorts of "no preservatives", "casein free", etc. I hoping that they are accurate.
 
Reddog4613 said:
GOOD TO KNOW!!
The label doesn't show those items except potassium but the levels are the same as it naturally occurs in pineapple. Also label claims all sorts of "no preservatives", "casein free", etc. I hoping that they are accurate.
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The juice label doesn't have to show anything except "juice," unless the stuff is added later. Casein free simply means it isn't milk and contains no milk protein. Best I can find is that bromelain is denatured by heating to 75 degrees C (167 degrees F) for five minutes. Since you'd want to heat the juice to pasteurize it, pasteurization will denature the bromelain.
 
Nosybear said:
Pineapple contains bromelain, otherwise known as meat tenderizer. If you use it without denaturing that enzyme, it can destroy your beer's head. I don't remember offhand what temperature it takes to denature bromelain but I believe it's adequate to pasteurize the juice. You ban Google bromelain to find out.
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I actually only this about pineapple but only from watching Star Trek:D
 
Don't forget that you're diluting the alcohol when you add enough liquid to get the sugar content you want.
 
J A said:
Don't forget that you're diluting the alcohol when you add enough liquid to get the sugar content you want.
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Thank you for your input! Wouldn't the added sugar contribute to the CO2 volumes and also produce small amount of alcohol? Plus 8 fl. oz. per gallon doesn't seem like a lot? Also I want the added flavor although there is debate about this as well - that is, this small amount may contribute nothing to the beer taste.
 
Reddog4613 said:
Thank you for your input! Wouldn't the added sugar contribute to the CO2 volumes and also produce small amount of alcohol? Plus 8 fl. oz. per gallon doesn't seem like a lot? Also I want the added flavor although there is debate about this as well - that is, this small amount may contribute nothing to the beer taste.
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8 fl oz is a cup. That means for a 4 gallon batch you'd be adding a quart of liquid. That's like twice as much liquid as typically used in priming. Just keep that in mind
 
Reddog4613 said:
Also I want the added flavor although there is debate about this as well - that is, this small amount may contribute nothing to the beer taste.
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You're spinning your wheels. If you want pineapple, add (100% pure) juice to wort near the end of the boil. Or better yet, get a couple of pineapples and crush them up and add to the boil - that way you don't have the problem of any preservatives. Failing that, adding a can or two of pineapple puree in the fermenter would probably give you what you need.
If you do end up priming with pineapple juice, it has the effect of dropping your OG by the same percentage as you increase the liquid. so if you started off with 1.060, you'd be reducing the OG to 1.054 and knock over a half a point off your ABV. It's not a huge amount but something you need to be aware of. The extra alcohol created by priming with any sugar is negligible.
The bromelain is confusing. Fresh pineapple would definitely have it and could cause trouble. Cooked pineapple, anything added to the boil and probably pasteurized juice added in the fermenter would likely not cause much problem as the enzyme would have been denatured along the way.
 
Make sure what you are calling "potassium" isn't "potassium sorbate", which is a yeast inhibitor. Also, look out for sodium benzoate, which has the same function.
 
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J A said:
You're spinning your wheels. If you want pineapple, add (100% pure) juice to wort near the end of the boil. Or better yet, get a couple of pineapples and crush them up and add to the boil - that way you don't have the problem of any preservatives. Failing that, adding a can or two of pineapple puree in the fermenter would probably give you what you need.
If you do end up priming with pineapple juice, it has the effect of dropping your OG by the same percentage as you increase the liquid. so if you started off with 1.060, you'd be reducing the OG to 1.054 and knock over a half a point off your ABV. It's not a huge amount but something you need to be aware of. The extra alcohol created by priming with any sugar is negligible.
The bromelain is confusing. Fresh pineapple would definitely have it and could cause trouble. Cooked pineapple, anything added to the boil and probably pasteurized juice added in the fermenter would likely not cause much problem as the enzyme would have been denatured along the way.
Click to expand...

You are probably right, but, I only did 2 gallons worth so as long as it is 'drinkable' I will take all this input for the next batch!!
 
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Aftermath:
Per my previous calculations using the Brewer's Friend priming calculator,
  • Per my recipe, it said I had 0.86 volumes of CO2 in the beer
  • Calculator said I needed 0.9 oz Table Sugar (closest to pineapple juice) per gallon of beer
  • 1 oz = ~25 g
  • So if serving size is 8 fl. oz. has ~26 g sugar, then 8 fl. oz. per gallon is what I need
So used 16 oz of Lakewood Organic Pineapple Juice for my 2 gal batch. The carbonation came out great and no effect by the bromelain - good head of beer. And yes, no pineapple taste either.

Thanks for all the advice and conversation!
 
Reddog4613 said:
You are probably right, but, I only did 2 gallons worth so as long as it is 'drinkable' I will take all this input for the next batch!!
Click to expand...

Yup. You were right. No pineapple taste. But the carbonation was fantastic and good head of beer!
 
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