Maracuya aka passion fruit beer
Just before the first sip
Close to the last sip
Actual insides of a Maracuya
What is your favorite juice? Have you ever had that juice in a beer? My favorite juice of all time I had in Colombia, South America called Maracuya back in 1997. I have been wanting to make this into a beer for some time and lo and behold my friends over at @Nightshiftbeer have done just that. Michael and Joe over at Night Shift were kind enough to answer a few questions about the unique brew that you will find below along with the blogs signature drinking tip.
Maracuya beer questions: Q1. What or who was the major influencer in producing this beer?
A1. We wanted a nice, easy-drinking wheat beer that wasn't necessarily a hefe, but retained the 50% wheat grist idea. And we wanted it to be bright, summery, and fruity.
Q2. What was the hardest thing about working with Maracuya aka passion fruit in the beer? A2. The passionfruit tends to stick to everything, and our mash tun isn't a huge fan of 50% wheat in the grist.
Q3. What hops did you use in making the beer? A3. The hops are very basic - 5 pounds Willamette.
Q4. How long in total did you have to let it ferment?
A4. We let this ferment for a total of 4 weeks, with one week conditioning time. The passionfruit extended the fermentation.
Q5. Anything special you can tell us about this beer? Any funny or different stories to share?
A5. When the passionfruit was sitting out warming to room temp, we had samples that we passed throughout the staff. I don't know if you've ever tried passionfruit puree, but it is the most intense flavor. Super sweet and painfully sour. It was hilarious watching people's reaction before they knew what they were tasting. The beer almost didn't get some additions due to the pure flavor of the puree.
Beer tip from the experts for the novice: You can learn so much about any beer simply through its aroma. I think that gets overlooked, or quickly combined/confused with flavor. Try simply smelling a beer several times over a minute before taking your first sip.
I found that on first taste the Maracuya was very subtle, but when I went back for sips two and three the passionfruit really came out. This is another small but important drinking tip, often the saliva in your mouth will hide flavors, so I recommend always taking a small sip of your brew first to “clean” your palate and then go back for the big taste. Let me know what your thought of this post with a comment please...would love to hear from you!
Drink brave die bare my brew friends!
Mark McCurdy