Everywhere you look, craft brewers are adding new hints of fruit aromas and flavors to their beers — some of these fruits you’ve likely never actually tasted outside of a beer bottle. Some I’m convinced are just completely made up, and that might be because they are. For instance, Oregon Fruit Products sent word of its latest concoction in its limited series for the fermentation market: Soursop/Tangerine puree, a blend of soursop and tangerine fruits designed to add fruit dimension and flavor to a variety of fermented beverages, such as beer, cider, mead, spirits, wine and kombucha.
The blended puree contains 90 percent soursop fruit and 10 percent tangerine. Soursop is grown in tropical countries and is known for its bright, tangy flavor, with strawberry and pineapple notes and creamy white flesh. The addition of tangerine to the mixture creates a refreshing citrus pop and enhances the tropical notes of the Soursop. Once combined, puree coloring is a muted Creamsicle-orange color. Like all Fruit for Fermentation purees, Soursop/Tangerine has no added sugar, preservatives or additives, and is packaged aseptically for shelf-stability and ease of use.
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The idea for the exotic and little-known soursop puree came courtesy of Bryan Winslow, co-owner and head brewer at St. Elmo Brewing in Austin, Texas. Winslow leases space to a food truck on the brewery premises named “Soursop.” Naturally, he thought a soursop beer would pair nicely with the Southeast Asian-inspired food. Having brewed with Oregon Fruit Products’ purees in the past, he reached out to the company, and a collaboration was born.
“The genesis of soursop/tangerine is a perfect example of the type of the business partnerships we like to foster with our brewing customers,” said Chris Hodge, director of sales for fermentation at Oregon Fruit Products. “This is definitely our most adventurous puree to date, and we can’t wait to see how our customer base responds to the unique flavor of this innovative fruit combination.”
About Fruit for Fermentation purees
Like all of Oregon Fruit for Fermentation products, the fruit is carefully selected for maximum ripeness and flavor and pureed into a velvet-smooth consistency so that it is ready for incorporating into a variety fermented beverages, including beer, cider, mead, spirits, wine and kombucha. All of Oregon Specialty Fruit purees are aseptically packaged to ensure shelf-stable, clean fruit brewers can count on. The product is minimally processed to ensure the best fresh fruit flavor and color. Most of the purees have a shelf life of 18 months in ambient temperature.
Oregon Fruit’s Soursop/Tangerine puree is now available in 42-pound bag-in-box. The product is certified kosher, made in the U.S.A., non-GMO, gluten-free and vegetarian. Oregon Fruit Products does not use, nor does it allow, any of the eight major allergens (milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat) in the products or processing areas.
