[belgianpat]

Hey folks!
My son and I are extract brewers...venturing out some with a fig brown ale.  The recipe calls for >5# of Valley fig concentrate (doesn't give the liquid volume as I guess that varies with the concentrate, 1 gallon of the stuff is ~$55!). I was wondering would it be cheaper to just boil down fresh figs or dry figs and get the same results? this is the Valley fig beer recipe found below. The recipe calls for adding the fig concentrate 15 mins from end of boil.
Thanks!


Ingredients
10 pounds Pale 2-Row malt (we'll be using 7.5# of Golden LME)
3/4 pounds Chocolate malt
1/2 pound Crystal 60L malt
1/2 pound Blue Ribbon Fig Concentrate
1/2 ounce Cascade 60 minutes
1 ounce Liberty 30 minutes
1 ounce Willamette 15 minutes
White Labs WLP002 English Ale Yeast

[HopDen]

Hey folks!
My son and I are extract brewers...venturing out some with a fig brown ale.  The recipe calls for >5# of Valley fig concentrate (doesn't give the liquid volume as I guess that varies with the concentrate, 1 gallon of the stuff is ~$55!). I was wondering would it be cheaper to just boil down fresh figs or dry figs and get the same results? this is the Valley fig beer recipe found below. The recipe calls for adding the fig concentrate 15 mins from end of boil.
Thanks!


Ingredients
10 pounds Pale 2-Row malt (we'll be using 7.5# of Golden LME)
3/4 pounds Chocolate malt
1/2 pound Crystal 60L malt
1/2 pound Blue Ribbon Fig Concentrate
1/2 ounce Cascade 60 minutes
1 ounce Liberty 30 minutes
1 ounce Willamette 15 minutes
White Labs WLP002 English Ale Yeast

Welcome to the forum!
If you can find fresh figs this time of year I venture to say that it would also be expensive to get the concentrate needed. I don't have a favorable opinion of dried figs. If I were making this I would spend the money and follow the recipe as stated. You won't get the intended outcome that the recipe author designed. Just my two cents! Good Luck and let us know how it came out!

[reverseapachemaster]

I've never heard of the product but from their website it sounds like they buy dried figs, boil them and then boil down the liquid to a concentrate. Seems unnecessary for brewing.

Although I'm sure you could reverse engineer their process to create your own product, it would be a lot easier to buy fresh or dried figs and add them to the beer after primary fermentation. I am not sure of the ratio that would compare to that product but you can always continue adding fruit until you are happy with the flavor. If you can find fresh figs this time of year, it would probably deliver better flavor than dried figs or a heavily boiled dried fig syrup.

[pete b]

First, you state that the recipe calls for more than 5# of fig concentrate but the actual recipe says 1/2#.
I will assume that it's 1/2 pound, that makes more sense.
I feel fresh figs are pretty mild in flavor and would take a lot, maybe 5#. I also think that the fig flavor one would expect and want in a beer is the dried fruit flavor. Plus dried figs are more economical and readily available than fresh figs. If it were me I would try a pound of dried figs in the last 15 minutes of the boil. You could add more at the end of fermentation if that's not enough flavor.
Good luck.