Sethwick

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permo

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Ditch the extract, use the real think. I would add a few pounds of rasberries pureed to the secondary fermenter. The extracts are bitter and not natural tasting to me. Plus this way you get color!

Better yet, take a pound of rasberries, a pound of blueberries and a pound of blackberries, puree them and add them to secondary. that would rock. I have used peaches in my secondary and they turned out great.

Sethwick

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So 3lbs fresh berries, pureed.... 2 weeks in 2ndary.... hmm....
Anything else I should look out for? I seem to remember reading about organic berries, making sure there's no additives or whatnot? Any other tips?

...and thanks for the quick reply!

BackBayBrewing

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I respectfully disagree with permo. I used to be big on real fruit preserves. Then I realized that the best fruit beer out there, #9 (IMHO) is made with apricot extract flavoring. When I heard that I decided to give it a try and the results were great. The fact that I can get great results out of so much less hassle has convinced me that extract is the way to go.

__________________
Primary: Empty :-(
Secondary: Anchor Steam Clone
On Deck: 60 Minute Clone
Kegged: Empty :-(

permo

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Point taken.

I have had homebrew made with rasberry extract and it just doesn't taste right too me. However, if you take caution and go with minimal amount of extract you may be OK. However, I don't think you can go wrong with actual fruit...if you take proper care.

Also, +1 on #9. I brewed my #9 clone with 4# of peaches since I didn't have apricots available...it was great.

BackBayBrewing

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To clarify, I am not saying real fruit is worse than extract quality/flavor wise. I am just saying that the results can be equally as good with extract, and there is much less hassle. Simply put in some extract at bottling/kegging time and your ready to go. With fruit you need to use a secondary which means one more time sanitizing, one more time racking, one more carboy to clean, and one more opportunity for infection/oxidation.

If you want to do it the traditional way and use the fruit more power to you. My vote is for extract (just be conservative with it) and use that time saved on brewing another batch of beer.

__________________
Primary: Empty :-(
Secondary: Anchor Steam Clone
On Deck: 60 Minute Clone
Kegged: Empty :-(

permo

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Now that I think about it, one of my favorite fruit beers, Ellicotville Blueberry, is also made with extract. That is a tasty brew.

Do you think there is possibly a brand or style of extract that is more natural and better tasting than others? Maybe you could offer up the extract brand that you used in case the OP decides to go that route?

Also, a health food store could likely have some %100 rasberry juice available too. However, I am a proponent of the real fruit.

Sethwick

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I'm all for simplicity... The raspberry extract comes in a 4oz bottle and the directions call for 4oz per 5g batch, does that sound like too much?

I guess since I already bought the extract, I'll use it, but I'd love to hear any other opinions \ experience before brew day!

Also, I gotta track down this "#9".... sounds great!

Sethwick

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FWIW, the flavoring is "Brewcraft" brand raspberry...

permo

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We are referring to Magic Hat #9. Fresh and on draught it is heavenly.