Allright, I just bottled my second Balckberry Ale tonight/this morning (About midnight). For my first attempt (April '09) I uesd fresh blackberies that I froze, thawed and then pureed and added to secondary. It was a hit with evryone that sampled it, I took great notes, however when it comes to fruit, of course, the fruit itself has a huge impact on flavor. The brew I bottled tonight was an Oregon Fruit (canned) experiment, to see what the flavor difference is. I can say that this new batch in particular (Oregon Fruit) had a much better color, more plum/raisin rather than brown-ish like the first batch, but it will be at least 2-3 months to have an accurate flavor deermination.
Tasting of the fresh fruit was much more tart than the canned. I think fresh is the way to go, but I am making an assumption as I have some time before I have the chance to taste the canned fruit version.
If you are interested in my "technique" PM me, I wll be more than happy to give you any info/advice I have.
Like I stated, I have been successful with my blackberry fruit attempts, and I must say I was very surprised and satisfied with my 1st attempt,as were others.