Raspberries

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Crazytwoknobs

Crazytwoknobs

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Sooo... I'm unhappy with my weak beer as of late.

It's moving right along in the carboy... there's a little extra space at the top.... maybe an inch below from where the wide part of the carboy starts to curve towards the top. I'm thinking of buying a pound or so of raspberries (maybe even blackberries or something weird like cloudberries), rinsing them off, blending them up with a wee bit of water, adding some DME/cane/corn sugar, boiling it up, and tossing it in there with the rest of the batch. The OG for what's in the carboy right now was 10.35, and I took the reading in the bucket at about 80F, and I haven't done any calibrating on my hydrometer yet, so I don't trust that number too much.


Comments, tips, suggestions?
 
1# of Raspberries in a 5g batch will probably not do jack. If anything, probably a slightly tart hint of fruity flavor that you will be unable to place what it is.

1#/gallon is a fairly good mark for a fruity beer..the kind you KNOW that you're drinking a fruity beer. Drop as needed for less fruit flavor or to compensate for overly apparent fruits (Blueberries).
 
Excellent, thanks!

I don't want it to seem like I added flavor syrup... but I guess that's what I'm making in the process described above... lol.... crap...

I'll probably add 3 pounds then.
 
You will not need 1lb/gallon with raspberries. Raspberries have a very strong flavor. I wouldnt recommend more than 2.5 lbs for a 5 gallon batch. Two would likely be plenty. With one pound, you would probably get a little tartness, but probably not a whole lot of actual raspberry flavor.
 
I did a red wheat and put 4.5lbs of raspberries in the primary. It was really tart at first, almost like wine and I was pretty unhappy. I pushed it to the back and tried one a couple months later and it was great. Raspberries seem to need to condition for a while. It think blackberries make a smoother beer.
 
Crazytwoknobs said:
Sooo... I'm unhappy with my weak beer as of late.

It's moving right along in the carboy... there's a little extra space at the top.... maybe an inch below from where the wide part of the carboy starts to curve towards the top. I'm thinking of buying a pound or so of raspberries (maybe even blackberries or something weird like cloudberries), rinsing them off, blending them up with a wee bit of water, adding some DME/cane/corn sugar, boiling it up, and tossing it in there with the rest of the batch. The OG for what's in the carboy right now was 10.35, and I took the reading in the bucket at about 80F, and I haven't done any calibrating on my hydrometer yet, so I don't trust that number too much.


Comments, tips, suggestions?
Click to expand...

Don't boil fruit ... it'll turn into a globby mess because of the pectin in it. Rinse the raspberries thoroughly and then freeze them. That'll rupture the cell walls to allow the fruit flavoring to get out and also to help kill some of the bacteria.

Also, ditto on the amount of raspberries ... you won't need anywhere near 5 lbs. for a five gal batch.
 
I was just curious what kind of sanitizing might be need when adding a fruit like this. Is just freezing it enough or would it be a good idea to rinse or soak in some cheap vodka to kill bacteria/wild yeast?
 
HBDrinker008 said:
I was just curious what kind of sanitizing might be need when adding a fruit like this. Is just freezing it enough or would it be a good idea to rinse or soak in some cheap vodka to kill bacteria/wild yeast?
Click to expand...

Yeah, rock on.

That was my main worry. I was only going to boil to get rid of whatever wild bacteria/yeast nonsense that would have come in with them. Freezing seems easier. I'm still gonna blend it and let it ferment forever... Probably till after christmas...
 
You don't have to boil it, but getting it to 160-180 for 15 minutes should take care of the baddies. I put mine in a pot with a little bit of water, started heating, and mashed the berries up a little with a mashed potato wand thing. I didn't pulverize them, I just made sure to break them up so the juices were flowing out.

Then I cooled and added to secondary.
 
I used 6.5# of strawberries in my saision (see recipe database).

Chicks salivated over it, and I am consistently asked to brew it again.

I used 5# of 'mixed berries' which was raspberry, blackberry, and marionberry (joke's been over done already). Sadly, they could not overwhelm the hops and it was decent, but not good enough. I would either 1) cut back on the hops, or 2) pump up the fruit.

Mind you both those fruit additions were being added to a 40 IBU beer. It all depends on strength of the fruit, and how many IBU you have to overpower.
 
I have a raspberry ale recipe on here... use about 2lbs... if you use 1# per gallon, you will never drink it, that is WAYYYY too much. Raspberries are very potent. To make them useable... heat them with a little water in a pot tp about 150F for about 15 minutes... essentially pasteurizing them. This will also help burst the cell walls and it basically makes them into mush, which will much more effectively flavor your beer. Enjoy it, my wife LOVED it... look for my recipe on here in the fruit beer section...
 
I added two pounds(cherries) to a low grav wit(5G) at end of boil+half pound in secondary and I ended up having to add maltodextrine so it wasn't so watery. I could barely taste any fruit flavor after primary, so if you're looking for flavor and aroma, wait until vigorous ferm is done. The half pound I added later made such a huge difference in cherry flavor and aroma. For me half pound was almost a little too much because I really wanted it to just a tiny hint of cherries in aroma and flavor. It varies substantially with the fruit you use. Raspberries and cherries are two of the stronger ones. Good luck.
 
I got 3x 6oz boxes of raspberries. They're the little ones, so I expect that they'll be full of flavor compared to the huge ones. I'm also adding a few pounds of DME, so I may end up boiling the DME and then adding the raspberries before I blend it and toss it in the carboy.
 
My raspberry wheat ale uses no more than 4# for 5 gal.

I put them in a stock pot @ 160-170 for 60 minutes. Probably overkill, but it kills the bugs.

Watch out for the yeast kicking back in if you drop them in your secondary. That can ruin your day.

Barry
 

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