Thoughts on how to make Bunker Hill Blueberry Ale

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ikelso

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I spent a few years in Boston and couldn't get enough of the Bunker Hill Blueberry they make at boston beer works. The website describes it as:

BUNKER HILL BLUEBEERY ALE (sic)
A golden ale made and garnished with fresh Maine blueberries.

So, has anyone ever used fruit in a golden ale before? Wondering if the proportions are different from a wheat ale or the same. Possibly a different choice of hops than a normal golden as well? Has anyone had this beer before and have an idea of how it might be made?

Thanks for any input!
 
From all I've seen, it's not that difficult. I've seen golden ale used for multiple things but in this case I'm guessing it means a blonde ale, which makes things simple enough - much like with wheats, light and crisp flavors make the fruit come out easily.

So near as I can tell: hops appropriate to style but usually on the lower end of the range unless you're a real hophead. As for the fruit itself, you'll need several pounds of berries, which you'll ideally want crushed and might want to just juice if you have a juicer. Some will sanitize their fruit by pouring boiling water over it or adding crushed campden tablets, but if you want a little more certainty pasteurize them at 160F for ten minutes. Don't boil though - aside from any danger to the flavor it will make pectic haze in your finished beer. Put it in your secondary - adding fruit to the primary loses more flavor and just leaves the beer tart and bitter. This will spark a potentially violent second fermentation, so make sure you have ample headspace and ideally a blowoff tube.
 
I'm a big fan of Wachusett Blueberry, made in Wachusett, MA, which is pretty similiar to the one at Boston Beer Works. On a trip to a local brew shop here in RI the owner told me most brew houses use flavoring and not fruit, including Wachusett. I was planning to make mine using Oregon fruit puree. So I went with the blueberry flavoring based on his advice.
The recipe is basically a golden ale with blueberry flavoring at bottling, or in my case kegging. I'm on my second keg, with a third waiting.
 
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