Raspberry Wheat Fermenter Question

Okay, so I have a wheat beer going on. I want to make it a raspberry wheat, so I plan on racking onto 4lb of raspberries (frozen, then cooked to 170 to sanitize but prevent pectins). I have the 6.5 Gal (full to 5gal) it is in currently and 5 gal fermenters. So, there is some trub on the bottom, but not much. My worry is that if I put 4 lb. of raspberries into a 5 gal fermenter and then rack on top of, I will have overflow, as well as fruit krausen overflowing (even if I use a blowoff).

So, should I rack out of the 6.5, into a 5 with the raspberries and affix with a blowoff?

or

Should I rack out of the 6.5, into a 5, rinse the 6.5 for trub, put the raspberries on the bottom of the 6.5, rack the beer back to the 6.5 and ferment.

Thanks in advance!

Why not put the raspberries straight into the 6.5 gallon carboy without racking. If you are not trying to harvest the yeast, I see no need to rack.

I'd heat to only 150. You only need 10 mins at 150 to sanitize, and if you over-shoot, it's not as big a problem. Many people just toss the frozen fruit straight in the beer with the assumption that both the freezing and the high alcohol will reduce the risk of contamination. I am not that brave myself; some day I will do it and then wonder why I spent all that time heating and cooling fruit.

Well, I would think with the excess splashing that it would oxidize the beer. Is that wrong?

I would just put the raspberry in the primary and be done with it. I used frozen strawberries and racked right on top of them without any freezing or pasturization and did not have a problem. Almost all the people in the thread for the succulent strawberry blonde did it the same way.

If you are worried, I would personally do the 6.5, 5, 6.5 juggle you were talking about.

JCrazy84 said:

Well, I would think with the excess splashing that it would oxidize the beer. Is that wrong?

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No problem. There should be CO2 in the carboy right now, not O2. Also, with the addition of the extra sugars from the strawberries, the yeast would likely scrub any small amount of O2 in the wort. It will not be a problem.

Alrighty, I will add them tomorrow at some point. Thank you all for the advice!

just toss the raspberries after the primary is done. you'll be fine