Recipe: Berried Alive Blackberry Stout - Feedback wanted :)

Hello all! First post, been lurking for a month or so, finally sat down and registered. I'm getting ready for my first brew in a week or so! I formulated my recipe, and punched it into BeerSmith last night. Here is what I've got:


Berried Alive - Blackberry Stout
Type: Extract
Date: 10/8/2010
Batch Size: 5.00 gal

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
1.00 lb Dark Dry Extract (17.5 SRM) Dry Extract 8.68 %
7.00 lb Light Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 60.79 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 8.68 %
6oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 3.30 %
6oz Black Barley (Stout) (500.0 SRM) Grain 3.30 %
6oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 3.26 %

2.00 oz Amarillo [8.50 %] (55 min)
1.50 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] (25 min)
0.50 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep)
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient

6oz Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (Bottling) Sugar 3.30 %

5.00 gal Crystal Geyser Spring Water Water
1 Pkgs London Ale III (Wyeast Labs #1318) Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.074 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.019 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 7.15 %
Bitterness: 49.1 IBU Calories: 437 cal/pint

Questions: I want to add 4 lbs of Blackberries to this. Should these go in at
primary fermentation, or wait until secondary? Also, should I steep a half pound of Cara-pils for added body? Other than that, how does everything seem to add up? Looking forward to being active in the community, and I appreciate any feedback I get!

-Matt

add blackberries into the secondary 7 days before kegging/bottling. yes, add 8 oz of cara-pils. as far as the 6 oz dark malts, i might back them off to 4 oz

Well, that was quick. Thanks for a speedy reply and helpful info.

+1 on the blackberries in secondary. Freeze them for a day or two, then thaw them out, mash them up a bit and dump them in the secondary before you rack. Freezing helps them give up their juicy goodness.

I had heard someone say to steep the frozen blackberries in ~150 water for 15-30 mins to release some of the sugars, or partially invert the sugars, or something along those lines. Does that sound reasonable


EDIT: Also, is there a way to estimate the % of alcohol produced by blackberries in the Secondary?

According to Beer Calculus, 1lb of blackberry puree in a 5 gallon batch will raise the OG by .007.

I wouldn't heat the fruit at all. Just dump it in and rack.

I currently have a stout fermenting, with the intentions of adding blackberries to the secondary, my question is when using frozen berries i read on this post that i should mash them up after they thaw should this end up like a puree or just a little bit. Should i had the berries before or after i transfer my liquid. Also should I/ or do i need to add any other yeast at this point? thanks in advanced for the help.