Adding raspberries to my secondary- need to sterilize?

I have a German hefeweizen in my primary. I want to add raspberries to the secondary. I went out and got 2 lbs of frozen raspberries at stop and shop. Can I just throw these right in my secondary without boiling or sterilizing somehow? Do I risk spoiling my beer.

Also, is 2 lbs an appropriate amount for a 5 gallon batch? I want there to be a distinct flavor and aroma of raspberries but don't want it to be overbearing. I am looking for a hefeweizen with notes of raspberries but not the other way around.

Thanks for the help

If you use canned or jarred raspberries they have already been pasteurized. Frozen fruit is not pasteurized, however, so you may want to do something about that. Personally, I never do because the bacteria and yeasts which live on fruit tend to be beer-friendly. If you want to pasteurize it just put it in a pan with water and slowly bring it up to 170F but do not boil it. Let it cool and add it.

As far as how much? That's an objective question. Add your raspberries and wait a week or two then taste. You want a slightly stronger flavor because it will mellow while it conditions.

I've never had any trouble adding frozen fruit to my beer. Adding it after fermentation is complete will lessen the chance that your beer will become infected. There's just a lot more of your yeast than whatever could be on the fruit. The new bugs aren't going to win that fight. Raspberries make some really tart beer so I think starting with two pounds is a good idea. Normally I add 1 lb of fruit per gallon of beer but blackberries and raspberries are an exception in my book. That is unless you have a way on controlling your final sugar content to offset the sour flavors.

I once "dry hopped" my keg of Belgian Blonde with 3 lbs of frozen strawberries with very good results. Store bought fresh strawberries, washed, quartered and frozen. No additional treatment for fruit and it was fine. But, my blonde stayed cool in freezer below 40F all the time till keg was kicked. Never used fruit any other way in beer. I make a lot of melomels thought and for them I add frozen untreated fruit at room temperature for a week, also without any problems.
4 lbs of raspberries will be overpowering in my opinion. I just fermented melomel with 4 lbs of raspberries (3 gal batch) in primary and flavor and aroma from berries is so strong that I decided not to add any in secondary. I think raspberries are really potent

That sounds like it might be a little much. I just made a blonde ale and added raspberries. I added 40 oz of organic and after only a week in secondary it was pretty tart. It mellowed in the bottle after some time but never really sweetened like I had wanted. But I just added them frozen to the secondary and racked onto them and they thawed on their own. No rinsing or anything and no infection at all. You already have alcohol and a lot of yeast.

Another option that I routinely use is to add the fruit to my primary bucket after the majority of the fermentation is done. I do this near the end of the fermentation since most of the vigorous CO2 production is done. In this way, more of the aroma of the fruit is retained.

Another benefit is that it's also a lot less messy than adding them to the secondary carboy. I believe I end up with more beer this way as well.

mccabedoug said:

Another option that I routinely use is to add the fruit to my primary bucket after the majority of the fermentation is done. I do this near the end of the fermentation since most of the vigorous CO2 production is done. In this way, more of the aroma of the fruit is retained.

Another benefit is that it's also a lot less messy than adding them to the secondary carboy. I believe I end up with more beer this way as well.

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Thanks for all the help guys. Fermentation has just about finished. Around one bubble per minute. I think I am gonna put the frozen fruit in now and see what it tastes like when I go to rack into secondary.

Tuckahoe said:

Thanks for all the help guys. Fermentation has just about finished. Around one bubble per minute. I think I am gonna put the frozen fruit in now and see what it tastes like when I go to rack into secondary.

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Fermentation will start up again as the yeast consumes the sugars in the raspberries. Give it some time. Your hydrometer is your friend.

Thanks again cause I just checked on it and I noticed that fermentation had kicked up again and was worried that I might have added it too soon. I'll trust the hydrometer from here. Hope it turns out good

Tuckahoe said:

Thanks again cause I just checked on it and I noticed that fermentation had kicked up again and was worried that I might have added it too soon. I'll trust the hydrometer from here. Hope it turns out good

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Be patient, give it some time - a week at least. You're looking for several consecutive days when the SG remains stable.