Anybody successfully brewed blueberry beer?

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gannawdm

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I plan on brewing a blueberry belgian wit. In a lot of the posts I've seen, many attempts at a blueberry beer result in a beer with little or no blueberry character.

Has anybody successfully achieved blueberry flavor using actual blueberries (not extract)? If so, please share your methods.
 
The people I know who have been most successful have used Oregon Purees, either the more expensive stuff sold at homebrew stores OR the ones much cheaper at the grocery store in the pie aisle.

FruitPuree.jpg


The difference between the two types is slight, but they both are 100% natural with no preservatives.

Some good info here;

http://www.leeners.com/beer-recipes-fruit.html
 
I brew a blueberry porter a couple times a year. Actual frozen blueberries (from the store - not picked by me and then frozen), smashed as they thaw in the bag. Add to secondary and rack right on top of it. I do not pasteurize the berries at all.

And yes i get a decent flavor with a reddish tinge to the head. I think i use 6 lbs / 5 gallons. Ended up being fairly expensive, but my wife and I love it.
 
I brewed a blueberry oatmeal stout? Pretty good, I used real blueberries. I forgot the ratio I used but I only have a 6-pack left that I'm aging for a year lol.
 
Details please. How did you process them (puree, crush, etc.)? Primary or secondary? How long? Any other considerations for obtaining that blueberry character?
 
Well, I smashed them and then I strained the mash with a metal strainer to collect only the juice and leave the skins behind. I racked my oatmeal stout to the secondary and just added the juice to it for a week. I actually bottled the 3 gallons of my oatmeal stout and racked the other 2 gallons to 1-gallon glass carboys with blueberry juice. I left it for about 7-10 days because the blueberry added some extra sugars to the beer. I looked at my old notes and I ended up using 3lbs of blueberries for 2 gallons (or 1.5lbs per gallon). The taste definitely came out, but I may suggest only using 1lb for gallon if you only wanted a light blueberry taste. For a wit, I'd probably stick to 1-1.25lbs per gallon.

From an old post/notes when I made it:
"It's been a while and I ended up using 3lbs of frozen blueberries and smashing them into a pulp (literally). Put the mashed blueberry pulp-juice into two 1-gallon secondaries evenly and racked on top of them."
 
Well, I smashed them and then I strained the mash with a metal strainer to collect only the juice and leave the skins behind. I racked my oatmeal stout to the secondary and just added the juice to it for a week. I actually bottled the 3 gallons of my oatmeal stout and racked the other 2 gallons to 1-gallon glass carboys with blueberry juice. I left it for about 7-10 days because the blueberry added some extra sugars to the beer. I looked at my old notes and I ended up using 3lbs of blueberries for 2 gallons (or 1.5lbs per gallon). The taste definitely came out, but I may suggest only using 1lb for gallon if you only wanted a light blueberry taste. For a wit, I'd probably stick to 1-1.25lbs per gallon.

From an old post/notes when I made it:
"It's been a while and I ended up using 3lbs of frozen blueberries and smashing them into a pulp (literally). Put the mashed blueberry pulp-juice into two 1-gallon secondaries evenly and racked on top of them."

So would you suggest racking a second time to more blueberry juice for optimal blueberry character? Sorry to somewhat highjack this thread but I'm literally going to be doing the same exact thing as the OP.
 
So would you suggest racking a second time to more blueberry juice for optimal blueberry character? Sorry to somewhat highjack this thread but I'm literally going to be doing the same exact thing as the OP.

I can't comment as I've never tried it. I only added any blueberry juice to the secondary because I was only making 2 gallons of it. If you use any blueberry flavor/juice before hand, I'd take that in to account and adjust the other additions. If you are using any other blueberry flavor, I'd cut down the secondary smashed blueberries to .5-.75lbs per gallon or less. I can't comment otherwise.
 
1. Can you see any down side with pureeing the blueberries? I would expect to get more color from the skins.

2. Can you see any down side with adding the blueberries to the primary after initial fermentation is complete. My wit has been in the primary for 2 weeks. Is the point of the secondary to reduce the number of yeast that can munch up the blueberry flavor?
 
1. Can you see any down side with pureeing the blueberries? I would expect to get more color from the skins.

2. Can you see any down side with adding the blueberries to the primary after initial fermentation is complete. My wit has been in the primary for 2 weeks. Is the point of the secondary to reduce the number of yeast that can munch up the blueberry flavor?

I'm by no means an expert but I think the point of the secondary would be to clear your beer because there will be plenty of yeast to process the blueberry, those little suckers reproduce at an incredible rate anyways.
 
1. Can you see any down side with pureeing the blueberries? I would expect to get more color from the skins.

2. Can you see any down side with adding the blueberries to the primary after initial fermentation is complete. My wit has been in the primary for 2 weeks. Is the point of the secondary to reduce the number of yeast that can munch up the blueberry flavor?

Secondary lets you control how long you want your blueberries to sit in there. Longer than 7 days might give unwanted flavor etc. I say pureeing should be fine if you strain them- the skins add a sourness/tart to the beer. If you like a tarty beer, go for it. I wanted flavor and a bit more focus on the sweetness of the blueberries.
 
I think I'm going to add 8 lbs. of frozen blueberries to my 6 gallon batch. I will puree all of them, but only add the pulp of half of the total berries. For the other half, I'll only add the juice. Since I'm not overly concerned with clarity (it is a witbier after all), I'll just add the berries to the primary and leave it in there for a weekish.
 
The challenge with blueberry is residual sweetness. I used 3 lbs of frozen berries in 5 gallons, thawed and mashed. I also added half a bottle of da Vinci sugar-free (sucrulose) blueberry syrup. Very fine flavor, kegged it Wed and enjoying a pint right now.
 
The challenge with blueberry is residual sweetness. I used 3 lbs of frozen berries in 5 gallons, thawed and mashed. I also added half a bottle of da Vinci sugar-free (sucrulose) blueberry syrup. Very fine flavor, kegged it Wed and enjoying a pint right now.

Sounds amazing, I should try that next time.
 
I did a blueberry wheat years ago using fresh berries, pureed. Smelled great and they definitely showed in the color, but the berries were non-existent in the flavor. Blueberries don't have much flavor to begin with so use LOTS. I did 1 lb in 2.5 gallons and it wasn't nearly enough.
 
The people I know who have been most successful have used Oregon Purees, either the more expensive stuff sold at homebrew stores OR the ones much cheaper at the grocery store in the pie aisle.

FruitPuree.jpg

Last year I made a 5g batch of a blueberry wheat. I added a 3# can of oregon bb puree to the secondary. I had a bit of lactose in there, also.

It had a tinge of purple color, and there was definitely a fruit taste, it was not obviously blueberry. In fact, at a club meeting I handed samplers out to about 5 people and not one said blueberry. I considered it a failure.
 
I brewed last night. I did not puree them. All I had was a Magic Bullet and that would have been a pain to puree a couple cups at a time, so I just mashed them up good with my hands (arrest me infection police). I strained 4 lbs. and just added the juice. Then I added the remaining 4 lbs. skins and all. This morning my airlock is bubbling a bit. Hopefully those WLP 400 yeasties leave some blueberry for me. btw, i did end up adding them to the primary. I'll bottle in a week. If it's drinkable, I'll post my recipe.
 
To get good fruit character out of a lambic you should use 2lbs/gal.
I've heard of much larger numbers. Expensive, but good.
 
I brewed a blueberry wheat last summer with 5 lbs of handpicked, frozen, thawed, and pounded blueberries. I added the blueberries (juice & skins) to secondary. It was one of the most popular and loved beers that I've brewed in the last few years. I liked it a lot too (though it isn't a style I'd put as a favorite). It had a very robust blueberry flavor.

I did two things that helped bring out the fruit flavor. First, I added a bit of acid blend at kegging. Blueberries by nature aren't a very tart fruit, but a smidge of tartness brings out the fruit character a lot. I also added about 2 teaspoons of sweet'n'low to the keg. For both the acid blend & sweetener I think they helped because the brain associates all fruit flavors as being slightly acidic & sweet. When the blueberry flavor that's in there doesn't have tartness or sweetness to go with it, our brain doesn't interpret that flavor as blueberry. Just a little of each really made the berry flavor pop.

I would have preferred to do this without the artificial sweetener, but I've got no LHBS & could get lactose easily, so it was what I could do & it did taste great.
 
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