blueberry choices

[jefferym09]

ive got a blone ale thats almost ready to rack to secondary. i am going to add blueberry flavoring, but what should i use? concentrate? mashed blueberries, blueberry puree? also for a 5 gallon batch, how many lbs. of blueberry ingredients should i put into secondary?

 

[Akneebreeated]

I am also curious about this, I am totally new to home brewing and am trying to reel my fiancé in. She likes Wild Blue, a blueberry lager, and I think if we can make something close to this she will be as hooked as I am on home brewing!

 

[lunc7]

i've made several fruit beers. strawberry blonde was the best. raspberry wheat goes over well with my friends. all i've ever used is 4oz extracts from any beer store. i put 1oz or a tad more in at the end of the boil and add the rest at kegging or bottling which ever your doing. easy and don't listen to the people who say it will be too much. 4oz is perfect.

 

[Akneebreeated]

Would adding the extract at bottling change the amount of priming sugar needed, or is there not enough fermentable sugars to make it an issue?

 

[brrman]

I always use 5-6 lbs of frozen and mashed blueberries in my secondary for a 5 gal batch. I make a blueberry porter at least once a year. If you have fresh berries, you should still freeze them so the ice crystals break up the cells of the berry, imparting more flavor.

 

[lunc7]

I do the kegging thing so I'm not 100% sure on the priming sugar. although I've never seen any directions changed in any recipes I've read containing extract.

 

[Akneebreeated]

I have been digging around and I believe you are correct, doesn't seem to cause any issues. Thanks for all the info!

 

[jefferym09]

some people say add fruit to secondary, some say add at bottling. i had the same question about priming sugar so i assumed you would not add it at bottling. but thats probably just me not knowing anything.

 

[acidrain23]

I think its prudent to add real fruit to secondary (sugars need to ferment out). Fruit EXTRACT should be added at bottling, and as far as I know anyway, does not contain additional sugar.