When to add fruit

[SchnookeredSir]

Hello all! I have a question about when to add fruit to beer...

I made a Brooklyn Brewshop Blonde Ale kit, and when I went to chill it post boil, I used frozen wild blackberries to aid in the cold-crash process. It made a pretty cool looking hazy beer, but I never made any attempt to clear it. The finished product was a lot like a lambic in mouthfeel and taste. It was very good, with a tart, dry finish and everyone who had it wants more.

I've also done a bigger batch of a Strawberry Ale from the site here and racked as a secondary onto the frozen berries for 7 days. I used gelatin to try to clear it but got so-so results. I have not tasted it yet, as it's stil lin the bottle-conditioning phase for another week or so.

So my question is, how and when should berries be added to a fruit beer, and what are some ways to clean it up to be competition ready?

 

[Medic218]

When is a matter of preference I would think.
To clear it, cold crash?

 

[SchnookeredSir]

I had read somewhere that pouring the wort post boil over the fruit would set the pectin in the fruit and make it impossible to clear. I was looking to see if I was doing something wrong.

 

[enkamania]

I add fruit after 1 week in the fermenter (I've done strawberry and watermelon)

 

[adiochiro3]

I add the fruit on day 3 of primary fermentation

 

[fantomlord]

let it finish fermenting, then rack onto the fruit in a secondary.