Blueberry wheat

I'm looking for some advice on a blueberry wheat recipe. I've got a ton of fresh blueberries from the orchard so extract and canned puree are out. Here are my questions.

1. How many lbs? I do 10 gal batches. I was thinking 1 lb per gal.

2. I'd like to add them to the secondary but don't know how to sanitize them. I could boil/pasteurize but it seems like an awful lot of berries for that. What about metabisulfite tabs?

3. I've read that some use the tabs or sorbate to prevent a second fermentation and preserve more fruit flavor. What are everyone's thoughts or experiences with this? I want a balanced beer not too fruity or sweet but with detectable blueberry notes. I force carb so no worries about bottle carbing...

4. I may use some acidified malt or lactic acid for tartness, what are yall's thoughts?

Thanks-

Will

 

1 lb might be overkill if you ask me. I'd rather go with 1 lb per 2.5 to 3 gallons
And you could always give them a huge temperature swing here; drench them in boiling water swiftly, vacuum-seal them all together in a durable bag, and freeze them. I'm not sure if it kills ALL the bacteria, but damn it's close.

 

Or soak the berries in vodka for 5 to 10 minutes. I've seen recipes where this was done with blackberries to sanitize them. Or infuse the vodka for 2 weeks and add as much as you like at bottling time.

 

I would go with 1lb per gal or more. Blueberry is a subtle flavor. I would NOT boil them...everything I've read says that it will release pectin and cause off flavors.

 

1) 1#/gal is bare minimum. Blueberries will be subtle and if you want anything more than color you will have to go to 1.5#/gal or more.

2) If adding to secondary, the wort has already fermented and the alcohol and limited hops additions will help fight off any introduced bugs. Freezing the berries for a few days helps to kill the majority of naturally occurring bugs & wild yeast. DO NOT BOIL/HEAT SANITIZE BLUEBERRIES UNLESS YOU LOVE PECTIN.

3) Blueberries are relatively low in sugar compared to other fruits. I don't think you will get a significant variation there allowing the yeast to work on the fructose or not. You could split the batch and try it both ways?

4) The blueberries will add enough tartness on their own. They also have a lot of tannin in the skins, so you may end up with a slight tart/tannic twang but that is part of the blueberry character.