Adding Blueberry/Rasberry?

[stinkydadhomebrew]

I have a Cream Ale waiting to be brewed, and I like the idea of adding either a blueberry or raspberry flavor. Gotta be honest, fresh fruit prices are kinda high for the amount of fruit I think it would take for a 5 gallon batch (I have heard/read 5-8 lbs of berries to get any flavor). Even frozen berries would be $30-40 for that much.

I am a little scared of fruit extracts if the flavor will taste "fake".

I appreciate any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[lextasy23]

I used Blueberry for a stout, but it wasn't anywhere near enough. The directions said approx 2 oz for 5 gallons (half the bottle i got). Since I was doing a split batch, I used 1oz in 2.5 gallons. Bottled half the stout, added, bottled the rest.

I would have used 2-3 times or more next time. There was a slight aroma, and just about zero flavor. A slight aftertaste, but that was it.

My next kit is a 6 gallon Strawberry Summer Ale for my sister and her friends. The plan this time is to add to taste.

As far as the flavor though, It seemed to be right on for me. Buying the all natural stuff is obviously way better than artificial crap. You don't want your hard work to taste like laffy taffy.

You can always add more a little at a time, but you can't take it out once it's in there. Are you bottling or kegging?

 

[stinkydadhomebrew]

kegging

 

[mlyday]

A can of puree is about $15. Not cheap, but cheaper.

 

[craigbrew]

Gordon food service has 5lb of frozen Raspberries for around $20.00. I add that to 5 gals and it is enough. You could also try picking your own.

 

[lostboysbrew]

Gordon food service has 5lb of frozen Raspberries for around $20.00. I add that to 5 gals and it is enough. You could also try picking your own.

Rasberries are good for flavoring. Remember though, Cream Ale color will be affected. It all depends on what style as well. We did a Rasberry Blonde with 2lbs of frozen rasberries. But then we had to use 3lbs for our Chocolate Rasberri Stout. You need to experiement with it and decide what flavor you are looking for. If you are going to pick your own make sure you vodka bathe them or boil them to get off any contaminents.

As for Blueberries, there flavor is hard to get naturally. Its one of those fruits that you associate a flavor with the artificial, similar to watermelon. When has a watermelon ever tasted like watermelon jolly ranchers??? Used blueberry extract in a Belgian Wit just a couple weeks ago, worked great!! Very suttle b/c as we added we tasted it, added more, tasted....etc...you get the idea, its an experiment game, there is not right or wrong way. Extract also will depend on the beer. Cherry Stouts need a whole bottle if you want the flavor to come through the smoky malts. Cream ale is much lighter, wont need nearly that much, and it depends on how much fruit flavor you want.

Good luck!

 

[TonySwank]

Many people have used Blueberry extract and with great success. I know both homebrew shops in town recommend it over using actual blueberries for cost/ease issues. One big upside is that you can add a small amount in the secondary or bottling bucket, taste, add a little more, taste, repeat until you get the right amount. You should not need much for a cream ale.

That being said, I've used blueberries twice in wheats and always used frozen. 3-4 pounds gave a really nice amount of flavor. Left it in the secondary for 2-3 weeks. I don't remember it being that expensive (about $4 per pound) but it has been a year or two. When using actual blueberries it is important that the skin is broken so the juice can be absorbed by the beer, with frozen fruit it happens during the freezing process so no extra labor mashing up berries.

 

[grace1760]

Many people have used Blueberry extract and with great success. I know both homebrew shops in town recommend it over using actual blueberries for cost/ease issues. One big upside is that you can add a small amount in the secondary or bottling bucket, taste, add a little more, taste, repeat until you get the right amount. You should not need much for a cream ale.

That being said, I've used blueberries twice in wheats and always used frozen. 3-4 pounds gave a really nice amount of flavor. Left it in the secondary for 2-3 weeks. I don't remember it being that expensive (about $4 per pound) but it has been a year or two. When using actual blueberries it is important that the skin is broken so the juice can be absorbed by the beer, with frozen fruit it happens during the freezing process so no extra labor mashing up berries.

Just out of curiosity...does fruit (fresh or frozen) need to be boiled or pasteurized before adding to beer?

 

[BrewThruYou]

Just out of curiosity...does fruit (fresh or frozen) need to be boiled or pasteurized before adding to beer?

Well, I'm not sure how you would home pasteurize. Most people recommend not to boil fruit since it releases pectins. Instead, people freeze fresh fruit and then thaw it when it's ready to go in.

I did a blueberry ale (blonde ale base) with five 15oz cans of canned fruit in syrup, drained the syrup and racked the beer onto it in secondary. Kinda disappointed...added color but not a whole lot of blueberry taste. Added 2oz of blueberry extract and it still doesn't have enough blueberry.

I just brewed a wheat that will just have blueberry extract...probably 3 or 4oz.

 

[TonySwank]

Just out of curiosity...does fruit (fresh or frozen) need to be boiled or pasteurized before adding to beer?

I don't believe so, but I'm sure it is a matter of personal preference and it certainly wouldn't hurt. Most of the microbes will be inhibited by the alcohol, which is why you would want to add the fruit to the secondary after primary fermentation is complete. Pasteurization doesn't kill the all of the microbes, it just reduces the number of viable ones.

Look around in this thread for a length discussion about adding fruit

 

[lextasy23]

A can of puree is about $15. Not cheap, but cheaper.

I just brewed Pumpkin Ale last night, 7 gallons took 6 15oz cans of organic puree. 90oz. $20.

The ***** of it is, I'll probably still have to rely on artificial to enhance it... I can barely taste pumpkin or spice in the wort. (Though I have learned to not entirely trust wort taste).

The Strawberry Summer is next, and I think we'll be buying fresh local ones, freezing them to burst the cells, and simmering LIGHTLY until they're goo, and adding to the secondary before racking over. I also may do some halfway through boil, and some at flameout. This will give it the haze we're looking for from what I understand, and most likely some flavor complexity/depth.