adding fruit to secondary

[gimpmeister]

I am starting a batch this weekend that will be a light ale. Then adding raspberries to the secondary, 2 pounds/gal for a 5 gal batch. How active will the secondary fermentation be? Wondering if my carboy can handle it or if I might need to think about splitting the batch.

 

[twistr25]

Technically you should be adding the raspberries once the initial fermentation is complete. The amount of sugar in the fruit shouldn't be anywhere near that of the original wort, so I don't think you should have a lot of issues. However, I will say I have not tried this yet, so not 100% sure on that logic.

 

[JimRausch]

With 10lb of Raspberries, she'll kick in pretty good. Won't be as vigorous as your original, but then you have to worry about raspberries sludge plugging up your airlock. I would probably put on a blowoff tube for the 1st 2-3 days.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Theres no way your fitting 10# of Raspberries in a 6 or even 6.5 gallon carboy with 5 gallons of wort in it.

If you dont already have the raspberries I HIGHLY suggest you buy a Oregon Fruit Raspberry Puree(Also listed as Vitners) instead of using whole berries.

Raspberries are one of those fruits with a trillion nooks and crannies for baddies to hide out to infect your beer, simply washing them wont get rid of it.

You can buy aseptically sealed raspberry puree's from them for 15-20 bucks at many homebrew shops that are guaranteed to be safe from bacteria.

 

[gimpmeister]

I hadn't thought too much about the volume of fruit. I do want the fresh fruit and was planning to use either bourbon or vodka to try and kill everything off and minimize risk.
I do have an extra carboy. This might be a good opportunity for some experimentation. Split the batch and try other flavors in one then use dry ice to top them off with co2 before adding the airlock.
I'm open for recommendations but would like to avoid puree. There is just a world of difference in flavor in what I've tried when I was a chef in terms of puree vs fresh fruit.

 

[OkashiiBrew]

+1 on using puree. The canned stuff is bug free. And 1 can is enough to provide flavor without over doing the beer. Expect some active fermentation but not tons. Check gravity before adding, pour in gently, walk away and ignore for a week before doing FG checks.