Amount of blackberries to add for any noticeable flavor?

[Ben34]

7 gallons fermenting away, had some blackberries in the fridge and wondered how many berries one would add for a slight flavor impact.

 

[Yooper]

That's a good question! I don't really know, but keep in mind that blackberries are very tart once fermented. For blackberry wine, I usually do 4# per gallon. Adding it to cider, you'd need less but I wouldn't go under 2# per gallon if you want to have a little hint of blackberry flavor.

 

[GinKings]

I would think 2 lbs per gallon would still give quite a bit of blackberry flavor. The Complete Meadmaker by Kenny Schramm does not list blackberries, but it does list raspberries, which I would consider similar. It suggests 2-4 lbs per 5 gallon batch in secondary for "mild fruit character". I attended a cidermaking seminar last month and they recommended 1/4-1/2 lbs per gallon, which is even less.

 

[Ben34]

I thought about letting the cider ferment for a week, and then add some berries. Are there berries that work best for flavor and some added sweetness, our is it just personal preference?

Is there anything to be worried about in terms of timing - how long should the berries be in for full effect?

Any concerns about wild years berries bring to the table our is that negligible?

Thanks

 

[Yooper]

I thought about letting the cider ferment for a week, and then add some berries. Are there berries that work best for flavor and some added sweetness, our is it just personal preference?

Is there anything to be worried about in terms of timing - how long should the berries be in for full effect?

Any concerns about wild years berries bring to the table our is that negligible?

Thanks

Most berries make a wine or cider pretty tart, as once the sugar is fermented out there is only fruity tartness left behind. If you want to add some sweetness, you'll have to add some unfermentable sugars as well.

I usually leave my wines/meads/ciders on the fruit until the fruit starts to lose some color and turn mushy- usually about a week or two. I use wild berries, but I always use campden tablets before hand to kill any wild yeast or bacteria that may be on them.

 

[Bookem15]

Most berries make a wine or cider pretty tart, as once the sugar is fermented out there is only fruity tartness left behind. If you want to add some sweetness, you'll have to add some unfermentable sugars as well.

I usually leave my wines/meads/ciders on the fruit until the fruit starts to lose some color and turn mushy- usually about a week or two. I use wild berries, but I always use campden tablets before hand to kill any wild yeast or bacteria that may be on them.

I am wondering if you could add like a wine conditioner to it after racking off of the fruit?

 

[Yooper]

I am wondering if you could add like a wine conditioner to it after racking off of the fruit?

Sure you could. That would stabilize it and sweeten it.

I'm not a fan but only because I do almost all dry wines/meads/ciders. Believe it or not, I dont' have a sweet tooth at all and find anything sweet pretty foul tasting to me. But many people like sweetened ciders and that would work just fine. Keep in mind that you can't carbonate a cider after using wine conditioner- it's just for still sweetened drinks- unless you're force carbonating in a keg.