Blueberry Ale

[bhagen]

I've been craving a Blueberry Ale, and I was looking through these boards for a recipe. A little controversy about using real fruit, extract... many pleas for recipes, but then just general thoughts that follow the requests....

So I brewed a batch Saturday. I'll post as the journey goes. So far,

-1 lb 4 oz Crystal 40L
-2 oz Cara-Pils

-Soak in cold water, bring to 160 for 30 minutes (ended at 145)
-Sparge through mesh strainer with warm water into fermenter.

-6 lb 9 oz Gold Malt Extract liquid
-1 oz Galena pellets 14.1 60 minutes
-1 oz Mt Hood pellets 3.7 15 minutes
-2.8 gallon boil

At the end of the boil, I added 6 oz fresh blueberries, and returned the wort to a simmer for 1 minute. The berries cooked and burst a little, releasing color and sugar. I cooled the wort, and strained it though a fine mesh strainer into my fermenter. I crushed the berries a bit in the strainer (with the hop particles) and let the juice drop into the fermenter.

Cooled the wort to 75 and pitched with Wyeast 1272. I had vigorous fermentation the next day.

It's hot here (Westchester NY). My fermentation closet is at about 70 at night, 75-77 during the day. I should get a fruity fermentation.

I plan to add more blueberries to the secondary, and I plan again to cook up about 8 oz of berries so there are no wild yeasts, and crush them into the secondary before I rack. Also considering dry hopping with some Willamette whole hops I have in the freezer.

I'll keep all the blueberry lovers posted as I progress.

 

[david_42]

Looks like a good approach. I used about 3 lbs of blueberries in mine, but the woman I made the beer for likes strong fruity flavors. Beer, not so much.

 

[wcarter1227]

you should try this as a blueberry witbier, sounds like could be good.

 

[atomicflatulence]

Picking blue berries tomorrow morning. I'm thinking of racking one gallon of my IPA that I brewed on the 28th onto some of the berries. Rack the other 4 gallons as usual.

I'm wondering how to properly pastuerize the berries to kill any wild yeasties. Is it 160 for 45 minutes?

I've never used fresh fruit.

 

[atomicflatulence]

ok...i read a little and i might skip the experiment this time. I'm brewing a hefe in a couple days and i may try it on that one.

 

[lumpher]

blueberry ipa?

blueberry hefeweizen is pretty good, and safer

 

[bhagen]

Update......
After 5 days of fairly hot fermentation (avg 75 F) the primary fermentor was very quiet.

I briefly cooked up another 12 ounces of Fresh Blueberries (Boiled for 2-3 minutes) and let them cool. I crushed the fruit through a fine mesh strainer which resulted in about 6-8 oz of thick syrupy juice. The juice had balanced sweet-sour flavor with very mild tannin from the skins. I poured it into my glass carboy secondary fermenter and racked the brew on top of it. I aimed the racking tube so the beer would flow in a circle and stir up the blueberry juice.

After 1 day, I had a mini kruezen on the surface of the brew. The foam was mildly grayish purple, instead of the usual bronze-gray flecked with green. It's been 4 days now. The kruezen has mostly cleared from the surface, and the top layer is beginning to clear. In the carboy, it looks like a standard pale ale clearing out.

I am looking at the next two or three days of 100+ degree days outside temps. I might have to wrap the glass with wet towels.

Possible bottling in about a week.

 

[bhagen]

OK, I bottled this Blueberry Ale.

It spent 14 days in a glass carboy secondary fermentor.
Secondary was pretty warm. 75-80 ambient temp most of the time. But the fermentation was not vigorous in the least. Only difference from my usual experience; about 30% of yeast clumps on the surface didn't fall back to the bottom. They were floating higher on the surface too, instead of hanging below the surface. My first thought is that they were masses of blueberry particles surrounded by yeast. But maybe it's a product of the hot fermentor, I don't know for sure.

Anyway, I tasted some (uncarbonated/unconditioned) and I'm happy, but it's not as concentrated as I wanted for the berry flavor. There is very little diacetyl that I was expecting, thankfully. There is a sweetness that isn't a malty sweetness, but not obvious. No Blueberry aroma. Perfect hop balance for a pale ale. Color is orange with a hint of purple. So far, it's a good brew, but doesn't have the level of blueberry character I hoped for. I used 18 oz of fresh blueberries for a 5 gallon batch, and the brew has something unique, but probably not identifiable as blueberries. If I did this again, I would almost double the blueberries. 2 pounds for a 5 gallon batch might give a clear berry character without making a fruit bomb.

Final analysis when bottle conditioning is complete in 2 weeks or so.

 

[SevenFields]

some people will add 1-2oz of blueberry extract for aroma and to make the flavor come out a little better

 

[lumpher]

i've got my first blueberry hefe in the secondary right now. in the primary for about 2 weeks, then racked onto 3 lbs frozen blueberries ( suggested by other posts ). that seems to be what most other people suggest for 5g, from what i've read. anyone made a hefe with frozen blueberries and had good success? i'd like to find out if the 3 lbs is a good amount. 18 oz seems low, but is 3 lbs going to be a "fruit bomb"?

 

[JLem]

FWIW I recently tried Newport Storm's Blueberry Ale (Kolch base) at their brewery (Newport, RI) and it was by far the best blueberry beer I've ever had. They said the key was that they use fresh pressed blueberry juice after fermentation. Not sure how much, but it had a great blueberry aroma without tasting artificial or cloyingly fruity.

 

[Martin2D]

I'm making a blueberry American wild ale right now with 8 lbs of blueberries for 5 gallons.

 

[teddyjackson]

Me and my friends will be brewing up a blueberry ale possibly by next week. Im still confused though, I have about 3lbs of fresh picked blueberries and not sure how to add them. Currently they are in the freezer, should i mash them up or just add them after the boil?

 

[mkling]

Thaw em, mash em up, and add em to secondary after two weeks in primary. Just don't heat em up in anyway aside from thawing.

 

[NuclearRich]

I will be aiming for 3lbs I think, for my first blueberry blonde ale. Blueberries aren't as strong as imparting their flavor as raspberries, but likely a little stronger than strawberries. I am freezing fresh blueberries, and will thaw them prior to secondary fermentatio and add them then. Hopefully my theory helps you! I will be updating myself once I get the brew going. Cheers.

 

[NuclearRich]

Also, frozen blueberries are a great summer snack!

 

[aboule13]

great stuff here... i just did a blueberry pale ale and carried it out the same way... fermented for 2.5 weeks and racked onto blueberries.... im just not sure how long im going to leave the berries in there. i am thinking only a week and then im going to keg it and serve it with berries (to whoever is lucky enough to catch me before i run out of the fresh picked berries)

 

[mkling]

Sounds good, though I'd give it at least two weeks on the berries. If yours is like mine, the addition of the berries caused a whole new vigorous second fermentation. Mine needs at least 2 weeks for the yeast to drop out and for the beer to clear.

 

[bhagen]

Original poster here - This reminds me I never posted my final results.

I made a good pale ale that is both sweeter than normal, and darker than expected for the grains I used. Closer to a hoppy Maarzen in those areas. Otherwise I have a good beer without wild flavors or bacterial contamination from the berries. As per my suspicion when I bottled; this has no blueberry aroma or flavor. 18 oz per 5 gallons is not enough. Learn from my experience!