Blueberry Ale

[Maxkling]

Ok, I posted my first recipe, but after dusting off the old How To Brew book I kinda changed my mind a little. I just want a few opinions since I cannot find a good blueberry ale recipe. This is for my wife, shes been bugging me about brewing her something and since shes out of town I thought about surprising her with it.

I would like a slightly malty, sweet, low IBU, Blueberry ale.

My first recipe, just didn't seem like it really had any of that, I kinda just took a simple cream ale, changed the hops, and added blueberry. Ill post it but I'm not sure how it would turn out.

2.5G Batch 3.5G Boil
1.75lbs Pale 2 Row(US)
1.75lbs Pale 6 Row
.5lbs Flaked Corn
.25lbs Crystal 10
.25lbs Carapils

.25oz Hallertauer @60
.25oz Hallertauer @30
.50oz Hallertauer @10
.50oz Williamette @Flameout

wyeast 1056

OG 1.048 FG 1.012 SRM 3.9 IBU 23.7

Rack beer on top of priming sugar and blueberry extract @ bottling.

This is my new recipe which looks a little more of what I want.
2.5G Batch 3.5G Boil
3.5lb Pale 2row US
.5lb Vienna
.25 Crystal 40
.5lb Lactose
.25oz Pearle @ 60
.5oz Saaz @ 5
wyeast 1056

OG 1.053 FG 1.014 IBU 18.4 SRM 5.9

I'm very new at creating recipes and not sure if it better to go with a malty profile with the blueberry, or go with a more neutral beer. I also changed the hop schedule around a little with comments about aromas competing with the blueberry. My concern about the second recipe is that it may be too sweet and the malt profile might not mesh well with the blueberry.

 

[abbot555]

Looks good to me, but IMHO I never been a fan of the extract fruit flavors....When I make a fruit beer, I usually add 1lb to the gallon, and add it to the secondary.

 

[Maxkling]

Yea, Ive heard that there is a lot of sourness that comes from the blueberry. My wife is looking for the sweet blueberry flavor. I do not keg so I can't back sweeten naturally.

 

[abbot555]

I am making a blueberry wheat soon too... Using 64oz of 100% blueberry juice for 5.5 gallons, that I found at a local store, Trader Joes. Figured since its all juice, that 64 oz should give it a nice flavor, but not overboard.

 

[ChillWill]

Wheat beer makes a good base for blueberries. Rohrbach used to do one, or still do that I believe was a wheat beer base and that was awesome, refreshing, a bit dry, no sourness or bitterness and a blueberry flavour that was there but not overwhelming.

 

[genes]

I agree with Maxkling on the fruit extracts. They are very touchy and often come out tasting like plastic.

 

[SD-SLIM]

I'm not a huge fan of extracts...I would really recommend getting a 100% blueberry juice, I think there is a Lakewood organic brand in most grocery stores that works great....but should you decide to go with real blueberries, use 1 pound to 1gallon...also wash/sanitize and freeze the blueberries, the freezing process will crystalize the sugars and simply the extraction of them in to the beer. Good luck and happy brewing!

 

[Zamial]

Your recipe looks almost like my wheat recipe that I will be doing with Mulberries in a day or 2. I have not used the fruit extracts before so I have nothing to add on them. I agree with the sanitize, crush and freeze suggestion for using the real fruit.

If it was me I would stick to your recipe but leave out the extract and the lactose. Ferment the beer as normal, then taste it. If real blueberries are not an option then I would add in small amounts of the extract until it tasted right. Then if it was not sweet enough I would add in some lactose by boiling it up in a sauce pan with as little water as possible then add it in.

Also of note, dry US-05 yeast is the same strain as 1056 and normally about 1/2 the price...

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

Blueberry and Raspberry extracts actually work pretty well. They give pretty dang good fruit flavor, without the extract "twang".