blueberry stout...question about racking on blueberries

[brewguy82]

So I intend on splitting a small 2.5gallon batch of oatmeal stout and racking half of it on top of some frozen blueberries and also adding blueberry flavoring. The question is with the blueberries should I putthem in a pan and add a lil water and boil them a little bit? First time racking onto fruit. Only have about 12oz of blueberries to use might use less. Just want to see how I will like a blueberry stout vs just my oatmeal stout.

 

[I_B_Mongo]

So I intend on splitting a small 2.5gallon batch of oatmeal stout and racking half of it on top of some frozen blueberries and also adding blueberry flavoring. The question is with the blueberries should I putthem in a pan and add a lil water and boil them a little bit? First time racking onto fruit. Only have about 12oz of blueberries to use might use less. Just want to see how I will like a blueberry stout vs just my oatmeal stout.

#1. I'd skip the extract and use the real thing. Extracts usually give a fake "candy" or cough syrup taste.
#2. Don't heat the berries, just freeze them for a day, then rack onto them. The freezing will kill off any nasties and will help break the cell walls of the fruit.
#3. I don't think 12 oz. will be enough to notice, esp. in a stout. If it were me, I'd start with at least 2.5# of berries...maybe more.
Good luck, and let us know how it turned out. (This is assuming you meant adding berries to 2.5 gallons of the stout, not 1.25 gallons.

 

[brewguy82]

Sounds cool thanks. Yeah was planning on 1.25gallons to see how I like it

 

[I_B_Mongo]

Ok. For the 1.25 gallon, i'd still try to rack onto at least 2# of berries. Remember, stout has a rather strong taste, so you'll need a lot of berries to stand up to that taste. Please keep us posted on your results.

 

[brewguy82]

Going to be doing this today. Finally found the time between the wife and the baby (whi is sleeping right now)