I've been making Morgans Golden Sheaf Wheat Beer from the kit. I very much like it. I was wondering about maybe making it a blueberry flavor on my next batch. I'm wondering how one would go about doing that. I'm looking to do something relatively easy as I'm still learning. I was thinking about dumping some blueberries in the secondary or maybe even a can of concentrate. How should i go about his?
Blueberry Wheat Beer
- Thread starter Pikken
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azscoob
Brewpub coming soon!
I make a blueberry ale, I freeze then thaw 5 lbs of fresh blueberries, give them a smushing once thawed and pour into my secondary, then I rack the beer onto the berries and let it go for another week.. then its on to kegging or your normal bottling process.
onipar
Well-Known Member
Wow, five pounds? Dang. I was thinking about using the wild blueberries around my house for something life this, but there's no *way* I'll gather that much.
i used blueberry extract once and the beer tasted like butt. when you say concnetrate are you talking about some frozen juice stuff, or the canned stuff? i think that canned stuff can get pretty expensive. some folks do what azscoob do, others skip the mashing process as freezing often disrupts the cell walls enought the beer will penetrate and absorb the flavor, making it easier to skoop out or filter out.
azscoob
Brewpub coming soon!
Blueberries ferment out to a very subtle flavor, so you need a fair amount to get the flavor to come through.
azscoob
Brewpub coming soon!
After a week in secondary the beer is quite clear, I have never needed to filter, I just rack the beer off the top of the fruit.
I second not using extract, it will taste like crap.
I don't turn the berries into pulp, I am just rupturing the skins so the yeast can work their magic, I freeze in a vacuum bag, so once thawed I simply knead the bag a bit to crush them a little.
I second not using extract, it will taste like crap.
I don't turn the berries into pulp, I am just rupturing the skins so the yeast can work their magic, I freeze in a vacuum bag, so once thawed I simply knead the bag a bit to crush them a little.
mgortel
Well-Known Member
What about sanitizing them? I see a lot of posts about just throwing the fruit in the secondary....and of course we all know how important it is to sanitize everything when we brew....it just doesnt seem right to put something into our beer that isnt sanitized.
I just cannot bring myself to do this......I was thinking best to use the Oregon Frjuit Puree that is commericially sanitized and ready to go.
Obviously since so many people judt put fresh fruit into the secondary without sanitizing...there doesnt appear to be an issue.
Can someone explain why the exception??????
I just cannot bring myself to do this......I was thinking best to use the Oregon Frjuit Puree that is commericially sanitized and ready to go.
Obviously since so many people judt put fresh fruit into the secondary without sanitizing...there doesnt appear to be an issue.
Can someone explain why the exception??????
when i use blueberries, i sanitize them in 170 degree water for 10-15 minutes, then dump it (water and all) into the secondary
Most fruit is free of bacteria before frozen, thats why it can last so long. also, most organisms dont last very long at freezing temperatures.
usualy beer doesnt have enough alcohol to combat infectious bateria. wines are a different story. there are plenty of beers that get contaminated with unwanted yeasts, bacteria after fermentation. Look at the "show me your infection" page somtime.
this is what a lot of people do when adding fruit or other ingrediants to fermenting/fermented beer. i personally add forozen fruit to near boiling water. it settles out around 160-180 and ive never had an infection due to fruit added.
