Elderberries in beer fermentation

[Silenous]

I recently was speaking with my flatmate about different kinds of beer and I decided to brew my 3rd batch, but this time I decided to add a whole lot of elderberies in a 8 liter batch ( 500 grams to be precise).

This is literally a case of "Just throw stuff in and try it out" kind of thing but I am wondering what will be happening. The beer kit I got was meant to have no sugar added in the first barrel and then to have some added when taken to the second barrel/ when bottled.

What I am thinking ( and judging by the smell from inside the tank) that I'll end up with cider or some cider/ale mixture of sorts.

Any pros care to give me some more info perhaps? Should I keep going and experiment with this or scrap it and try a new batch?

P.S. I left the berries in the tank, following what my Grandfather does when he makes wine using the grapes he grows, he always leaves the squashed grapes in the barrels and then removes them when he shifts the liquid into the second barrel.

P.S.2 It's been about 4 days. I can see the tank's top bulging upwards and whenever I push it down, there's a whole lot of air, CO2 I presume, that rushes out the airlock and sometimes the airlock bubbles a bit, to the point that it is audible but it happens only once every 15-30 mins, maybe even an hour. I read that that thing is normal and lasts up to a week?

 

[Silenous]

Here's some pics for the vets, in case that helps with whatever suggestions you guys can offer

 

[brewkinger]

Questions for clarification :
1) did you rack the beer from one bucket to another and then add the berries ?
2) if no to #1, how long was it fermenting before you added the berries?
3) if yes to #1, how long have the berries been in the bucket?

You are not going to end up with cider at all.
You made an elderberry beer

 

[Silenous]

Questions for clarification :
1) did you rack the beer from one bucket to another and then add the berries ?
2) if no to #1, how long was it fermenting before you added the berries?
3) if yes to #1, how long have the berries been in the bucket?

You are not going to end up with cider at all.
You made an elderberry beer

I added the elderberries in the primary tank along with everything else when I made the mixture, including yeast and whatnot. It's been sitting in there from about 4-5 days now going through fermentation. I'm planning on buying a second tank to shift it in there for the secondary to finish it off and to also remove the berries from the fermentation

 

[brewkinger]

I added the elderberries in the primary tank along with everything else when I made the mixture, including yeast and whatnot. It's been sitting in there from about 4-5 days now going through fermentation. I'm planning on buying a second tank to shift it in there for the secondary to finish it off and to also remove the berries from the fermentation

Fruit is usually added after the majority of fermentation is done and commonly after transferring to a secondary vessel.

You may not get a noticeable contribution from the berries.

Report back and let us know how it turns out.

 

[mrdail87]

Brace yourself, elderberry skins are pretty tannic, and taste a little like couch syrup. I added less than an ounce to a 5 gallon batch and it was definitely noticeable.