How much blueberry

[yzf426scott]

I've made a caramel vanilla cream ale that I got from this forum. I'm getting ready to make it again and want to add blueberries to it. I have a fee questions. I'm planning on using the canned pie filling stuff, I think the brand is Oregon


1.How much should I use?
2.when should I add it?
3.can I add it to the primary fermenter bucket or should I move to a secondary?
4.how long should I let the fruit stay in there?

 

[Teaman]

I tried that stuff. I put a can in the secondary of a stout. I think I used the blackberry. Anyway, I poured it into the secondary and racked on top of it. The end result was it didn't mix up in the brew and when I siphoned to bottle I got a bunch of the remnants of the juice in my bucket and then in the bottle. It didn't work very well. I don't know if there is a way to mix it in without aerating the beer in the secondary.

I think a better way would be to try to use real fruit and sanitize it either in hot water for a few moments or I have read that some people freeze it. Perhaps someone else can help you with that. I just wanted to let you know how I used the puree and how it worked out.

 

[Fathand]

I just did a Blueberry Cream Ale. I did not use Blueberry extract but used 9 lbs of fresh berries. I lost about a gallon of beer when I racked the 5 gallons onto the berries. That lost gallon I did bottle so if you rack and have extra beer left over be prepared to have a place to store it.

If I did it again I would cut back on the amount of fruit I used. Maybe 7 lbs. The final beer has a slight tartness from the Blueberries.

Also I have done a few beers with real fruit and I have never sanitized the fruit. The alcohol in the beer should kill any possible nasties on the fruit.

I left my beer on the fruit for a week in secondary. Seems to be about the right amount of time. But just taste it and see if it is "Blueberry" enough for you.

 

[brrman]

Use fresh blueberries, frozen and smashed. 9lbs seems a little too much for a lighter beer. I use 6-7 lbs in my blueberry porter and it comes out great. I agree that a week in secondary is prefect.

I have also never sanitized the fruit.