How much extract for blueberry ale?

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Dave the Brewer

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I just kegged my first blueberry ale, I added 1 oz of blueberry extract to secondary, then 1 oz at kegging. I can't even taste blueberry, the bottle says 2 oz flavors 5 gallons. Yeah, right! I poured some extract straight into my glass of beer to get the taste I was going for. I was thinking of popping the top of the keg tomorrow and adding the other 2 oz; even after that I don't think it will taste enough like blueberries. I think I am going to get some blueberries tomorrow to squeeze and add the juice to the keg as well.

Any one else had any experiences like this?
 
I have a blueberry wheat ale in secondary right now - no extract though - I added three pounds of frozen blueberries the last 15 minutes of the boil and left them in for 10 days in primary before racking to secondary. I'm planning on bottling next weekend - three weeks in secondary. Don't really know what to expect. This was an experiment by request.
 
My experience has been: too much raspberry and not enough blueberry. Commercial blueberry beers, smell great when you open them & then nothing!

Add it until you're happy. Another nice thing about kegs. A little lactose (1-2 oz.) might also help bring the flavor forward.
 
I make a blueberry wheat that my friends all request I make more of and all I use is 2oz at bottling. You can taste the blueberry but it compliments the brew not over power it.

What is the recipe of the brew you added the extract to?
 
Blue Berry Ale
5.5 lbs pale malt
1/2 lb flaked rice
3/4 lb crystal 10

Whole hops
.8 oz crystal 60 minutes
.2 oz crystal 7 minutes

1oz blueberry extract to secondary
1oz at kegging

I was accually thinking about leaving it like it is. It is pretty good, just doesn't taste like blue berries. I told my friends I was making a blue berry ale. I can already here them critiquing "I thought this was suppose to taste like blue berries!" I will have decided by 5pm whether I will add more extract or not.
 
I myself am interested in this. Ijust had the chance to try a blueberry ale for the first time up in Boston this last week. I made a mental note to put this on my list to brew in the near future.

Please keep us posted on how much you had to add to get a decent blueberry flavor.
 
End result, I added the whole bottle of extract and added about 2 cups of blueberry juice to the keg. Its still not as blueberry as I thought it might be, but I am satisfied.
 
Neomich said:
I myself am interested in this. Ijust had the chance to try a blueberry ale for the first time up in Boston this last week. I made a mental note to put this on my list to brew in the near future.

Please keep us posted on how much you had to add to get a decent blueberry flavor.

I bottled mine tonight and while it tastes good - it does not taste like blueberry. Not like any commercial BB brew I've had anyway. It has a cool purplish color and a "fruity" taste but not identifiable as blueberry. Next time I'll either add extract or use more blueberries - a lot more.
 
My buddies and I did a Strawberry Hefe last summer. We used 5 quarts of strawberries with the greens cut off and dipped briefly in StarSan solution, which we then added to the secondary.

The result was fantastic, but if I gave you a bottle without telling you what was in it, you probably wouldn't have been able to guess. It had a sort of fruity bitterness to it that was not like hops (though it did have 1oz of Hallertau for 60 min in a 5 gal batch).

My point is that I no longer expect fruited beers to taste like the fruit added.
 
I too have brewed a blueberry wheat recently, only with real fruit instead of extract- the details can be found here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?p=540473#post540473

I got a similar result as others so far- it has a fruity/berry taste, but not a very recognizable "blueberry" taste. I think blueberrys just have a fairly subtle taste to begin with, unlike some other fruit you could use in beer (like raspberries.)
 
I have typically found that with darker beers as a base I need roughly 4-5oz for a five gallon batch. This gives the flavor on the backside but not to much to overpower the beer. Just my opinion though, but curious to see how much you end up using.:mug:
 
I just read your thread Chaos - have you tried it yet? I'm gonna put two in the fridge right now and try one tonight. It's only been ten days in the bottle but I gotta check it - you know, for scientific purposes. ;}
 
I just made a Blueberry Wheatbeer about 6 weeks ago. It came out awesome. I didnt use blueberry extract I used two cans of blueberries 15 oz each with syrup (30 oz or so pureed). It fermented for two weeks or so then went to secondary for about a week and then to bottles at week four. I conditioned them for about ten days and then had to try one.............................:rockin: amazing. I recommend the pureed blueberries over extract. It only requires screening and limited filtering to remove the sediment and floating stuff, but once done....it should come out great.

Probst Gentlemen.:mug:

Bill
 
It has now been a month in the bottle and this beer is really aging nicely - still not a pronounced blueberry flavor but very good. One thing I have noticed is minimal head from the pour. Just a small thin foam that dissipates quickly. I wonder if this is a characteristic stemming from the blueberies or something else. This was a partial mash ale with wheat so the head should have been good. (Isn't it all?!)
 
aren't fruit beers only supposed to have a hint of fruity aroma and a hint of taste that will complement all the other flavors?

I had a long trail "Black Beary Wheat" the other day and found it to be very pleasant....didn't have to look hard for the flavors but I also wasn't overpowered.

I'm doing a pomegranate wheat that I added 24oz of POM pomegranate juice to the secondary. I was worried it would be too much but now i'm worried that its not enough....But i don't plan on adding any more to this batch. I'm gonna bottle and condition and then see and make note of how it was then next time I try that brew i'll make some adjustments.
 
I made a blueberry wheat almost 6 weeks ago. I started with a basic wheat recipe (I don't have it on me at work..) that I had in the primary for a week. Then I heated up 3 lbs of frozen blueberries with a bit of water to around 170 degrees for 15 minutes and added that to the primary. Two weeks later I racked and bottled. Last weekend, after two weeks in bottles, SWMBO and I sampled a bottle each to see how it was coming along. We were disappointed. Although the beer had a purplish appearance, we couldn't detect any blueberry flavor. Hopefully after some more time in the bottle the flavor will come out a bit. This was my first fruit beer so it was a learning experience. If I make another blueberry wheat I'm going to add a lot more blueberries and possibly add some extract as well.
 
I just read your thread Chaos - have you tried it yet? I'm gonna put two in the fridge right now and try one tonight. It's only been ten days in the bottle but I gotta check it - you know, for scientific purposes. ;}

I updated my thread a few days ago with some final taste results, if you want to check it out :)


It has now been a month in the bottle and this beer is really aging nicely - still not a pronounced blueberry flavor but very good. One thing I have noticed is minimal head from the pour. Just a small thin foam that dissipates quickly. I wonder if this is a characteristic stemming from the blueberies or something else. This was a partial mash ale with wheat so the head should have been good. (Isn't it all?!)

Mine does the same thing...must be the added fruit?
 
I'm wondering if there are proteins or some chemical compound in the blueberries that affect head retention. Anyone??
 
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