More blackberry questions

[muddylars]

Hi,
The blackberries in my backyard are just getting ripe and i wanted to try a beer with them. I plan to add them to the secondary. Does anyone have any advice how many i should add and how i should go about doing it. any benefit to sterilizing with campden rather than heating or vice versa? Thanks a lot
here are the ingredients:
3lbs weyermann Light Munich Malt
4lbs Vienna
1/3 lb chocolate malt
1/2 crystal malt
1 oz cascade (boiling)
1/2 oz northern brewer (last few mintues)
American Dry ale yeast (forgot the name)
thanks again

 

[EvilTOJ]

Take the berries, freeze em, thaw em, and smoosh em up! mix into a bowl and add a campden tablet. Let the mush sit in a covered container for 24 hours, then add to the beer. The benefit of sanitizing them with campden is you're not driving off aroma and flavor, and not setting pectin by heating. If you want a strong blackberry flavor, I'd go with 6 lbs of blackberries. If you want a more subtle flavor, go with 4 lbs or less.

With the berries added, you will be getting a secondary fermentation. I would add them right to the primary after the primary fermentation is done because they will take up a loooot of space.

 

[david_42]

I'll add: With blackberries, it is a really good idea to use a mesh bag.

 

[SteveM]

Check my recipes on Raspberry Ale - some ideas there about handling fruit in beer.

 

[muddylars]

thanks a lot for the tips, ill pick the rest this morning, sanitize them overnight and add them tomorrow!

 

[david_42]

Where the heck do you live? My blackberries are still blooming!

 

[CBBaron]

Where the heck do you live? My blackberries are still blooming!

Its gotta be the Appalachian "blackberries" which are actually black raspberries (not to be confused with red raspberries). Their season starts the begining of July in warmer climates and mid July here in northern Ohio. I'm looking forward to the black raspberries to use in a mead.

Craig