Noob fruit addition mistake?

[Rolsom]

Okay.
I was brewing up an American wheat extract kit, and just seemed like it needed tinkering. I turned around and my wife was getting ready to throw three baskets of blueberries out.
I asked her if they would keep for 2 weeks and got a negative answer.
I took the three baskets and dumped them in with 15 minutes left in the boil. I mashed them up good. After the boil, I strained the wart into my fermenter (one blueberry somehow made it past the strainer and is bobbing on the top).

I know fruit additions are supposed to be done in secondary, but what is the downside of fruit additions during the boil?
(This is the first time I ever tried a fruit addition).

 

[m00ps]

After the boil and fermentation you will likely have little to no character from the fruit detectable in teh final beer. If I were you Id add the planned amount into the fermentor once airlock activity slows down

 

[andrewmaixner]

Should have frozen them, but, see how it turns out! and PLEASE REPORT how it tastes in 4-6 weeks for our edification

 

[Calypso]

Okay.
I was brewing up an American wheat extract kit, and just seemed like it needed tinkering. I turned around and my wife was getting ready to throw three baskets of blueberries out.
I asked her if they would keep for 2 weeks and got a negative answer.
I took the three baskets and dumped them in with 15 minutes left in the boil. I mashed them up good. After the boil, I strained the wart into my fermenter (one blueberry somehow made it past the strainer and is bobbing on the top).

I know fruit additions are supposed to be done in secondary, but what is the downside of fruit additions during the boil?
(This is the first time I ever tried a fruit addition).

Boiling fruit can drive off a lot if the aroma and lend a "cooked" fruit flavor, like preserves. But you didn't hurt anything. You might want to buy some frozen blueberries and add them in secondary to help up that fresh blueberry character.

 

[55x11]

I think you will get a bit more fermentable sugars but not much in terms of flavor or aroma once fermentation is complete. Just a guess.

 

[Rolsom]

As I've read here many times, "The worst that can happen is it turns into beer."

 

[CRoth36]

Everyone wants to put fruit in the fermenter. Don't even do that. Get fruit juice and put it in the keg, etc right before racking the beer. Don't just use any fruit juice though. Get real fruit juice that's been pasteurized and hasn't had any preservatives, etc put in it. Experiment with different amounts until you get your desired taste.

 

[Rolsom]

Should have frozen them, but, see how it turns out! and PLEASE REPORT how it tastes in 4-6 weeks for our edification

I will post the results.
It was a spur of the moment thing, and the now whitish blueberry swimming around , mocking me, on the top does not look appealing.
Everything was boiled so no matter what it looks like, should be okay.

 

[Shooter]

As I've read here many times, "The worst that can happen is it turns into beer."

...or jam. Did you use any pectic enzyme? Not sure what the pectin content of blueberries is, but they may, at the very least, make the beer pretty hazy.

 

[Calypso]

...or jam. Did you use any pectic enzyme? Not sure what the pectin content of blueberries is, but they may, at the very least, make the beer pretty hazy.

It's a wheat beer, he'll probably survive.

 

[Shooter]

It's a wheat beer, he'll probably survive.

Personally, I don't really care if beers are hazy anyway.

 

[Rolsom]

I actually added a pound of honey with the extract, the blueberries were just my cheapskate coming out (not wanting them to go to waste. I would have liked to save them for the secondary, but they would not make it that long.
Did not add pectin or anything else.

 

[Shooter]

Did not add pectin or anything else.

I can't imagine the amount of fruit you added would really make pectin a major problem. If you are adding a lot of fruit, particularly if you heat it, pectin can be a concern.

 

[microbusbrewery]

Just to clarify, you don't want to add pectin...pectin is what you're trying to avoid. Pectic enzyme is what you could have added as its job is to break down pectin.

As others indicated, you would have been better off adding them to secondary as a lot of the aromatics get blown off during primary fermentation. Next time freeze them; keeps them from spoiling and breaks down the cell walls helping to release as much flavor and aroma as possible.

 

[JimRausch]

You'll be OK. Blueberries don't have much pectin. I know this because when making blueberry preserves I have to add pectin.
And I live in the wild blueberry capital of the world. Or right next door to it..........