Wild black raspberries

[Beatty Brewer]

Here in SW PA the wild black raspberries are getting ripe and I picked about a pound and a half. I was thinking of adding them to about a gallon of the stout that I brewed last week in a seccondary fermenter. I don't have any experience with fresh fruit and I am worried about contamination. What is the best way to process the berries to limit infections? Pectin haze is no problem in a stout but will heating affect the flavor? Any other fresh fruit tips would be helpful because I saw lots of black berries that should be ripe soon and I will make a wheat based beer if this goes well.

 

[Pete08]

Some say heat will change the flavor. I don't know what it will change to. I, along with thousands of others, have made jam from fruit, and it usually involves boiling. My jam tastes like the blackberries it was made from! Someone here posted a recipe for Ruby Ale, from a brewpub in Portland (OR). It was 8lbs of pale malt fermented with 6lbs of boiled raspberries in the secondary. Ruby is hazy, and so is mine. It tastes like a raspberry ale!

At least warm them to 160* to kill any germs. From my experience, I wouldn't hesitate to boil.

 

[r2eng]

I would rinse, mash, and put into the secondary. Rack the stout on it there.

I have had my brothers award-winning raspberry stout done this way and it was excellent. However, 1.5 pounds is not much to add flavor. He uses 3 pounds.

The most interesting thing was the color that the berries added to the thick head on the beer. This stout has a distinct pink colored head!

 

[ericd]

Freeze them.