Blackberries

[swanjack]

As there is a glut of blackberries I've decided to make a blackberry stout. I need a bit of help though in deciding how much blackberries to use in a basic stout recipe. I've read somewhere that a pound per gallon is recommended. Anybody got any advice? Thanks.

[lord.president]

My recipe says freeze them then add 2.5lb in secondary fermentation.

[swanjack]

Is that 2.5 lb per gallon, or 2.5 lb for a 5 gallon batch?

[crookedeyeboy]

How do you sanitise them?

[swanjack]

Milton solution for 15 mins so that they don't get mushy, then into the freezer until ready for secondary.

[Blackaddler]

How do you sanitise them?

I just put them in the last few minutes of the boil.

[orlando]

Not done this with blackberries but have made a summer beer using raspberries. I was loth to destroy any of the delicate fruit colours and flavours so sanitising in any form was avoided. I managed to avoid contamination by relying on 3 things. First fermenting the beer right out so all the alcohol was present, second the low pH (circa 4) and finally the microbiological properties of the hops. So far it's worked a dream every time.

[Andy]

Don't like the sound of milton solution. Wine makers use campden tablets I believe to "sterilise" the fruit, worth investigating.

[swanjack]

When I have added fruit to beer, I have bought frozen from the supermarket, which has already been sterilised. I made a cracking saison this summer, half of which I added raspberries and the other half summer fruits (strawberries, redcurrants etc). I would never buy blackberries out of principle . I've also read that when adding to secondary, there's enough yeast in beer to sort out any nasties that the fruit might introduce.

Can't see the problem with milton, I use it when abroad to clean any fruit bought from markets and road stalls etc. It needs rinsing off though.

Anyhow, does anybody have an ideas how much I should add per gallon

[6470zzy]

When adding fresh fruit to beer I normally will go for 1 lb to the gallon. To prepare the fruit I first mash it and then heat it in a saucepan with a bit of water to 76C and hold it at that temp for 5-10 minutes. After that it is cooled to room temp and then into the secondary. It works for me

Cheers

[pads72]

I'm preparing to do one tomorrow, as I've picked about 4.5kg of blackberries. I'm going for an oatmeal stout recipe, and I'm going to add some to the end of the boil (so no need to sanitize) and some to a secondary FV. For the secondary, I'm going to bring the remaining fruit up to the boil to kill off any lurgies, then stick 'em in a nylon bag and leave on the beer for a couple of weeks.

Trial & error!

[seymour]

When adding fresh fruit to beer I normally will go for 1 lb to the gallon. To prepare the fruit I first mash it and then heat it in a saucepan with a bit of water to 76C and hold it at that temp for 5-10 minutes. After that it is cooled to room temp and then into the secondary. It works for me

+1

[Francois]

Got a recipe for Blackberry Stout that also says 2.5lb in secondary... as for sterilisation, surely a couple of weeks in the freezer in airtight bags then once thawed a quick bag-dunk in milton or somesuch then open up and tip 'em straight in?

[pads72]

Measuring out grain bill for the oatmeal stout, listening to Faith No More - love this hobby.

Will do brew day post once done.

[seymour]

Measuring out grain bill for the oatmeal stout, listening to Faith No More...

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