Conference bookie::homebrew

    I've got some blueberries in the freezer and I want to put them to good
    use, so I was considering a beer something like -

    6 - 7 lbs light malt extract (either dried or liquid)
    3 lbs honey
    3/4 - 1 lb Crystal malt (20L)
    .5 oz saaz pellets boil
    .5 oz saaz pellets finish
    (I'm open to other hop suggestions)
    1 - 2 lbs blueberries
    dried ale yeast (have a package of Nottingham in the fridge)

    My questions mainly have to do with the berries - 

    1. They are frozen.  From what I've read I was going to thaw them out, and
    put them in the wort (juice and all?) after boiling, while the temp is
    around 180.  Rack the whole mess into the primary when cool and pitch
    the yeast at the appropriate temperature.  Does this sound right?

    2. Do I squish the berries up prior to putting them in the wort?

    3. How long do I leave it in the primary?

    Any other suggestions?

    Dan

I would add the berries to the secondary rather than
into the wort because adding to the wort will blow
off most of the berry
aroma during fermentation.  Since they're frozen,
their cell structure is sufficiently disrupted that
you don't have to mash them up at all.  I wouldn't
worry about sanitizing them but you could steep
them in 180 water before you add them to the secondary.
But basically the ale is so acidic at that point and
the yeast concentration is so high, there's not much
chance that another bug could seriously disrupt
things.  So you could just dump them in the secondary
straight from the freezer.

Your amount of fruit is a little low to do much more
than add color.  Last summer, I used 12 pounds of
raspberries in a 5 gallon batch and 7 pounds of
sour cherries in another.   Both had OG of 1040
before the fruit additions to the secondary.  They
turned out well, with excellent color, good fruit flavor,
and adequate aroma.  So don't expect too much with 2 pounds
of blueberries (especially with the moderately high
gravity and aroma hops you have planned).  Low
bitterness is appropriate for the style, as your
recipe indicates.

Hope that helps!
Mark

    well, I kinda disagree with Mark a little....I made several fruit beers
    from ales to stouts awhile ago, the recipes are all in here somewhere.
    I think ya got just about the right amount of blue berries for color and
    falvor...granted, I *DON'T* like over powered fruit beers, so a little
    goes a long way with me, so you might want to add more if you are
    really into fruit in a brew. FOr some of my brews, I would buy the 2 lb
    bag of frozen berrires in the Super MArket cause it was easy.
    I would do the beer (although I'd make a
    darker beer for blueberries) after the final 2 min boil of the
    finishing hops, remove the pot from the heat, throw in the thawed bag of 
    berries (Mark's right in saying the berries can be thrown right in 
    cause they were frozen) and steep for 30 mins. I'd remove as much of
    the spent fruit as I could before adding the wort to my carbouy half
    filled with water...to each his own,,,it ain't rocket science unless ya
    want it to be....
    
    
    deadhead

        Finally brewed the batch - 

    6 lbs light malt extract
    3 lbs honey
    1 lb 20l crystal malt
    2 oz malto dextrin (left over from a previous recipe)
    1 1/2 oz Spalt hop pellets, 40 min
    1/2 oz Spalt pellets, 10 min
    approx 1 1/2 lbs blueberries (frozen)
    Nottingham ale yeast - dry

    OG - 1.058

    Did the usual and added the berries after I removed the pot from the
    stove and it had cooled to about 180.

    Let it cool, poured it all (unstrained) into the primary with cool
    water and brought it up to 5 gals.  Pitched the yeast.

    Little bit of activity Monday am (brewed late Sunday evening). Lots of
    activity last night, and this morning it looks like a blender was
    dropped in the carboy. 

    I plan on adding another 2 lbs of berries when I rack to the secondary.
    Should be interesting.

    Dan