I planted a bunch of blackberries, now I’m going to have a pretty good harvest. What is the best way to process these if I’m going to make beer with them? I plan to make a saison with 3-5 lbs of berries. Next question…when is the best time to add them. At flame out or as a “dry hop”? As usual when I come to the fount of beer knowledge, thanks for any info.
Barry
If you plan to store them for a while, freeze in a single layer, then seal in plastic bags. Should be good for at least a year.
I’ve only added fruit after the primary is finished.
You could look into pressure canning for long term storage, if you can find a process that doesn’t include added sugar.
Don’t boil fruit because this will set the pectin and you will have a permanent haze. Just freeze them before you use them. This will help break down the cell walls and give you better extraction.
Rack the beer off the primary yeast cake when fermentation is done and most of the yeast has dropped. (This way you can re-use the yeast without the berry trub.) Then add the thawed berries to the secondary. Fermentation will re-start due to the new sugar in the fruit. Use a blow off tube so the berries don’t clog up an airlock and cause a mess.
Is there a different process for commercial fruit purees to avoid setting pectin? I’ve only used home frozen and Oregon Fruit Co. puree.
