| Author |
Message |
    
Shane Mock
Junior Member
Username: Pivoman
Post Number: 99
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 12:47 am: | 
|
I once had a Blueberry Ale in New England 7 years ago that was wonderful, and a fellow beer snob tried a Blueberry Weizen that he really liked, but said I could do better. I don't like fruit flavored beer, but that blueberry ale was awesome, and if I can just get a hint of blueberry, maybe I can get it right in a Weizen recipe.
Question I have is about the blueberry flavor, obviously. I see that Oregon Fruit Products has a 4.5# can of seedless blueberry fruit puree to be added at secondary fermentation. Whaddaya think? |
Brad Petit
New Member
Username: Voodoobrew
Post Number: 5
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 01:55 am: |
|
Beer author Randy Mosher suggests you can enhance the flavor by cooking blueberries a little, and in a weizen the pectins wouldn't be an issue. |
Brandon Dachel
Senior Member
Username: Brandon
Post Number: 1539
Registered: 03-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 02:06 am: |
|
I think blueberries do not belong in beer.
now that I have that out of the way...blueberries are one of those fruits that may not provide the results you are looking for. IMO blueberries are not terribly sweet. I don't know how well that flavor will translate into beer.
The color will likely be pretty neat though... |
Chris Colby
Intermediate Member
Username: Chriscolby
Post Number: 326
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 03:00 am: |
|
There is a neat aspect to color in blueberry beers. The blue color in blueberries comes from anythocyanins. These molecules change color when the pH changes -- blue at higher pH values, red at lower. In beer, the pH is going to be lower than in the fruit, so blueberry beers turn out red.
Chris Colby
Bastrop, TX |
Bill Pierce
Moderator
Username: Billpierce
Post Number: 3195
Registered: 01-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 01:18 pm: |
|
There is an at least decent (of course depending on your prejudices) blueberry wheat beer brewed by the tiny Back Road Brewery in La Porte, Indiana. It uses an American wheat beer as the base, to which nearby Michigan blueberries are added to the secondary.
I would vote for two cans of the puree per 5 gallons if you want appreciable blueberry character. Trust me when I say it takes a lot of fruit to affect flavor. |
Skotrat
Advanced Member
Username: Skotrat
Post Number: 702
Registered: 04-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 01:50 pm: |
|
I have to agree with Brandon...
Why ruin a perfectly good Weiss Beer with Fruit?
Make a blueberry melomel and get a better product and drink. |
Mike Rotert
Junior Member
Username: Baddude
Post Number: 57
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 02:26 pm: |
|
I recently just made one of these for my wife. I put 4.5 lbs of blueberries in secondary. The color is really cool and the head is purple, which leads to lots of jokes.
Unfortunately, the blueberries don't really shine through. After a half pint I can start to distinguish a slight blueberry flavor, but not like you would expect.
Its still a good drinker though! |
Jeffery Swearengin
Advanced Member
Username: Beertracker
Post Number: 751
Registered: 03-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 03:20 pm: |
|
I've made a Blueberry Blond Ale once that turned out pretty well. I used approx. 2.25#/5USG. It was indeed a reddish pink color like Chris mentioned. It had a decent aroma just not much in the way of flavor, but the chicks liked it! I've also made a Blueberry Melomel a couple of times like Skotrat mentioned & they both turned out to be phenomenal. A definite liquid "panty remover" !!!
CHEERS! Beertracker
"From man's sweat and God's love, beer came into the world." ~ Saint Arnold of Metz (580-640) - Patron Saint of Brewers
|
David Lewinnek
Member
Username: Davelew
Post Number: 133
Registered: 02-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 03:25 pm: |
|
I find that blueberry beers with lots of blueberry color tend to have less taste, while the beers with the most taste (for example, Wachusett Blueberry) don't have much purple color, if any.
I believe this is because you get color from cooking the blueberries, but you get taste from putting the blueberries in the secondary.
Another idea is putting a couple whole blueberries in the pint glass when you pour. Boston Beer Works, a couple blocks from Fenway Park, used to serve a blueberry beer with some blueberries in it. CO2 bubbles would form on the berries, causing them to rise the top of glass where the bubbles burst and made the berry sink again. The blueberry elevator was mesmerizing, and could almost distract you from the fact that most of Boston Beer Works' beers were pretty forgettable. |
Denny Conn
Senior Member
Username: Denny
Post Number: 4723
Registered: 01-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 03:51 pm: |
|
I've used blueberries both in an American wheat and a porter. I used about 5 lb. for 5 gal. in each. Blueberries were washed and frozen after I picked them, then I thawed them a day before adding to the secondary. No heating of the berries at al.. While I don't care all that much for fruit beers, those that do really liked both of them In fact, the blueberry wheat was the ONLY beer my mother has ever drank in her life! She like the purple color and pink head...
LIfe begins at 60...1.060, that is.
|
Chris Colby
Intermediate Member
Username: Chriscolby
Post Number: 327
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 04:02 pm: |
|
The other neat color change you can see in blueberries is if you heat them in an alkaline environment (for example. in muffins, which contain baking soda). The pigment that's purple at normal blueberry pH turns green, so that's why you see a greenish ring around the berries embedded in muffins.
BTW, there's a new edition of Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen" (2004, Scribner) out. It's a great read for anyone who cooks (or even just eats, I would think). It's also a worthwhile read for any serious homebrewer, especially creative brewers. There's only one little section on brewing specifically, but tons of information on ingredients and cooking processes in general.
Chris Colby
Bastrop, TX |
FrugalBrewer
Junior Member
Username: Frugalbrewer
Post Number: 79
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 04:06 pm: |
|
Shane, I would go with 5-7 lbs of fresh/frozen/purreed berries mashed but not heated in secondary. Back in my early years, I made all types of fruit ales from apple to cranberry to rhubarb; all were hits. Secondary is the place to do it, mash them, throw them into an empty 2ndary, then rack on top of them and stir to distribute. I would leave them in secondary for 10-14 days then maybe consider a third racking if you want a clearer beer; this is highly optional. Stay away from the concentrated extracts, they taste artificial. |
Doug Pescatore
Senior Member
Username: Doug_p
Post Number: 1386
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 04:30 pm: |
|
I had a commercial blueberry beer while up in NJ last November. I can't say I tasted much in the way of blueberry flavor, but the beer was good.
-Doug |
Chris Colby
Intermediate Member
Username: Chriscolby
Post Number: 328
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 04:32 pm: |
|
Just found a cool web site. It has a color photo of a series of test tubes with blueberry juice at different pH values. It gives the original pH of blueberry juice as 5.3. (Oddly, About.com claimed that the pH of blueberries was 2.8-3.2, which seems way too low.) The pH of beer is usually around 4.0–4.4. (Lambics are pH 3.3-3.5)
http://web.chemistry.gatech.edu/~williams/bCourse_Information/red_cabbage_pH_ind icator/cabbage.html
You need to scroll down to find the blueberry photo.
Chris Colby
Bastrop, TX |
Vance Barnes
Senior Member
Username: Vancebarnes
Post Number: 1700
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 08:10 pm: |
|
We have a local micro (Sweetwater) that makes a bluberry beer that lots of folks like. I had one last weekend that someone left in my cooler Memorial weekend. Still don't really care for it.
http://www.sweetwaterbrew.com/brews.asp?section=blue
I brewed a lot of fruit beers early on until I decided I didn't like fruit with my barley and hops. Now mix it with some honey and that's another story. |
Brewwife
Junior Member
Username: Brewwife
Post Number: 28
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 08:19 pm: |
|
I used frozen blueberry's for my blueberry wheat. The color was cool. I didn't really notice that much of a blueberry flavor; but my husband did. Most people really liked the beer. See my post above.
Brewwife |
michael atkins
Member
Username: Mga
Post Number: 194
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Friday, June 10, 2005 - 12:18 am: |
|
While I have never brewed a Bluberry beer, I asked my lhbs guy about it. He is very knowledgable and has been brewing wine and beer since 1975.
His response was to blanch the blueberrys at 1 lb per gallon into the hot wort for an instant when the wort has cooled to 180d.
This is to sterilize the berry's and not to create pectin, then add this to the primary.
Do as short of a primary as possible, because the crud left behind after fermentation is really bad; it leeches the sugars out of the berry and the skins could leave a rancid taste if left to long.
He added that if you dont want to screw with this disregard the above and add concentrated blueberry flavor at bottling time.
Love This Hobby!
|
Brewwife
Junior Member
Username: Brewwife
Post Number: 34
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, June 11, 2005 - 02:24 pm: |
|
Oh, yeah!
This is exaclty why I made my blueberry wheat beer:
because my duaghter's teacher knew someone from New England that had blueberry beer that they really liked. (She was from Vermont) |
Brews and Views Archive 2005 
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page