Light and Hoppy...Blackberry beer??

[jodrell]

I've previously brewed a very light and hoppy beer, something like Oakham's Citra or Green Devil (OK, it was a total disaster due to my mash temperature being way out of whack but in principal it worked), and am thinking of doing another one but this time with the addition of a whole load of Blackberries I've got growing wild in my back garden...

Does this sound anything like a good idea or am I insane?

 

[RobWalker]

sounds great. for maximum flavour, it's better to add the blackberries in a secondary and let them ferment again, after the initial vigourous fermentation. if you're on one vessel, you can add the blackberry pulp into the beer just after fermentation.

it's great eh? I've started hoaring them too, although I'm not close to enough for a gallon of port yet...might make up some snakebite with DME, apple juice and blackberries too :thumb:

 

[jodrell]

In secondary, interesting. I've done a Black Cherry Porter a couple of times and always put a few into the boil, primarily for colour and the rest into the primary fermentation. Ways the benefit of adding them into the secondary fermentation instead?

 

[RobWalker]

the first fermentation will blast off much of the aroma and taste because it's so volatile in beer - fruit ferments much more gently, so it'll keep some of the desirable qualities in there. that's about all I know, I've never actually done a fruit beer but it's a done thing!

I just thought too, Bramling Cross hops have a notable blackberry flavour. they're usually expensive, but maybe they'd be a good aroma hop in conjunction with one of the big fruit hops? :

 

[jodrell]

Some ingesting info here, http://m.wikihow.com/Make-Blackberry-Beer . . . Will be interesting to see if I can get it to clear too. time will tell :-)

 

[jodrell]

Ingesting info...clearly meant interesting but it's a nice Freudian slip :-)

 

[RobWalker]

ooh. i've favourited that, and may very well follow in your footsteps if I can find something that suits the autumn...

 

[jodrell]

I think I'll get some Bramling Cross and add it to the recipe...would be nice to have the additional aroma in the beer

 

[shearclass]

Humble unlearned opinion here, but I always thought fruity beers were low on hops. This shouldn't stop you trying though, good luck.

 

[RobWalker]

Humble unlearned opinion here, but I always thought fruity beers were low on hops. This shouldn't stop you trying though, good luck.

i'd say so too, because the flavours can get confusing, but if you've got a hop that delivers the flavour you're looking for I wouldn't be entirely against it :thumb:

 

[Vossy1]

You could always use a hop like Bramling cross which has blackberry hints to add to the aroma/flavour.

 

[RobWalker]

hi vossy :thumb:

 

[jodrell]

Yes, I guess most fruit beers are pretty low in hops but I think the combination could work...and I have brought some Bramling Cross to add to the aromas. I've get a Cherry Porter on the go atm so it'll be a few weeks before I can start this one but I'll let you know how it goes :-)

 

[jodrell]

I brewed this on Saturday and it looks pretty good so far. On the advice of a couple of pages I washed the blackberries and boiled them for a short tome to try and counteract anything that might have been brought in from outside and it's bubbling away nicely in my fridge...and from this pic it does look VERY pink! http://audioboo.fm/boos/1614858-homebrew-in-action

 

[RobWalker]

looks great! dead jealous. I think I have enough beer so my blackberries are likely to end up in wine or jam...hope it's sweet :

 

[Wezzel]

Excellent. I've noticed that williamette hops have a slight blackberry taste too. Anybody know how they compare with bramling cross?