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Adding Blueberries to Primary

chpr10j

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Hello all...looking for some advice.  I am getting ready to add the blueberries to my Blueberry Wheat.  I am going to be adding them to my primary using a muslin (sterilized) bag.  I'm 7 days into my fermentation and bubbling has stopped.  I'm looking for advice on preparing the blueberries.  I see some say boil, some don't , puree them up, etc.  What do you suggest?? This is a mixture of some fresh wild blueberries that have been frozen for months, and also some store bought frozen blueberries. 

Plan is to add them to primary for another week, or until the "secondary" fermentation from the sugars ends, then racking to carboy for a week.

All advice/help is greatly appreciated!

 
I made a blueberry saison last year.  I put all of the frozen un-cooked blueberries into an empty, sanitized bucket fermenter and racked my fermented beer onto them.  I left them for two weeks and then racked them off to a sanitized carboy and let the beer sit and clear and finish out.  It turned out a beautiful, clear, bluish purple with a nice clean flavor.

I've found that you get a cleaner, fresher fruit flavor, when you add them as late in the fermentation process as possible.

I never put heat to my fruit.  Heating fruit has the potential to make them thicken up and turn to a gelatin-like consistency.  Also, heating them has never given me a fresh flavor.
 
Scott Ickes said:
I put all of the frozen un-cooked blueberries into an empty, sanitized bucket fermenter and racked my fermented beer onto them. 

@Scott Ickes, is freezing fruit your normal method for killing off bacteria? Have you ever soaked it vodka? The vodka seems like it would add unwanted flavor. I've also read that it's good to squash your fruits up just a bit before freezing. I've also read that it's best to use over-ripe fruit. Thoughts? It's the start of loquat season in southern China.
 
I don't freeze the fruit to kill off bacteria.  I count on the yeast to out-compete the bacteria.  This is why I add the fruit to the secondary and then rack my beer onto them.  The yeast at that time in the fermentation process are at their highest cell count level and healthiest condition.  They win the battle with bacteria.

The reason for freezing my fruit is to break open the cell structure (freezing does this) and give the yeast access to the sugars inside the fruit.  You can thaw them first and then add them, however, this might give microbes a chance to get a little bit better foot hold on the fruit.  There are still microbes on the frozen fruit, but because of the low temperatures, they are somewhat hindered.  I just try to keep the bacteria at their lowest most inactive stage when adding fruit, so that the yeast can win the battle.

I don't usually use vodka or any other spirits for sterilization with my fruits. 

If I use fresh fruit, I use the following process:

1. Rinse the fruit well.
2. Submerge the fruit in StarSan sanitizer solution.
3. Cut up the fruit with a sanitized knife or crush the fruit and put into your sanitized fermenter.
4. Rack the beer on top of it.

I don't go through the starsan process with frozen fruit, because the rinsing and then dunking into starsan will rinse some of the sugars away.

For me, fresh fruit is less likely to cause a contamination issue, because of the starsan.  However, I've never had a contaminated batch due to fruit additions, no matter whether it was fresh or frozen.

I also use juices from time to time, but I'm getting away from those, because the fresh or frozen fruit tends to give a fresher, crisper fruit flavor.
 
If you don't want to freeze the fruit, you could to mash the fruit by hand and add sulfites in the form of crushed Campden tablets. The sulfur will kill most bacteria and stun most wild yeast.  It's what winemakers use to give the cultivated yeast a head start.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campden_tablet

Most homebrew shops sell them.
 
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