Made this beer a few months ago. The whole idea was to use some handpicked blackberries that thrive near my house, but the handpicked ones went into my wife's berry jam. Later, I made this beer with frozen berries that you'll find all year round in any decent supermarket. A belgian ale was the first thing that came in mind, as it is a "blank canvas" beer style and one that deals well with fruit additions. Came out well, with the berries playing a bigger role in beer color, but also in the aroma.
You´ll find the recipe below if you want to give this brew a try.
Recipe scaled to 50 Liters
OG: 1055 SG
FG: 1006 SG
6,5% abv
27 IBU
25 EBC
Grain bill:
8Kg Pale Malt
2,5Kg Wheat Malt
0,5Kg CaraWheat Malt (90EBC)
0,5Kg Honey (at boiling, 10 minutes to flame-out)
3Kg blackberries (secondary, 5th day or after the high krausen)
Hops:
35g Centennial (60 minutes)
15g Citra (20 minutes)
45g Citra (whirlpool 82ºC)
40g Citra (dry hop, 7 days)
Brewday:
Mash In - 58ºC
Mashing - 66ºC for 75 minutes
Mashout - 76ºC for 10 minutes
Boil 90 minutes
Yeast: Mangroove Jacks M41
Fermentation schedule:
Inoculation at 18ºC, as we´re using dry yeast without re-hydration. After 12 hours raise it to 21ºC for 8/12 days. You want some fruity esters here!
Berry late addition:
Be careful now. You don´t want to ruin your beer. Make a "smoothie" with your berries and filter it with a strainer. Pasteurize at 80ºC for 15 minutes. Use a kitchen thermometer, be patient, and don´t let it boil!
Remember that the late addition will had some sugars to your beer, so keep tracking your density. After FG is reached, cold crash it at 3ºC for at least 2 weeks. Bottle it, and enjoy it!
