Blackberries

[Donny]

Hey guys,

Climbed the Devils Bit in Tipperary yesterday and picked a healthy amount of blackberries for a mead Im going to make. Anyone know or have any tips on how to sanitize the berries properly? Thanks in advance.

[Will_D]

First of all freeze them at say -16C for as long as you want. This will kill any creepy/crawlys.

When ready add them to a mash/country wine recipe.

If you are woried about bugs/bacteria then pasteurise the berryies in a bit of water at 65c for 15 mins (or the juices/whatever)

[PCBrewer]

Has anyone ever tried adding them to a stout?
I have some in the freezer and am considering trying something different

[Donny]

pasteurise the berryies in a bit of water at 65c for 15 mins (or the juices/whatever)

Will this change the taste of the berries?

[DEMPSEY]

I have a bottle of raspberry imperial stout in my stock so yes you can put them in a stout.

[PCBrewer]

I have a bottle of raspberry imperial stout in my stock so yes you can put them in a stout.

Its actually blackcurrants I have, I thought they might be quite nice in a stout as something different

[DEMPSEY]

There is a lot of recipes out there on the net but a word of warning,when some people go on a journey of producing a beer like this it  can often look temptingly good but they often don't post back after time to say how it all turned out. I recall a blackcurrant beer that a guy did on JBK with pictures and it looked great. Long after when people asked about the beer he said 1 bottle a year is all he can drink .

[Dr Horrible]

I took a few litres of porter from a batch I was brewing recently and added it a demijohn with some blackberries just to see how it would turn out. I must have added too much (600g) as when I bottled recently it was bitter as hell compared to the main batch. Will test after carbonating again but nay have to give it time to smooth out. Did something similar with rhubarb last year (in a wheat beer) and it also was very bitter initially but after about three months was pretty nice.

[Will_D]

I recall that a small UK craft brewery did a blackberry stout to some aclaim.

Raspberries may well be a bit too acidic for a stout.