Brown and Blue Ale

Classification: fruit beer, blueberry ale, all-grain

Source: Jeff Benjamin (benji@hpfcbug.fc.hp.com) Issue #926, 7/18/92

There was lots of blueberry aroma coming from the fermenter the first couple of days, but not very much when I racked after 4 days. I bottled after 4 more days in the secondary.
I think lots of aroma volatiles got lost with all the outgassing in the primary; I think next time I may wait to add the berries to the secondary. I may also skip the roasted barley, and use only 1/2 pound of 40L crystal so the blue from the berries is more obvious.

The next batch is going to be a cherry wheat, with lots of tart baking cherries in the secondary and a looong maceration. Yum!

Ingredients:

6--1/2 pounds, pale malt
1/2 pound, wheat malt
3/4 pound, crystal malt (80L)
4 ounces, black patent malt (uncracked)
2 ounces, roasted barley (uncracked)
1 ounce, Goldings (4.9% alpha)
1/2 ounce, Fuggles (4.5% alpha)
5 pounds, fresh blueberries
Wyeast #1084 (Irish ale)

Procedure:

Mash in 2 gallons at 130F, protein rest 30 minutes at 125F, add 1.25 gallons, mash 30 min at 150F, raise temp to 158F until converted (15 minutes), mash out 10 minutes at 170F. Sparge with 4 gallons to yield 5- -1/2 gallons at 1.046. Add Fuggles and 3/4 ounce of Goldings after 20 minutes of boil, boil 60 minutes, add last 1/4 ounce of Goldings and boil 15 minutes more. Rinse blueberries in a dilute sulfite solution (after weeding out the fuzzy ones), puree, and add to primary along with yeast.

Specifics:

O.G.: 1.046 (5--1/2 gallons)
F.G.: 1.010