Black Raspberry wheat

Here is my recipe and brewing method for any raspberry beer. I have used regular red raspberries and black raspberries. Very different tasting beers from using the different berries. Variety within red raspberries also causes different tastes in the beer.

The berries I use are always frozen in the following manner. Fresh pick berries and rinse with tap water. Allow to drain on a colander then place berries in a freezer duty plastic bag. Toss bag of berries into the freezer and leave until ready to make beer. I have used berries that have spent up to 18 months in the freezer. Take berries out of freezer, put if refrigerator to begin to thaw the day before brewing.

1 pound caraform or other light color grain that will impart body. Steep from 90F to 185F over one hour.
6 pounds of wheat/barley (50/50 or there about) Dried Malt Extract
1 ounce of hops in the A = 4-7% range.
Boil for one hour.
Add 1 teaspoon Irish Moss for last 20 minutes of the boil.

Turn off the heat and add 3-4 pounds (wet) of partially frozen or now thawed berries directly to the batch. Stir gently then allow to steep for 30-60 minutes.

Force cool the batch with a heat exchanger down to below the cold break (<90F).

Pour batch into primary fermentor and add water to 5 gallons. OG >1.052 <1.060

Add one pack of Safbrew S-33 yeast when below 75F. Ferment for 6-9 days.

Transfer per normal methods to secondary fermenter. Leave all berry solids in the primary fermenter and dispose. Top off to 5 gallons with water. Do not worry, this recipe has plenty of body to handle the dilution with some water.

TG = >1.012 <1.018
Bottle with your standard carbonation method. Makes 50-53 12 oz. bottles.

KEY POINTS:
1) The yeast strain: You are on your own if you use something other then Safbrew S-33
2) Use fresh frozen whole berries.
3) Steep berries in hot wort for 30 -60 minutes then cool the wort.
4) Leave berries in the primary fermenter, alcohol might leach out other components of the berries that water cannot.

Dave Morse