any homebrewers?

[FreeBeer]

[ QUOTE ]
blackberry porter does sound good. Recipe?

[/ QUOTE ]

My goal was to have the porter and fruit flavors complement each other w/ neither being dominant. I used a lower hopping rate and fewer adjunct grains than I normally do for a porter so the fruit wouldn't be overwhelmed. For the same reason I avoided finishing hops and dry-hopping. It seems to have worked since the beer smells and tastes of fresh fruit with a roasty, malty backbone.


For 5 gallons:

10 oz. 20L crystal malt
2 oz. black patent malt
10 oz. chocolate malt
4 oz. cara-pils

4 lb. light dry extract
2 lb. amber dry extract

5 lb. blackberries (picked in the back yard, then frozen)

1 oz. Willamette (5.5% AAU, whole) 60 min
1/2 oz. Kent Goldings (5.7%, pellet) 30 minutes
1/2 oz. Kent Goldings (5.7%, pellet) 15 minutes

White Labs English Yeast (#002)

OG = 1.052
FG = 1.014


Freezing the fruit helps break down the cell walls and release the juice. I added the fruit to the secondary fermenter and let it go for a couple weeks.

The FG was little higher than I was hoping for, but it turns out the residual sweetness matches well with the blackberry flavor. This ain't soda pop but it sure is easy to drink.

[ QUOTE ]
I've got my first lager fermenting right now.. a maibock.. and an imperial ipa that I brewed with a little bit of orange peel.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have always enjoyed the citrus flavors contributed by some hop strains. Have you brewed with orange peel before? I imagine orange peel takes it to a new level.