Blackberries!

[Cazamodo]

I have an abundance of blackberries! Id hate to waste them.

Any ideas? I plan to make up some bb wine again this year, I'm also thinking about freezing some to add to a few gallon experiments with cider, any thoughts?

[Spud395]

We're weeks away from bb's yet, I'm amased you have tham all ready.

This year I plan to make some bb cider like you say, I allways make loads of jam (used up the last pot of last years early june)

I'm also planning a bb bear this year ie. make up a brew, dont know whether to go for stout or weiss, maybe both
Chuck in a load into secondry, not done it before but worth a try I reckon.

Oh loads of crumbles, did I mention I like blackberries

[Cazamodo]

Yea I thought they were coming on rather soon! However there's an area that a little out the way, (over a fence and such) that theyve started comin out, just came back with about 4kg and have them freezing up, Ill give it a week or two and go back as I imagine they will be another abundance of them!

ill look into the bb beer!

I have a load of 1gal glass demijons that I think I will experiment with.

[Noodles 09]

I would like to make a blackberry wine come season. Anyone got a basic recipie?

[smeggedup]

hi,

just thought i'd share my simple black berry wine recipe, i will have to say before i do that its just has to be the best wine i've ever tasted, both me and the wife said this last year. The 20 bottles we made didnt last long at all.

Twice Dead Blood Red

4kg of frozen black berries (frozen because i collected them over a few weeks)
2 tins of strawberries
1 tin of rasberries
lemon juice (1tbs per demijohn)
pectin
yeast nutirent
and yeast (think i yeast dry champage )
4kg of white sugar




everything went into the blender and got mashed up, blackberries (still frozen), all tinned stuff.
It was then all mixed up in one large bucket


then the mixture was divided up into four


Then we added the pectin, lemon juice and nutrient.
Topped up with 1kg of sugar and water (i melted the sugar in hot water in the mixture bucket)



finally added the yeast.

it sat on the pulp and fermented away for about 2 weeks (or when activity dies down)

and then remove from the pulp ( i'm planning on getting a small press to get all the wine out).

We then fermented off untill it came to rest.
Cant remember any of the figures, very glad i took photos !

filter and enjoy,

i've got about 3 kilo of berries, just need to get another one and were off

[Spud395]

How long did you leave this to mature?
They say patience is a virtue, but I'm not very virtueous

[smeggedup]

it was pretty much drunk right after filtering, no hanging around in our place, but i can definataly say the last bottle tasted the best.

[trucker5774]

Having tried brewing with fruit before, I would just buy a big tub of ice cream.

[jason123]

I'm planning something like a BB Porter which I'll try and make then leave for christmas. Not sure if I'll adapt a kit or try another BIAB for it yet. Better get started thnking about it though, all my BB's come from the bushes underneath one of the lecky pylons at work.

[Rookie]

I brewed a blackberry mead a few years ago that turned out great.

[jason123]

Just been out to the BB bushes and filled up my lunchbox with the beauties.
Does anybody do much in the way of sterilising them or do they just get juiced and chucked in.

[Cazamodo]

I dont worry about sterilise them, just make sure the yeast is healthy enough to overpower any wild bacteria.
Im gonna follow your recipe smeggedup, it looks good, and if it turns out ok ill open some up at xmas!

Id also like to make a blackberry mead, any chance you still have that recipe?

[smeggedup]

Just been out to the BB bushes and filled up my lunchbox with the beauties.
Does anybody do much in the way of sterilising them or do they just get juiced and chucked in.

Think freezing them would do the trick, no idea how this would work out if the bb's wrent frozen first never tried it.

[smeggedup]

i went out today and got another 1.5kg, think all together its 5kg ive got so will need to make two batches, no problem as the area is ripe with blackberries.

if anyone does try this let everyone know how it turns out.

Never did get round to naming this so here goes 'twice dead blood red' hope you like it

[Cazamodo]

Knocked up the recipe today, halfed the quantities as only had 2kg of blackberries to hand, but kept the whole tin of raspberries as didnt want to waste half a tin!
Didnt have a blender, so did my best at pulping them, although theyre not as pulped as I would like.
I can imagine racking off the pulp will be quite a pain. Time to get some new strainer bags!