We made a lot of Blackberry jam this year but still had enough to make this year’s Blackberry Saison. The Blackberries used in this batch are from last year’s harvest.
I prepared the Blackberries a bit different this time around. I pureed and strained them before freezing in one gallon Ziploc bags. In the past I froze the Blackberries whole and pureed and strained them on brew day.
In this batch I use three one gallon bags of frozen pureed Blackberries that I thawed in a large sauce pan. I heated it to approximately 180F for twenty minutes while stirring. I strained it into another large pot, sealed it, and let cool to room temperature.
Once the puree was at room temperature and added it to the fermenter where my Saison was about 80% attenuated. I let it ferment for several more days until fermentation stopped.
My goto Saison yeast strain is Lallemand’s Belle Saison. One pack was used in a OG 1.057 wort. The malt bill was simply 85/15 Pilsner/Wheat malt.
Found this to be very refreshing beer. It was light, tart, and the Blackberries definitely shine. However, at 7% I found it difficult to have more than one or two. Next year I’ll make a lower ABV version and see how that turns out.
