Raspberry stout question

[Garagebrewski]

I made a raspberry stout that calls for 3lbs of raspberries in about three weeks that I would add to secondary. However, I have made a couple fruit beers and haven't had much luck with getting real fruit flavor. I was going to use raspberry extract instead but I wasn't sure how much to add. I made 5 gals. Any help would be great. Thanks

 

[McKnuckle]

I can only offer one data point: I recently took a portion from a batch of witbier and made it into a raspberry wit. I took two cups of frozen berries and made syrup out of them in a sauce pan with a small amount of sugar. Then I took 20 oz (1.25 lbs) of whole frozen berries and put all of that into a gallon jug, on top of which I racked about 0.81 gallons of beer.

The raspberry flavor is very prominent, probably 75% of the profile. I wanted it that way. You might not.

If we do a little math, I used about 1.5 lbs of raspberries per gallon. If you're only using 3 lbs for 5 gallons, or 0.6 lbs/gal, it'll be a much more diluted flavor. Also a rich, dark beer like stout will require more fruit than a lighter wit like mine.

Maybe this helps a little bit to get your thoughts going...

 

[CJ-3]

I used a cherry extract in an ale once - Brewers Best was the brand - it was definitely not enough even though I used the full 4 ounces recommended on the bottle. But the small amount of cherry that did come through was slightly synthetic tasting.

Personally I will stick with real fruit over extracts.

For example, I used a 49 ounce can of pureed blackberries in a Witbeir and it was exactly what I wanted flavor wise.

 

[sfrisby]

I've done raspberries in a RIS multiple times. Raspberry comes through more than other fruit in my opinion. I do just under a lb/gal and the flavor is very strong, which I like. I would suggest a sterilized strainer if you do anything other than whole berries. I've crushed, juiced, ect... And still get a ton of seeds come through.