Witness my creation!

[Evan B]

Did you freeze the strawberries first? It would really help to bring the flavors out if you did. Strawberries are such a mild flavor; it's really hard to get them to come through at all. Freezing them breaks down the cell walls and gives you more beer to fruit surface contact area.

[Valicious]

Did you freeze the strawberries first? It would really help to bring the flavors out if you did. Strawberries are such a mild flavor; it's really hard to get them to come through at all. Freezing them breaks down the cell walls and gives you more beer to fruit surface contact area.

I bought them frozen. They were still partially-frozen and really REEEALLLY cold when I cut them up and plunked them in the secondary.

[brewerTristan]

Has anyone had good results from brewing with pre-frozen fruit? I've had one hit and one miss. I brewed a blonde ale that I racked onto some frozen mangoes, which turned out great. But then I tried the same thing with frozen raspberries and I got a sour mess out of it (not in a good way).

[bcmaui]

I also recall hearing that strawberry was very subtle in flavor - have not tried any fruit beers yet, but this is one I can source locally.

[Elbone]

For more strawberry character (at least to me) use Northern Brewer hops next time. NB has a flavor that always reminds me of strawberry jam.

[Petedadink]

I remember hearing the same thing about strawberries having a low flavor impact.
Just a guess but Id think you might want to blend in a more chocolate forward beer to get the flavor your looking for.

[SacoDeToro]

I also recall hearing that strawberry was very subtle in flavor - have not tried any fruit beers yet, but this is one I can source locally.

There's a Socal brewer who makes a fantastic strawberry lambic that has a prominent strawberry aroma and flavor. If memory serves, his fruiting rate is around 3lbs/gal, which is on the upper end for most fruit beers.

[brewcrew]

From Randy Mosher's Radical Brewing -

Frozen or fresh picked yourself is best....Use at least 2 lbs per gallon in a light beer all the way up to 5 lbs per gallon for darker beers....Strawberries rarely live up to their promise and flavor fades very quickly...best suited for a light style of beer.

I think Randy has mentioned in conversations he recommends against strawberries because they are so fragile to speak and are very hard to dial in just right in most beers.

Good luck. Sounds like a tasty beer.