re: Homebrewing: making a strawberry ale

The only time I added fruit I did it with blueberries. I froze/thawed them a couple times to break down the cells walls, or something like that. Not real sure. Someone told me to do it, so I did it. I then put them in a big pot and mashed them up and brought the pot to 160 degrees for about 20 minutes. I let them cool slightly and then put them in a bucket. I racked the primary in to the buckets and let it sit for a couple weeks.

I didn't really care for the finished beer, but all my friends still request it. I don't have the original recipe, so I can't recreate it.

ETA: I do remember it was 10 lbs of blueberries.