I found about 10 oz of dried juniper berries in my brewing stash. I think I bought them to make a juniper ale at some point. I looked up some recipes both online and in a few books that I have and was trying to formulate a recipe. Does anyone have experience with using the berries? Any help with the amounts and/or recipes that anyone has would be a great help.

I am not looking for any particular style. I'm just trying to get some input so I could formulate my own recipe. Please keep in mind that I don't have any access to the branches, just the berries...

Thanks

I have never brewed with juniper berries, but 10oz. of dried berries seems like a lot, given that they are quite potent when fresh. Having done some aromatic additions in the past (mint, rosemary), I'd say start with a little less than you might otherwise. If they are at all similar in potency to the fresh rosemary I used, 2oz would be plenty.

As for style, I like to keep the flavor of the addition on top, so something like a simple pale ale would be nice to showcase the juniper. On the other hand, I think it would go also go well with a darker, maltier brew like a porter/stout. Just try it and let us know! Happy brewing!

Yeah, I wasn't going to use the whole 10 oz, that's just how much I have.

Try brewing Sahti. Search BYO for a recipe. You will also need juniper needles to cover the false botom before you ladle the mash into the lauter tun and sparge. Whatever you do, don't boil the wort. Heat it to 180 deg. F and hold it for an hour to pasteurize it. Then cool it, aerate, and pitch the yeast. This is a very interesting brew.

So I checked my copy of the Homebrewer's Garden, which mentions juniper.
http://www.amazon.com/Homebrewers-Garden-Easily-Prepare-Brewing/dp/1580170102/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246477955&sr=8-1

It recommends "1 to 2 tablespoons of fresh berries late in the boil for a ginlike flavor." I suppose if you go by volume instead of mass, you could probably use about the same, depending on how shriveled they are.

The book also happens to have a recipe (both extract and all-grain) for Sahti. Let me know if you'd like me to post it.

I actually have that book and that is one of the sources I used. I don't really want to do a Sahti, at least at first. i just want to do something small and see how the spice comes through.