Freeze raspberries in a ziplock bag. Take out periodically during primary, thaw, crush inside the bag, re-freeze (2-3 times). This breaks down the cell walls of the raspberries and dramatically cuts down the time required in the fermenter.
Add barrel chunks to primary before adding wort. They've had whisky in them. They don't need sanitising.
Ferment at 10°C. You can pitch several degrees higher than this provided you're certain it will reach 10°C in the next 24 hours; esters are not produced until fermentation beings. The dangers of high temp pitching are an old wives' tale.
Once fermentation starts, rise up to 15°C over 10 days (0.5°C per day). Hold for a week.
Thaw and add raspberries directly to primary. By now raspberries should be more like a paste than whole fruit. Allow to rise to 21°C but no higher. Ferment raspberries for 7-10 days.
Cold crash to 2°C for 2 days. Bottle for at least three weeks. before cold conditioning.
