Shiner Cheer recipe

Hey guys,

I was looking to get started on an all grain version of this in the next day or so. Going to brew up a basic AG Dunkelweizen recipe from the LHBS and get started on that but had some questions around the pecans & peach additions since there were a few of you seemingly using different approaches.
Is there a consensus on the amount and preparation of each additive?

Here's what I was able to gather (and this could be way off):

24oz pecans - halved, blanched with salt water then same with vodka
16oz peach juice (I'd prefer going with the juice than flavoring)

I will be kegging this, so my additions will be to the secondary.

Does this sound anywhere close to what you guys did?

Cheers! (get it?)

This weekend, I just switched mine over to the secondary and split it into 2 smaller batches.

#1: 8 oz Pecans, 4 lbs of frozen peaches
#2: 2 oz Pecans, 1 lb of frozen peaches

No idea how either will turn out, but will definitely post when I bottle and carbonate them both.

I'm drinking mine now. A nice little beer but little in the way of peach or pecan flavor. I don't think I roasted the3 pecans long enough. Next time I'll try either peach nectar or peach extract, and up the pecans to 32 OZ. Something to look forward to next year.

mjhszig mentioned using Safale S-04 yeast in his recipe. What have others used?

I'm looking forward to brewing a batch of this. This is the first beer my wife likes enough that she wants 5 gals. of it.

zmanzorro said:

This weekend, I just switched mine over to the secondary and split it into 2 smaller batches.

#1: 8 oz Pecans, 4 lbs of frozen peaches
#2: 2 oz Pecans, 1 lb of frozen peaches

No idea how either will turn out, but will definitely post when I bottle and carbonate them both.

Click to expand...

Which one of these turned worked best?

Have you tried the Shiner Farmhouse? It's pretty awesome as well.

gpitrone said:

Which one of these turned worked best?

Have you tried the Shiner Farmhouse? It's pretty awesome as well.

Click to expand...

Neither turned out well. Both versions soured but neither tasted of peaches nor pecans.

zmanzorro said:

Neither turned out well. Both versions soured but neither tasted of peaches nor pecans.

Click to expand...

That's not good. Not what I was hoping to hear.

What does shiner farmhouse taste like? This is the first I'v heard of it.

Hi all I'm sorry I never posted this I've done probably 5 batches of this haven't had one sour. Remember to ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS blanche your fruit or nuts before adding to your recipe to remove any wild yeast strains. A definition of blanching is included in the resipe below.

5 Gallon Batch

7.25 lbs of 6 row
1/2 lb carafoam
3.5 lbs German dark Munich
.25 lb American chocolate malt
1.5 oz hallertau 4.5 alpha acids full boil 60 minutes
.5 oz hallertau same as above 15 minutes
.25 oz tettnanger 4.5 AA 5 minutes
Wyeast 2565 kolsch (don’t skimp on the yeast please get this specific strain)

60 minute boil standard mash in temp 155 degrees no more than 158 I shoot for 155. 170 for sparge. Roast 12 oz pecans at 275 30 minutes flip in between Blanche in vodka BE CAREFUL WITH BLANCHING!!!! Blanching – Boil the pecans in the vodka on low heat on the stove as alcohol boils quickly and evaporates. However this is alcohol it WILL catch on fire if not careful keep a rag around throw it on top or just blow it out with your mouth. I do a lot of fusion cooking and weird things in the kitchen so this doesn’t scare me. If it scares you, you can always blanche in water. However I find alcohol to kill any wild yeast much better. Throw pecans in primary.

4 tablespoons of Brewers Best peach extract at bottling. You can add more if you want a stronger peach flavor or less obviously. However 4 is what I settled on after a few batches to get close to the Cheer.

No more than 3 weeks in the primary as you don’t want any nasties from the pecan floating around in there. OG about 1.062 FG around 1.02 (Dark beer less fermentables higher FG and Kolsch Wyeast is low attenuation)

Elweydoloco,

Any chance you'd share your OG and FG numbers? I just purchased the ingredients for your recipe and I'm playing with the numbers.

Thank you...

Elweydoloco said:

Wyeast 2565 kolsch (don’t skimp on the yeast please get this specific strain)

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What temperature do you ferment at with the kolsch yeast? I know some yeasts give off different esters at different temperatures.

Ok so the first recipe here (page 1) is a dunkel weizen. The AG recipe (page 5) is a more traditional dunkel. Does anyone have any idea how they compare both to one another and to actual Cheer?

From my exhaustive (and selfless) research on the topic I would assume that Cheer is a bit more of a classic dunkel...thoughts?

Found this online:

Shiner Holiday Cheer Happy Holidays from the "Little Brewery" in Shiner, TX. We hope you enjoy your Shiner Cheer, an Old World Dunkelweizen brewed with Texas peaches and roasted pecans. The malty flavors of this dark wheat ale are enhanced through the use of malted barley and wheat. And Kräusening ensures a smoothness that makes the subtle peach and pecan flavors all the more satisfying. May your days be merry and bright and your Shiner be cold. Prosit!

Reviving this old thread. Has anyone made a cheer clone lately? Anyone have an updated Partial Mash recipe? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I am about to make a Shiner Cheer clone using a dunkelweizen recipe from olybrew.com (extract) and adding the pecan and peaches. My plan is to add them to a secondary for two weeks and then bottle. Thoughts?

Do the pecans go in immediately after primary fermentation? If kegging, does peach extract get added to keg?

zmanzorro said:

I went ahead and brewed this over the weekend. I also did this as a mini mash and I am waiting to put in the peaches and pecans in the secondary when its time.

Things learned so far:

1. Buy shelled pecans. It takes forever to shell them yourself and never come out in whole pieces, much less half or even quarter. And watch out for larvae in the pecans too.

2. Peaches are out of season right now. I hoping to use fresh ripe peaches, but had to go frozen instead.

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Seems like pasteurizing is the way to go anyway to get more flavor right?

The first time I tried this, I used the Brewer's Best Dunkelweizen extract kit and added the pecan and peach flavors myself. It turned out awesome. I am about to do an AG version using the dunkel recipe found on this thread, but will add the flavorings just like I did before:

10oz shelled pecans. Chopped in 1/4s, Blanched in vodka, and then roasted in oven until dry (not yet smoking, but could smell them roasting). Didn't do a secondary, but let primary go for 2-3 weeks prior to adding pecans.

1.5oz peach extract. Added to bottling bucket.

Pecan/Peach balance was delicious. Got great feedback from local HB club. Flavors were not overpowering, just background...like the real thing.

GoodBookBrewer said:

The first time I tried this, I used the Brewer's Best Dunkelweizen extract kit and added the pecan and peach flavors myself. It turned out awesome. I am about to do an AG version using the dunkel recipe found on this thread, but will add the flavorings just like I did before:

10oz shelled pecans. Chopped in 1/4s, Blanched in vodka, and then roasted in oven until dry (not yet smoking, but could smell them roasting). Didn't do a secondary, but let primary go for 2-3 weeks prior to adding pecans.

1.5oz peach extract. Added to bottling bucket.

Pecan/Peach balance was delicious. Got great feedback from local HB club. Flavors were not overpowering, just background...like the real thing.

Click to expand...

I'm brewing a Cheer variation on Saturday GoodBookBrewer. I think I'll be borrowing your Pecan process.

Has anyone tried the Peach juice in secondary with any luck yet? If so how much and where exactly in the process?

GoodBookBrewer said:

The first time I tried this, I used the Brewer's Best Dunkelweizen extract kit and added the pecan and peach flavors myself. It turned out awesome. I am about to do an AG version using the dunkel recipe found on this thread, but will add the flavorings just like I did before:

10oz shelled pecans. Chopped in 1/4s, Blanched in vodka, and then roasted in oven until dry (not yet smoking, but could smell them roasting). Didn't do a secondary, but let primary go for 2-3 weeks prior to adding pecans.

1.5oz peach extract. Added to bottling bucket.

Pecan/Peach balance was delicious. Got great feedback from local HB club. Flavors were not overpowering, just background...like the real thing.

Click to expand...

Marked. Mine is almost ready for pecans.

Added the peaches 4 days ago, im planning on bottling on Friday.

WhoDatDad78 said:

Added the peaches 4 days ago, im planning on bottling on Friday.

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How did your brew turn out? Did you add the entire peach or only the juice?

Thanks

when I first did this recipie I chopped the pecans and had problems when the pecan bits got stuck in the bottling wand foot valve. Now I just break them in half.

SP Wort Hogs Mmbr said:

How did your brew turn out? Did you add the entire peach or only the juice?

Thanks

Click to expand...

Sorry for the delay in responding.
My brew turned out a little strange. I used both apricot extract and fresh peaches. I froze and cooked the peaches (simmered, but not boiled), broke the pecans with the side of a butcher knife, and soaked them in vodka to make a tincture. I bottle, so some of them were carb bombs, some of them had a cardboard/funk taste and no carbonation. I kept a couple to let them age and see what happens. The old ones turned out ok, but very little carbonation. I bought a keg and intend to get an oxygen setup, so with any luck if I try this again it should turn out. I think I had some issues with transfer and maybe some less than sanitary bottles. I've since chunked all tubing and cold side equipment. I think the recipe is solid though.

GoodBookBrewer said:

10oz shelled pecans. Chopped in 1/4s, Blanched in vodka, and then roasted in oven until dry (not yet smoking, but could smell them roasting). Didn't do a secondary, but let primary go for 2-3 weeks prior to adding pecans.

Click to expand...

How long did you leave the pecans in primary?

I'm down to my last two bottles for this year, definitely a tasty beer, and one the SWMBO enjoys. I think I'll have to give the homebrew a try...

Elweydoloco said:

Hi all I'm sorry I never posted this I've done probably 5 batches of this haven't had one sour. Remember to ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS blanche your fruit or nuts before adding to your recipe to remove any wild yeast strains. A definition of blanching is included in the resipe below.

5 Gallon Batch

7.25 lbs of 6 row
1/2 lb carafoam
3.5 lbs German dark Munich
.25 lb American chocolate malt
1.5 oz hallertau 4.5 alpha acids full boil 60 minutes
.5 oz hallertau same as above 15 minutes
.25 oz tettnanger 4.5 AA 5 minutes
Wyeast 2565 kolsch (don’t skimp on the yeast please get this specific strain)

60 minute boil standard mash in temp 155 degrees no more than 158 I shoot for 155. 170 for sparge. Roast 12 oz pecans at 275 30 minutes flip in between Blanche in vodka BE CAREFUL WITH BLANCHING!!!! Blanching – Boil the pecans in the vodka on low heat on the stove as alcohol boils quickly and evaporates. However this is alcohol it WILL catch on fire if not careful keep a rag around throw it on top or just blow it out with your mouth. I do a lot of fusion cooking and weird things in the kitchen so this doesn’t scare me. If it scares you, you can always blanche in water. However I find alcohol to kill any wild yeast much better. Throw pecans in primary.

4 tablespoons of Brewers Best peach extract at bottling. You can add more if you want a stronger peach flavor or less obviously. However 4 is what I settled on after a few batches to get close to the Cheer.

No more than 3 weeks in the primary as you don’t want any nasties from the pecan floating around in there. OG about 1.062 FG around 1.02 (Dark beer less fermentables higher FG and Kolsch Wyeast is low attenuation)

Click to expand...

You blanch in vodka first then roast the pecans? Or as written... roast then blanch?

Working on a version of this right now. I'll be back to share results and details soon!

Mikent said:

Working on a version of this right now. I'll be back to share results and details soon!

Click to expand...

What version did you make? Going to pick up grains and yeast early next week and get a starter going to brew next weekend

This blanching in vodka thing is both unnecessary and extremely dangerous. There isn't a brewery in the world doing this before adding fresh fruit, Shiner included.

I suspect Shiner adds the pecan and peach addition after filtering out yeast. The beer is too sweet and the peach flavor is too prominent for the fruit to undergo fermentation. Usually when peaches ferment out, unless an obscene amount is used, the peach flavor usually disappears along with the sweetness. On a homebrew level, unless you have a filtration system, you could fine and cold crash aggressively and then rack out to the fruit and nuts. Killing off any residual yeast would help if kegging. For bottling you could pasteurize after a few weeks to make sure the bottles carb up, but this isn't ideal.

Well, I made my own recipe based on what I had access to, but here's the gist of it:

6 lb Dark wheat malt (Weyerman, EBC 16)
2 lb 4.7 oz Vienna (Best Malz, EBC 8)
1lb 14.8 oz Extra pale pilsner (Weyerman, EBC 2.5)
15.2 oz Munich (EBC 14)
6 oz Special B (Dingemans EBC 300)
2 oz Carafa special III (Weyerman EBC 1200)

(Excuse the wacky grain bill, I was using up leftovers)
Mashed at 66C 35 min, then 69C for 30 min
Mash out to 76C then sparged

Boiled w/ hallertau mittelfruh (4.9AA)
60 min 1.3oz
20 min 0.4oz
5 min 0.2oz

Chilled to 30C and pitched yeast WLP300 HEFEWEIZEN ALE YEAST (no starter)

OG 1.052

1 week in primary with vigorous fermentation.

Which takes us to today:

I racked 4.5 L into a carboy for secondary (just to see how the base beer turns out without peach and pecan)

I took 12 oz pecans, roasted them at 135C for 25 mins (smelled heavenly), then put them in a saucepan, covered them with the cheapest vodka I could find, and heated to a boil (was disappointed that it didn't catch fire), skimmed off the scummy froth and then strained the vodka back into the bottle (to try later) and put the pecans in a sanitized mesh bag, in a sanitized fermenter. Then I took 3 cans (1.25 Kg) of peach slices in juice (I couldnt get any fresh or frozen) and put the whole contents into the pan, mashed it up a little, and heated to boil, then added it to the bag with the pecans. Finally I racked the remaining beer (~15 - 15 1/2 L) into the fermenter with the peaches and pecans.

It's now been about 1 1/2 h, and the one with the peaches is fermenting vigorously again from all that peach juice...

No idea how it'll turn out, but the unfinished beer tasted good today ( 1.012 sg)

I'd be interested to know what recipe you settle on, and how it goes!