Fruit for Flanders Red?

BigWhitey_FrostBox · 05-28-2009, 02:34 PM

I made my first Flanders Red a week or so ago, and I was wondering if anyone has had luck finding sour pie cherries. I would like to use the sour ones based upon Mosher's suggestion in Radical Brewing. I can't seem to find fresh or frozen ones in my area. Surely you wouldn't wanted to use canned? Any suggestions?

Evan! · 05-28-2009, 02:36 PM

I would do a lambic if you want to add cherries, not a Flanders Red...but in any case, yes you want to use canned.

Sterilized, no seeds.

**Saccharomyces** · 05-28-2009, 02:37 PM

I've only tried homebrews from other folks made with the canned cherries.

Fresh are both expensive and hard to find...

Tonedef131 · 05-28-2009, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evan!

I would do a lambic if you want to add cherries, not a Flanders Red...but in any case, yes you want to use canned.

I think a Flanders Red would be awesome with cherries. But you are right that Flanders Browns and Lambic are more traditional candidates to have fruit added.

**Saccharomyces** · 05-28-2009, 02:45 PM

I'd be more inclined to blend a Flanders Red with a young beer than to add fruit but the beauty of Belgians is that they don't give a *&@% about style guidelines... they are concerned only with making good beer!

Oldsock · 05-28-2009, 05:35 PM

I did a flanders Red with 2 lbs of blackberries per gallon, turned out to be one of the best beers I have done. The fruit really integrated into the beer, giving it a boost in acidity and a nice fruit complexity.

Edit: also wait to add the fruit, next summer's fruit season would be the best time to add them after the brett/bacteria gets established. For sour cherries the season won't start for another month or so, check a farmer's market.

BigWhitey_FrostBox · 05-28-2009, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldsock

For sour cherries the season won't start for another month or so

This is good to know, I'll probably wait a bit. Thanks!

And many thanks for all of the advice

I've brewed a number of fruit beers and prefer to use fresh/frozen fruit as it has always given good results. When I spoke of canned I was thinking of the canned fruit in supermarkets. That seemed like it would be full of additives and additional sugars. I wasn't referring to the Oregon purees. Those seem like a quality product, although I've never tried them personally.

For this beer I brewed a 6 gallon batch, and I'm splitting it three ways (small carboys). I'm adding fruit (raspberries and cherries) to two and adding french oak cubes to the third. If I'm waiting a long time to drink them I want some variety

simcoe4life · 06-09-2009, 06:40 PM

I brewed 10 gallons of Flanders Red with the Wyeast Roselare blend two weeks ago. It will sit for 10 months in secondary and I will add sour cherries (1 pound per gallon) and let it sit on the fruit for 4 months. So by the end of summer 2010 I should have 10 gallons of funked out red ale goodness!!!

**Bobby_M** · 06-09-2009, 07:34 PM

Cherry Juice Concentrate: A natural alternative to fight arthritis and gout

A quart is equal to 22.5 pounds of fresh fruit.

Tonedef131 · 06-09-2009, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobby_M

Cherry Juice Concentrate: A natural alternative to fight arthritis and gout

A quart is equal to 22.5 pounds of fresh fruit.

Wow have you used that? At 68 brix that would get you some really high gravity really quickly.