Cherry Wit

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rdwj

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2006
Messages
4,571
Reaction score
41
Location
Plainfield, IL
Recipe Type
Extract
Yeast
Belgian Wit
Yeast Starter
Yes
Batch Size (Gallons)
5 gallons
Original Gravity
1.043
Final Gravity
1.010?
Boiling Time (Minutes)
70
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
10 days
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
10-14 days
Additional Fermentation
3-5 days to clear
Cherry Witbeer

5 gallons, extract and specialty grain
Expected OG = 1.043

Ingredients:
3 lbs. unhopped weizen extract syrup (about half wheat, half barley)
2 lbs. unhopped extra-light dry malt extract
1 oz. Saaz hop pellets
1/3 lb. flaked wheat
1/3 lb. flaked oats
0.5 lb. cara-pils
Belgian wit yeast
2 lbs. Frozen sweet cherries

Step by Step:

Brew Day
1. Steep grains at 155° in 1 gallon of water for 45 minutes
2. Begin to boil 5 gallons of water
3. Add steep water to brew pot and bring to a boil
4. Add extract @ 60 minutes
5. Add .5 oz saaz @ 45 minutes
6. Add .5 oz saaz @ 5 minutes
7. Add cooled wort to primary and pitch starter

Post Brew Day
1. Ferment at 65° F for seven to 10 days
2. Rack onto pasteurized cherry slurry in secondary for 10 to 14 days
3. Rack to tertiary fermenter for 3-5 days
4. Keg
 
How was this? I like that you used frozen sweet cherries because those are easy to find, but most cherry beer recipes I've seen use tart cherries (which I can never find). Was yours on the sweet side then?
 
It had a very mild cherry flavor, but it was there. I wouldn't call it sweet, but certainly cherry. If you're looking for a BIG cherry flavor, I'd double the cherries in the recipe, but that would be too much for me.
 
I made a cherry beer, but the cherry juice fermented too and added a big "winey" taste to the beer. I want a beer that has cherry flavor, not a cherry wine/beer blend. How would you say this one was in that regard?
 
It wasn't winey, that's for sure. How do you carb?

If you use CO2, you could probably use camden tablets to kill off the yeast and then add the cherries.
 
well what did you come up with on the cherry juice... how was your final result??? I have a cherry flavored ale going right now and added frozen dark sweet cherries to the "tertiary" bucket after fermentation subsided...
 
I'm working on this one right now; threw the cherries in a blender and used the resulting slurry in the secondary. It went from amberish to dark red. Though, it appears the cherry juice is fermenting, too :confused:

We'll see how it turns out.
 
what is your process for pasteurizing the cherries? i am getting 2 lbs of fresh cherries from my parents trees and would love to make this but im pretty sure i need to pasteurize them to kill all the nasties
 
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