Fruit Beer Cherries in the Rain

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Olddog

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 17, 2010
Messages
124
Reaction score
2
Location
Hillsboro, OR
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
WLP-001
Batch Size (Gallons)
5.5
Original Gravity
1.056
Final Gravity
1.013
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
22.3
Color
7.3
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
5
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
10
Tasting Notes
So far so good.
This recipe is based on the "Cherries in the Snow" recipe in Papazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. That recipe was extract so I converted it to all-grain and changed up the hops. My wife has bugged me to make this ever since she saw the recipe a few years back but I haven't been able to find tart cherries here (Oregon seems to only grow sweet cherries). Luckily, I was able to find local tart cherries in IQF form.

8# Maris Otter
2# Vienna
1# Honey Malt
1.5 oz Willamette (60 min)
0.5 oz Willamette (Flameout)
10# Tart Cherries
WLP001 California Ale yeast

60 minute mash at 152 degrees and batch sparged.



As per the recipe in the book, I removed the boiling hops and added 10 pounds of tart cherries along with another .5 oz of Willamette hops and let that steep for 15 minutes. After that I cooled the wort in an ice bath because I didn't want to stick my immersion cooler in the wort after I put the cherries in it. At this point the wort literally smelled like a cherry pie.

I then dumped the entire pot of wort, cherries and all into my sanitized bucket and pitched the yeast when it cooled down a little more.

I'll update my progress as I go.
 
Sorry, got busy. Here's an update on this: I just bottled it with 4 oz of corn sugar. FG was 1.012. It has a very sour, winelike taste at the moment. It's not bad but I hope it mellows over time.
 
looking forward to seeing how it ages. Cherry beers are the house favorite here, and my first batch tonight is a cherry wheat blend from a local brew store.
 
Let us know how it turns out. Doing first cherry brews next weekend. Going to try to split wort into a kriek and a cherry wheat.
 
My wife and I sampled a couple the other day and it was still a little under carbed but tasted fantastic. The color was a little darker than I wanted it though so I might change up the grains a little the next time I brew a batch. I'll try and post a picture the next time I sample one.
 
Astringent...but my first time...going to use a different cherry blend next time...the extract was like cough medicine...
 
I'm not a fan of the cherry extract. Like you said it tastes like cough medicine. I definitely recommend real fruit for this recipe.
 
Sorry for the lack of updates. I bought a house this summer and it's been non-stop projects ever since.

This beer continues to be hit whenever I share it with friends (been miserly with it since I want to let it age). It's nice and sour and almost has a lambic style taste to it.

I plan to brew it again soon but instead of 10 pounds of sour cherries, I might sub in a couple points of rainier or bing cherries to sweeten it up a bit and up the hops some based on the judges comments (I'll post those when I can find them again).
 
Reviving this, with a few questions about your process. I'm getting 10 lbs of sour cherries from a friend that were freshly picked yesterday and I've been wanting to make this recipe since I got Papazian's book years ago. I want to do it all-grain, as you did Olddog, and I like the look's of the grain bill. My questions are:

-How much volume does 10 lbs of cherries add to the boil kettle?
-Will the temp drop, by adding cherries, from 212 F to 160 F - 180 F with such a larger boil volume than Papazian's recipe calls for?
-What kind of volume into the fermenter should I plan for, assuming I'm shooting for 5 gallons of beer after all transferring has been done (primary -> secondary -> keg)?

I know, questions are way too specific for a thread 2 yrs old. Just thought I'd give it a shot.

Thanks
 
FreshBrew,

I just started on this recipe 4 days ago and I might be able to help out a little. I am a long time reader and first time poster but here goes-
I started with 3 gallons of water in a 5 gallon kettle. I thought I was going to have an issue with adding 10 pounds of sour cherries, but I was wrong. There was a surprising amount of room left in the kettle, especially after 45 minutes of boiling. I would estimate 7-8 inches after adding cherries. I used cans of Oregon brand tart cherries in water (11 x 14.5 oz), drained, and dumped into a grain bag. I crushed with clean hands.

My wort temp was about 223ºF at the 45 min mark. I killed the heat and added the bag of cherries mixed with finishing hops. The temp dropped down to 184ºF. I did not really believe it so I checked my digital with my trusty back-up thermometer. It was accurate. I kept the heat off until the temp dropped down to 165ºF and then slowly added/removed heat to keep it in range.
When it came time to pour it into the fermenter, I removed the bag of hops and cherries to another kettle. I dumped the hot wort over ice and filled to the 5 gallon line with cool tap water. After stirring, the temp was 85ºF. Again, I double checked (10 lbs of cherries cost me $45 after all). I simply waited for the temp to drop to 80ºF and pitched the yeast. After, I added the cherry bag again, sealed it up, and waited.

Fermentation started 48 hrs later (which worried me) but when it did, WOW! I am using a standard, cookie-cutter, brew store-purchased plastic primary and there is plenty of room. I see no issue with using a glass carboy either if that is your thing.

Hope that helps and good luck,

-Ritalin
 
I think you get more fruit flavor transfer if you add the fruit at the end of fermentation, say in a secondary ferment at the end. The alcohol present kills off any potential invaders and the fruit flavors are not distorted by so much fermentation. Also, you don't have to get your wort chiller all icky.
 
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