Tart Cherry Question(s)

I am going to be putting a trappist ale on 4 lbs. of black cherries and four pounds on tart cherries.

The only place in Colorado that sales frozen tart cherries here is holding them to make their own pies. I can't find any suppliers online that have any available due to the crops taking a hit this year.

What I can find is:
Dried tart cherries but they are coated in sunflower oil.
Canned tart cherries in water.

I was wanting to avoid the dried cherries because of the oil. Leaving the only option as the canned in water cherries. Does anyone know if I would need more or less canned cherries to get the same effect? And do I still need to freeze the canned cherries? I assume since they are canned I could drain and add the the secondary.

Look in to cherry republic out of Michigan they have dried cherries and cherries in the can that should be fine. Will use them in my lambic later this year.

I was looking for tart cherries recently. Whole Foods sold organic dried cherries without the oil, but it was ridiculously expensive, something like $7.99 for 1/2 pound.

You might try this:
http://www.rwknudsenfamily.com/products/just-juice/organic-just-tart-cherry/
I've used it with good results in wine. The trick will be calculating how much juice is = to how much fresh/frozen fruit.
Regards, GF.

gratus fermentatio said:

You might try this:
http://www.rwknudsenfamily.com/products/just-juice/organic-just-tart-cherry/
I've used it with good results in wine. The trick will be calculating how much juice is = to how much fresh/frozen fruit.
Regards, GF.

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I have also used it with very good results. It will thin out your beer because you're adding a lot of water to it but the flavor is excellent. You can probably find tart cherry concentrate at local health/organic stores. If not, it is certainly available online (although pricey).

Those canned cherries you find at the grocery store are worthless for beer. They have most of the color and flavor stripped out of them before canning because the juice is mostly lost to the pitting and canning process. They make good food because you're eating the fruit but that isn't helpful here.

Do any local stores sell the Oregon tart cherry puree? That would be a useful option as well.

Last weekend I dumped a bottle of tart cherry wine into a keg of spontanious fermented, rye beer. You could always give that a shot.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I6625I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Just ordered some of those for my kriek.

Hey, thanks all! I Think i will go the canned route. or maybe boil off some of the water from the organic juice. I love that stuff to drink. I was able to find some frozen tarts but they aren't shipping them till November; they only ship in colder weather.

I did checkout the cherry republic and they are a bit pricey as well and I am unsure if they coat their cherries in oil. Most dried cherries are coated.

If I go the juice route and reduce it, I will let you all know how it goes.

agusus said:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I6625I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Just ordered some of those for my kriek.

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i used those cherries and won't use them again. there are smaller cherry farms selling dried cherries without oil but i'll have to dig for the link.

EDIT: found one and there are more. http://northstarorganics.com/dried-tart-cherries-5-lbs/

Thanks Eastoak. Out of curiousity, what issue did you have using the canned cherries; and was it an issue with this particular brand?

Hernando said:

Thanks Eastoak. Out of curiousity, what issue did you have using the canned cherries; and was it an issue with this particular brand?

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the canned cherries look kind of bleached out and the flavor isn't that great so no color, meh flavor. i ordered dried cherries from Michigan and found that they were oiled.

I've seen this used and it makes pretty good cherry beers:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CFMGDG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

It's concentrated so there's less worries about watering down your beer.

It's available in bigger sizes.

This stuff is good



I can get it at the grocery store. 1000 cherries per pint!

Walmart carries these. I've used them several times in sour beers.

eastoak said:

the canned cherries look kind of bleached out and the flavor isn't that great so no color, meh flavor. i ordered dried cherries from Michigan and found that they were oiled.

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That really sucks on the dried cherries. Hopefully you didn't order the 5 pounder.

Spartan1979 said:

I've seen this used and it makes pretty good cherry beers:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CFMGDG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

It's concentrated so there's less worries about watering down your beer.

It's available in bigger sizes.

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MisterTipsy said:

This stuff is good

I can get it at the grocery store. 1000 cherries per pint!

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Maybe one of these two options will be the way to go! then I won't have to worry about boiling down the juice to get the concentrate!

passedpawn said:

Walmart carries these. I've used them several times in sour beers.

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My concern with these is what Eastoak stated, the the cherry flavor doesn't come through as much after going through the canning process. I am not so concerned about the color since the dubbel will be racked on the 4 lbs of sweet black cherries but more the flavor. How many cans do you usually have to use for a 5 gallon batch?

Hernando said:

That really sucks on the dried cherries. Hopefully you didn't order the 5 pounder.



Maybe one of these two options will be the way to go! then I won't have to worry about boiling down the juice to get the concentrate!





My concern with these is what Eastoak stated, the the cherry flavor doesn't come through as much after going through the canning process. I am not so concerned about the color since the dubbel will be racked on the 4 lbs of sweet black cherries but more the flavor. How many cans do you usually have to use for a 5 gallon batch?

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I've used 2 cans per carboy.

These cherries were probably canned fresh, then pasteurized in the can. So, although they have been "cooked", all of the cherry flavor is still there. And, no bacteria (though, I'm using them in sour beers).

passedpawn said:

I've used 2 cans per carboy.

These cherries were probably canned fresh, then pasteurized in the can. So, although they have been "cooked", all of the cherry flavor is still there. And, no bacteria (though, I'm using them in sour beers).

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it does have a cherry taste but it is not really my idea of a tart cherry flavor, more along the lines of a maraschino cherry. i still used them and i hope in a few months i'm happy with the result. next time i will buy dried not oiled cherries.

I used freeze-dried tart cherries in my supplication clone. Its only been a month since I added them in, but all looks and smells great so far. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005R4F5TK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20. I used three bags in 5 gallons. You don't need to use quite as much as you would with regular dried cherries because they have less water content. The box from North Star Organics says it contains sugar just to warn you. The freeze dried contain no preservatives, no sugar, no oils...nothing except cherries. It does take a little extra time to rehydrate in your wort, but it looks like fresh cherries in the carboy now.

So, bringing this one up from the dead, I'm working on the cuvee de tomme clone, and looking at tart cherries. Any luck on these?

Be careful using pressed all natural cherry concentrate - it is potent potent stuff!!! Used it in a cherry cider and had to choke it down it was so intense. Worked beautifully in a cherry milk stout...


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Costco sells 3lb bags of frozen tart cherries for $10

I just used a quart of Nature Blessed Tart cherry concentrate that I picked up at the grocery store for a tart cherry wheat and it came out great. Nice red color with not too much tart and good cherry wheat balance. Added during secondary.

SaguaroMan said:

Costco sells 3lb bags of frozen tart cherries for $10

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Unfortunately it's only sweet cherries around here


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