Cherries!

Cherry season is well underway here in the Pacific Northwest, and soon they will be in my beer! My only problem is I don't know the best way to use them. I'm leaning towards a Kriek, but i don't know that i want to tie up my only fermenter for a whole month or more.
There's some decent cherry wheat beers on the market so i'm thinking that might be the best route for me. I understand not to boil the cherries, but i've read different ways to add them to the wort. Is it best to add cherries to the hot wort and let them ferment for one week in the primary? If I add them to the secondary, will they NEED to be there for the month or so like the Kriek recipies say?

Any input is greatly appreciated!

You could do a stout. I would at least freeze enough to do a stout for the winter months, if you don't want one for now.

I'm doing my first fruit beer, and I'm only going to leave them on the fruit for 1.5 weeks. I'm not familar with making the kriek so I can't answer that one.

Don't boil your fruit.... Sets pectin, flavor scrubbed out in primary, yada, yada, yada....

De-stem them, pit them, and freeze them to break down the cells.

Thaw, and add them to 2ndary and rack the beer on top. Steep them at 170* to pasteurize if you must.

No need for a month on the fruit, but you may need 2 weeks as it may renew fermentation.

portlandbeergeek said:

Cherry season is well underway here in the Pacific Northwest, and soon they will be in my beer! My only problem is I don't know the best way to use them. I'm leaning towards a Kriek, but i don't know that i want to tie up my only fermenter for a whole month or more.
There's some decent cherry wheat beers on the market so i'm thinking that might be the best route for me. I understand not to boil the cherries, but i've read different ways to add them to the wort. Is it best to add cherries to the hot wort and let them ferment for one week in the primary? If I add them to the secondary, will they NEED to be there for the month or so like the Kriek recipies say?

Any input is greatly appreciated!

Click to expand...

Yeesh, a month? What kind of kriek recipes YOU been reading? IIWY, I'd make a cherry stout or something. Maybe try a cherry wheat, even. But if you're worried about tying up a fermenter for a whole month eek then kriek is not the way for you to roll. I just brewed one yesterday, actually---my first lambic. The ale fermentation will take about a week. Then, I rack to secondary and add the bugs (wyeast lambic blend).

The bugs take all of a year, yes 365 days, to finish their business. THEN you add the cherries, and wait 6 more months.

So, yeah...you can brew a kriek right now, like I did, and be drinking it by xmas 2009 But if you're concerned over a whole month, then, well...uhhh...yeah.

A year and a half in the secondary!?!? Yikes....

I'm going to go with a cherry wheat. I think i'll do the stout next though, while cherries are still around. Here's my plan:

#5 6-Row
#3 Belgian Malted Wheat
4 oz Carawheat
8 oz Toasted Malt
4 oz Sour Malt
2 oz Saaz hops....to split up over the whole boil.
10# Cherries


Mash, etc. Dump the wort into a sanitized bucket, add the half frozen cherries and steep. Pitch yeast, i figure i'll let it all sit in the primary at least a week. Rack it into secondary for a week or two before bottling.


To keep it more on the Belgian side without the whole "waiting three years" thing, I'll use whatever Belgian yeast the LHBS has. What about candi sugar as well?

Sound OK? thanks for the help everyone!