a Very confused brewer

I want to make a nice Cherry Wheat that doesn't taste like cough syrup. I'm still a beginner. I've only made 1 red ale from a kit and 2 specialty beers from a book.
I want to do a Cherry Wheat for my wedding favors.

I've been reading so much online about what recipe to make.

Any advice for this newbie who wants to make good beer?

Fruit beers are tough to do well. First you are adding additional sugars to the mix as well as tannins from the fruit skins. That can translate to attenuation and astringency issues.

Are you extract brewing? Do you have an idea of the resultant beer you wish to achieve? Sweet, dry, in the middle, tart, what? That is where you start. Making a beer that doesn't end up as you have described shouldn't be too difficult.

What I'd do...

60 minute boil (full boil) 5 gallon batch
4 lbs Wheat LME
2 lbs light DME
1 oz Willamette pellet hops (~4.8 Alpha) at the start of the boil
Wyeast American Ale/Chico yeast
Ferment @ 65 degrees primary 3-5 days then rack onto cherries in secondary
Add 3 cans Oregon Brand Red Tart Cherries (they are sterile) in secondary FV for 7-10 days adjust liquid with sterile water for 5.5 gallons.

You may have to cold condition to get the color you want, unless you are happy with a cloudy reddish brew?

Off the top of my head, good luck!!

I like the recipe shown above, it looks good.

Also, when is your wedding? If you have a lot of time then I would make several smaller batches and find a recipe that you really like. There is no need to rush it and potentially give away beer that you aren't happy with or proud of.

The wedding is n November. I was thinking about making a half batch then seeing how it turns out.

Dunerunner said:

Add 3 cans Oregon Brand Red Tart Cherries (they are sterile) in secondary FV for 7-10 days adjust liquid with sterile water for 5.5 gallons.

!

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What size cans are they? I found large cans (4 lb) and I have found 14.5 oz cans.

Also Can you use frozen cherries and then just puree them??

Dunerunner said:

What I'd do...

60 minute boil (full boil) 5 gallon batch
4 lbs Wheat LME
2 lbs light DME
1 oz Willamette pellet hops (~4.8 Alpha) at the start of the boil
Wyeast American Ale/Chico yeast
Ferment @ 65 degrees primary 3-5 days then rack onto cherries in secondary
Add 3 cans Oregon Brand Red Tart Cherries (they are sterile) in secondary FV for 7-10 days adjust liquid with sterile water for 5.5 gallons.
!

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So so I need a 2nd round of hops towards the end of the boil or is that not needed?

Hops added at or near the end of the boil give flavor and aroma, but you don't want that as it may mask or overpower the cherry flavor.

it sounds like to me that you don't need any hops towards the end of the boil. You will just need ones toward the beginning. This is because you don't want any hop flavor fighting over the cherry flavor.

Damn, beat me to it

How about the cans of cherries? What size should i get? 14.5oz or the larger cans??

OregOn fruit is expensive. I will Pm you info on the cherry wheat I just did when I get home from the beer fest.

The 14.5oz is probably liquid volume, right? I would try 1 can per gallon and see if you like it. It's always better to go less and add more later if need be.

Dunerunner said:

What I'd do...

60 minute boil (full boil) 5 gallon batch
4 lbs Wheat LME
2 lbs light DME
1 oz Willamette pellet hops (~4.8 Alpha) at the start of the boil
Wyeast American Ale/Chico yeast
Ferment @ 65 degrees primary 3-5 days then rack onto cherries in secondary
Add 3 cans Oregon Brand Red Tart Cherries (they are sterile) in secondary FV for 7-10 days adjust liquid with sterile water for 5.5 gallons.

You may have to cold condition to get the color you want, unless you are happy with a cloudy reddish brew?

Off the top of my head, good luck!!

Click to expand...

Sterile Water ------ How do I get that? Just boil water for 10 min

Yes.

SO I picked up my ingredients todays. I got 1 can of Sweet Cherry Puree which is 3lbs and 1 oz.
Will 1 can be enough for a 5 gallon batch of beer or shoudl I pickup another can or 2???

Usually 3-5 lbs of fruit is good for a 5 gallon batch. So 3 of the 14.5 cans should do fine, or just 1 of the larger.

Thank you everybody for helping me out with this recipe. I'll be making it later today and I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Update: SO I made the recipe on Saturday. It's been 3 days and no bubbling!!! I'm not sure if that is bad or not. I used the activator pack for the yeast. It said to let it sit out for 3 or more hours an dI had it sit for 4.5 hrs. Not sure what to do next. My recipe said to rack into a secondary in 3 to 5 days. I'm gunna do that tomorrow, I just hope my brew is not lost.

reno56k said:

Update: SO I made the recipe on Saturday. It's been 3 days and no bubbling!!! I'm not sure if that is bad or not. I used the activator pack for the yeast. It said to let it sit out for 3 or more hours an dI had it sit for 4.5 hrs. Not sure what to do next. My recipe said to rack into a secondary in 3 to 5 days. I'm gunna do that tomorrow, I just hope my brew is not lost.

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Are you fermenting in something opaque or transparent. I'm assuming opaque since if you were fementing in something transparent, you'd see the effects of fermentation. If you have a hydrometer, now's a good time to use it. If not, sanitize your hands, open the bucket and take a peek. If it has krausen or a krausen ring, you've got fermentation. If not, go buy a package of dry yeast. (check back here to know which one)

I'd not rack until I knew the yeast was finished digesting sugar. Ignore the 3-5 day racking time period. There are many on here who let their beer sit on the yeast cake for 3-5 WEEKS.

Your beer is not broken. The yeast haven't read the directions sent along with the kit. They're winging it the best way the know how.

reno56k said:

Update: SO I made the recipe on Saturday. It's been 3 days and no bubbling!!! I'm not sure if that is bad or not. I used the activator pack for the yeast. It said to let it sit out for 3 or more hours an dI had it sit for 4.5 hrs. Not sure what to do next. My recipe said to rack into a secondary in 3 to 5 days. I'm gunna do that tomorrow, I just hope my brew is not lost.

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You ignore what your airlock is doing and take a gravity reading. THEN you know what's going on. Also you tear up the recipe that says to move your beer so soon, and you leave it at least a week after fermentation is complete, if you want the beer to taste good.

Why would you rack a beer to secondary if the yeast have barely had time to ferment it, or if you don't know if it's fermented at all?

Yeast can have a 3 day lag time, which means if you arbitrarily move your beer because the instructions say so, then you've had only a few days to let the yeast do the job. Why would you move it from the greatest amount of yeast if it's not done, and expect the 2nd stringers to try to make good tasting beer for you.

Yeast don't know how to read, so they can't follow instructions. They have their own timeframe, and won't let you down if you give it time.

In before Revvy.

Is this resipe like the Sam Adams Cherry Wheat? I have been searching for a good recipe to clone the Sam Adams version of it and I can't seem to find one. That beer is one of my favorite ones too.

I'm doing a cherry wheat and the recipe said to rack after the 3-5 days in the primary onto the cherry puree in the secondary for 7-10 days. But I saw a bubble this afternoon. It was one. so all is not lost.

Revvy said:

Why would you move it from the greatest amount of yeast if it's not done, and expect the 2nd stringers to try to make good tasting beer for you.

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I agree, don't rack too soon but how can you call yeast in suspension "second stringers"? Aren't those the healthiest yeast?......

boostsr20 said:

I agree, don't rack too soon but how can you call yeast in suspension "second stringers"? Aren't those the healthiest yeast?......

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They are the ones that started late, and haven't flocculated, they are usually the weaker of the yeast...... That's also why we don't suggest folks harvest the yeast from secondary after.

Revvy said:

They are the ones that started late, and haven't flocculated, they are usually the weaker of the yeast...... That's also why we don't suggest folks harvest the yeast from secondary after.

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That completely contradicts the brew strong session on yeast. huh