Cherry Blonde...... Your thoughts please!

[brewboyrsl]

So my roomate and I are brewing our third batch and were orginally going to brew a cherry IPA but after consulting with you guys on here we've changed our plans to a cherry blonde. here is our recipe.

8lbs 2 row
1lb Crystal 20
1oz cascade hops at 60 min

our yeast is a packet yeast that I forget the name of

My question is we are hoping to combine a half gal or 1 gal of 100% pure cherry juice (pasterized) made from concentrate and doing another 1lb of cherries we are going to boil, puree and then add to secondary. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?? Thanks

 

[Stuntman]

Fruit always is better in the secondary. If not using a secondary, wait until most action has stopped, you don't want all the goodies flying right out of the blow off. Fresh fruit works better if frozen at some point, I pureed, then boiled, then froze in sanitized Zip Lock Freezer Bags. Freezing breaks down the cell walls better to release more flavor/aroma. Last time I did cherries it was about six cans of cherries in their own juice. I just detected a hint of cherries in my five gallon batch.

I likes me some fruit in my beer, Wits are good for that as well.
Cheers.

 

[brewboyrsl]

Fruit always is better in the secondary. If not using a secondary, wait until most action has stopped, you don't want all the goodies flying right out of the blow off. Fresh fruit works better if frozen at some point, I pureed, then boiled, then froze in sanitized Zip Lock Freezer Bags. Freezing breaks down the cell walls better to release more flavor/aroma. Last time I did cherries it was about six cans of cherries in their own juice. I just detected a hint of cherries in my five gallon batch.

I likes me some fruit in my beer, Wits are good for that as well.
Cheers.

How much cherries do you recommend for a 5 gal batch

 

[3PegBrew]

1 - 1 1/2 # I'd say. Pasteurize in a nylon bag and stick them in the secondary for a good 7-14 days

 

[BrewNinja1]

I used 4.5lbs of frozen pitted cherries in my wheat and had to use some artificial cherry to get any flavor. Color was fantastic though! Next time I plan on using either some frozen concentrated cherry juice or 10lbs of cherries. I wouldnt use actual cherry juice (as in comes in a 128oz plastic container) as your going to water down your beer alot.