I am brewing a cherry wheat beer and looking for advice on flavoring. Can I go buy cherries and cut them in half and then add them to my secondary? Or is there something better to use. I do not like the bottle of extract that they gave me bc it reminds me of cough syrup!
Cherry wheat beer
- Thread starter plowder2
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I am a new homebrewer but what I did was I cut the cherries in half, removed the pits, and then froze them. After they were frozen I then but them in a pot and got the temp to around 160-170 degrees for about 10 mins or so. Then cooled them and blended them down and added it to my secondary for fermentation. Siphoned my heffeweizen over the top of them for a good blend. Great color!!
I did he freezing and boil for pasteurization purposes. It's not THE way to do it but from what I could research that's how I handled it...
I did he freezing and boil for pasteurization purposes. It's not THE way to do it but from what I could research that's how I handled it...
Ravenshead
Well-Known Member
I haven't played with fruit yet but I'd recommend what bstanko30 said. Freezing will break down the cherries on a cellular level for full flavor utilization. Heating them will help kill any wild beasties that could infect your beer. You may need some pectic enzyme to deal with any haze caused by the pasteurization process. Given it's a wheat beer that may not matter to you.
Another way would be to soak them in vodka and throw the whole mess in vodka and all. Either way I'd freeze them first.
Another way would be to soak them in vodka and throw the whole mess in vodka and all. Either way I'd freeze them first.
