Blending Fruits For Rodenbach Caractère Rouge

[The_Nid_Hog]

I'm getting ready to brew a Flanders Red, and I've been thinking about adding fruit later on to approximate Rodenbach's Caractère Rouge. They're supposed to add raspberry, cherry and cranberry and they all seem to come through quite clearly in the finished product. I could imagine cranberry being overwhelming, and I seem to remember hearing on the Sour Hour that it only accounts for 20% or less of the fruit added. Any suggestions about the proportions and quantities of fruit to add? I'll be brewing 5.5 gallons.

 

[505-Brewer]

MTs American Sours has a table for fruit additions. That might give you a sense of the proportions to use. It looks like cranberries are quite intense.

It suggests for fruit: amount to add.
Cherry (sour) : 0.5-2.0 lbs
Cherry (dried) : 0.25-1.0 lbs
Cranberries : 0.25-0.5 lbs
Raspberry : 0.5-3.0 lbs.

If adding all 3 I would think you would want to use the lower/middle amounts as I expect they would be somewhat additive. Ive never the beer you mention but I would also consider how long you are aging in the fruit.

 

[The_Nid_Hog]

Thanks--that should have been the first place I looked! I'm thinking about using dried cranberries and cherries, so I'll probably reduce the weight of the cranberries accordingly.

MTs American Sours has a table for fruit additions. That might give you a sense of the proportions to use. It looks like cranberries are quite intense.

It suggests for fruit: amount to add.
Cherry (sour) : 0.5-2.0 lbs
Cherry (dried) : 0.25-1.0 lbs
Cranberries : 0.25-0.5 lbs
Raspberry : 0.5-3.0 lbs.

If adding all 3 I would think you would want to use the lower/middle amounts as I expect they would be somewhat additive. Ive never the beer you mention but I would also consider how long you are aging in the fruit.

 

[DaftCaskBC]

Thanks for this. I brewed a Flanders Red over the weekend and have been thinking of doing the same thing. Bought tart cherry and cranberry juice from concentrate. Just have to find the raspberry now.

 

[The_Nid_Hog]

Thanks for this. I brewed a Flanders Red over the weekend and have been thinking of doing the same thing. Bought tart cherry and cranberry juice from concentrate. Just have to find the raspberry now.

When are you planning to add the fruit? I was just thinking about it now so that I could plan the process, but I'm probably going to let it go for a while before I rack it onto the fruit. Maybe after 8 mo. to a year--have to see where it is in terms of buggy funkiness.

 

[DaftCaskBC]

When are you planning to add the fruit? I was just thinking about it now so that I could plan the process, but I'm probably going to let it go for a while before I rack it onto the fruit. Maybe after 8 mo. to a year--have to see where it is in terms of buggy funkiness.

I add the fruit in any beer as late as possible. I recently did a Fantome Saison base for an apricot red wheat ale and made sure it was completed fermented before I racked onto the apricot puree. It worked out great.

I actually am thinking of not even adding fruit to my Flanders Red anymore. Instead I am going to do a base beer and ferment with Wyeast Brett Lambicus and add the tart cherry and cranberry juice after the initial fermentation is complete.

 

[Oldsock]

I found Caractère Rouge to be pretty sweet, Take an FG reading? I assume like their other beers it is pasteurized, in this case with fruit added after to preserve some sweetness. Will be tricky to replicate at home.

Also reminder that those suggested fruit amounts are per-gallon. I did two bags (12 oz each?) of fresh cranberries cooked down and added to five gallons of dark saison. Certainly upped the acidity and gave it an identifiable flavor. Too much and I'd worry they'd get astringent.

 

[The_Nid_Hog]

Agreed on the sweetness, which is something that I'm not really interested in reproducing. I did like the way that the tart fragrance of the cranberries cut against the fruitier raspberry and cherry, something that I thought came through in the flavor too. I'll be sure to hold back on the cranberries. I'd rather have a hint of something as a counterpoint to the raspberry and cherry than have them be overwhelmed.

 

[Oldsock]

Agreed on the sweetness, which is something that I'm not really interested in reproducing. I did like the way that the tart fragrance of the cranberries cut against the fruitier raspberry and cherry, something that I thought came through in the flavor too. I'll be sure to hold back on the cranberries. I'd rather have a hint of something as a counterpoint to the raspberry and cherry than have them be overwhelmed.

Inspired by this thread I finally posted tasting notes on the cranberry saison: http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2015/09/cranberry-dark-saison-tasting.html

Best of luck, you can always add more if you need it. Another option would be to split the batch and fruit separately, then blend to taste.

 

[The_Nid_Hog]

Another option would be to split the batch and fruit separately, then blend to taste.

I'm sold. I've been meaning to start splitting batches of sours, so I'll give that a try.

 

[Oldsock]

I'm sold. I've been meaning to start splitting batches of sours, so I'll give that a try.

No issue aging it together for the first 9-18 months and then splitting onto t fruit. That will help to retain the fresher fruit character when you're actually drinking it. Best of luck!