Canned sour cherries for oud bruin

[hirschb]

I'm thinking about using canned sour cherries in 3 gallons of barrel aged oud bruin (and bottling the other 7 gal). I've seen recommendations for Oregon fruit company, and this looks like it might be a good option:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I6625I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
My questions are:
1) Has anyone ever used these in a sour beer? If so, how did it turn out?
2) Should I only add the cherries, or also add the juice in the can? I assume I'd throw in the entire contents of the cans.
3) Any hints/suggestions on the quantity of fruit to put in the beer? Thus far the oud bruin is a tad on the thin side, but that could always change with time. It has a very nice vinous character (ECY Bug Farm!), which I think will match well with cherries. My point is that the base beer is not assertively malty, which is probably an important consideration to achieving a nice balance in the resultant beer.

 

[tagz]

Holy expensive! 50$ for a 14 oz can?!

Edit: ha! Nevermind. It's a pack of eight cans.

 

[WI_Wino]

I don't have advice for how much to use or how it'll turn out. But I can say that walmart by me has the Oregon fruit for a lot cheaper than amazon.

 

[staytuned]

Used these a few times, fantastic pie cherry flavor and aroma. I added all the contents of the can. I'd recommend punching down the fruit the first few days or so.

 

[sweetcell]

2) Should I only add the cherries, or also add the juice in the can? I assume I'd throw in the entire contents of the cans.

"whole pitted cherries in water" - i would be concerned that by pitching the whole thing, you'll be diluting the beer (which would add to your thinness problem). what about taking a gravity reading of that juice, and if the SG is low then boil it to concentrate it?

 

[hirschb]

"whole pitted cherries in water" - i would be concerned that by pitching the whole thing, you'll be diluting the beer (which would add to your thinness problem). what about taking a gravity reading of that juice, and if the SG is low then boil it to concentrate it?

I agree, that is a good idea. I could drain the juice into a pot, boil it with some added maltodextrine, and that would add some additional body to the beer and/or stuff for the bugs to munch on.

 

[Wahoo]

I've had good luck with tart cherry concentrate. No dilution there!

 

[Rob_B]

I've used these cherries in a sour brown with good results. I strained them and I think it ended up at about 10 oz of cherries per can. I ended up using 8 cans in a 5 gallon batch, so about a pound per gallon. Great cherry flavor and aroma. They should sell these at your grocery store.