So, I'm making a (hopefully) tasty summer farmhouse ale in Washington State, the idea being that I'm using hops from Yakima and cherries from Yakima, it's my first time using cherries in a beer. After spending an hour removing pits from cherries and then cleaning up the mess, I suddenly thought to myself "Do I even need to do this?" after all, the cherry flesh around the pit should just ferment away right? So for anyone else that uses cherry in your beer, do you remove the pits or do you just toss your cherries in whole?
Do You Depit Your Cherries?
- Thread starter Talgrath
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Hopper5000
Well-Known Member
I don't think it really matters. That being said it's probably a best practice to remove them since the pits can impart an almond flavor and have cyanide in them. The cyanide is a small concern since you would need to put quite a bit in there in order to actually poison yourself.
I made a cherry wheat once, secondaried on 10lbs of fresh cherries frozen then thawed and left the pits in... It had a strange off flavor that never really completely went away. I always blamed the pits. It could've been something else but I've not had that same off flavor any other of my beers.
If I were to do it again I think I might just use a frozen cherry puree or something. Hand pitting 5-10lbs of cherries doesn't sound like fun.
If I were to do it again I think I might just use a frozen cherry puree or something. Hand pitting 5-10lbs of cherries doesn't sound like fun.
I make a cherry wheat every year... about 3 pounds pitted fresh cherries in the cereal mash with oats and rice and 6-row (1lb ea) which I use to step from 140 to 153. After primary I will use another 3 lb fresh pitted cherries and 2 quarts of water and boil until most of the water is gone and I have cherry mush. Then cool to 70 and add to secondary with and 1 oz of cascade and let it sit for 7 days. Then bottle. So yes remove the pits. Will definitely add a biter almond flavor.
Cheesy_Goodness
Well-Known Member
Just had a thought: could you freeze them whole, let them thaw, and squeeze out the pit? I haven't tried this but freezing would ruin the integrity of the pulp and the skin. Might make it a bit easier, albeit a bit messier.
...unless it doesn't work. Then it wasn't my idea
...unless it doesn't work. Then it wasn't my idea
Just had a thought: could you freeze them whole, let them thaw, and squeeze out the pit? I haven't tried this but freezing would ruin the integrity of the pulp and the skin. Might make it a bit easier, albeit a bit messier.
...unless it doesn't work. Then it wasn't my idea
Well, unless you have a pit remover, that's pretty much what you do, minus the freezing part. Slice into the cherry until you hit the bit, rip it apart and the pit falls right out. It's just kind messy and time consuming.
FYI, many of the pit removers on Amazon also pull olive pits.
medicmike63
Active Member
For a low cost cherry stone remover we use this one when making jam from fresh cherries http://www.target.com/p/norpro-delu...pid=10964490&gclid=CJ3b07-gjscCFdgGgQodpmcCJw
Makes pretty short work of them if you decide to go that rout.
Makes pretty short work of them if you decide to go that rout.
mkling
Well-Known Member
Use a paperclip. Cheap & very easy:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9pMWLu7pxU[/ame]
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9pMWLu7pxU[/ame]
gratus fermentatio
Well-Known Member
Some do, some don't. I always do & I use this:
https://www.lehmans.com/p-445-freestanding-cherry-pitter.aspx
I can pit an entire flat (20lbs.) of cherries in just over an hour, though the bigger black cherries don't fit in the chute.
Regards, GF.
https://www.lehmans.com/p-445-freestanding-cherry-pitter.aspx
I can pit an entire flat (20lbs.) of cherries in just over an hour, though the bigger black cherries don't fit in the chute.
Regards, GF.
Just added some cherrys from the yard to a brew to make a Kriek. Around 9lb in total and I depitted them all save for 1lb. I recon the pits will add some flavor, people are still discussing if you should add em to a kriek, but I wanted to keep the number low due to the long exposure time.
For a saison the exposure time might be a lot shorter, so less of an issue I recon.
I´d remove 80-90% of the pits so get clean cherry, but still have a bit of that depth. Makes sense in my head at least.
For a saison the exposure time might be a lot shorter, so less of an issue I recon.
I´d remove 80-90% of the pits so get clean cherry, but still have a bit of that depth. Makes sense in my head at least.
Hmm, an olive beer? Not a terrible idea, but in what style?
Hmmm. Olive Berliner Weisse? How about a Olive Clamato Pale Ale? Olive Juniper Imperial Pilsner?
mkling
Well-Known Member
Olive Gose -- salty, sour, olivey goodness.
Dakota21601
Active Member
U guys see a problem w blending cherries in a blender vs just braking open? A buddy of mine blended them and I didn't know if the skins would put off tannins or not. Seems breaking them open would be the safer bet.
Biergarden
Well-Known Member
There is no need at all to remove the pits from them. I've been making farmhouse style ales for a long time. Read into that, a farmhouse ale is an ale without a style. That is, in the traditional way, farmhouse ales where made with whatever was at hand. Moreover, the old brewers didn't bother taking the pits out of the cherries, stating that the pits added an almond character to the beer.
What kind of yeast will you use? Just to keep in mind that if you really wanna knock some socks off, let this age on the cherries for months to a year before packaging. It will be a most awesome brew
What kind of yeast will you use? Just to keep in mind that if you really wanna knock some socks off, let this age on the cherries for months to a year before packaging. It will be a most awesome brew
redcloud157
New Member
You that potato peeler? With the eye remover? Works great for pit removal, just dig in usually from the backside, after 30 minutes ya got a few lbs of pitted cherry
So within that scenario, what amount and when to add? I have a wild plum cherry tree in my backyard and it just occurred to me to use the fruit in a brew, but rather not invest in yet another piece of equipment. Thanks!
