Good Cherry Beer Recipes or Beers to Clone?

[TeflonTom]

I've been wondering if there are any good cherry beer recipes or beers that I could attempt to clone. So far I've only seen a lambic, but I'm hoping to find some other options. Does anyone here have some ideas that they could share please?

 

[Velnerj]

Kasteel Rouge is delicious... Good luck cloning it, from what I've read it seems to be a challenge.

 

[AlexKay]

Clone this:
https://bellsbeer.com/beers/30th-anniversary-cherry-stout-reserve/

 

[GoodTruble]

I made a dark cherry stout over Christmas (based off AIH's Black Prinz Stout). It turned out great. Here is the recipe if interested....(with pics!)

Dark Cherry Stout/Take The Ride - 6 Gallon
8.5 maris otter; .5 oats; .5 special B; .5 chocolate; .5 Black Prinz
Plus: .5 oats; .5 carafoam; .25 smoked cherry; .5 carapils; 3oz Roasted Barley; 1 honey;
6 dark dme [all lbs unless stated otherwise]

1 oz Cluster (60); 1 oz N. Brewer (30)

MJ42 New World Strong Ale

Pitch @ ferm at 65-68, heavy ferm 3 days, then slowed and added....

Secondary - 2 cans Oregon sweet dark cherries.

Water: 4 gallons RO; 3 Brita-filtered tap.

OG: 1.090 FG: 1.020

 

[Kickass]

It’s been a while since my last cherry beer but I like using a darker beer for the base. Say, a brown ale or a stout. If interested I can share a recipe.

To the point of cherries, and most fruit for this matter. Typically the sugars in the fruit ferment out completely so it’s not like eating a cherry. It’s mostly tart with a taste you recognize as cherry but not that complement you get when baking or using fruit in other applications. So, do you want tart but vaguely recognizable cherry or do you want candy flavored cherry? A lot of commercial beers that boast fruit use fruit flavorings. You can get that with flavor extracts.

 

[superiorsat]

Cherry cream ale is a good beer. I use about a pound per gallon in the fermenter, mashed low because I usually add some cherry juice after fermentation to get it to pop and mashing low helps it not end up too sweet. If just adding during fermentation it doesn't rally represent the cherry flavor well enough in my opinion.
Edit- I usually avoid sweet dark cherries, that is where everyone says the cherry cough syrup flavor comes from so I use tart cherry and tart cherry juice.

 

[GoodTruble]

@superiorsat - If brewing a light beer, I agree tart cherries are better option.

 

[superiorsat]

Yeah, I have never brewed a dark beer with cherry but sweet cherry would probably play nice in a stout.

 

[EDF713]

If you're up for a kettle sour and a lighter beer, here is one I made a while back. I liked it a lot, may try it again for the warmer weather coming up.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/sour-cherry-berliner-weisse.638235/

 

[TeflonTom]

I made a dark cherry stout over Christmas (based off AIH's Black Prinz Stout). It turned out great. Here is the recipe if interested....(with pics!)

Dark Cherry Stout/Take The Ride - 6 Gallon
8.5 maris otter; .5 oats; .5 special B; .5 chocolate; .5 Black Prinz
Plus: .5 oats; .5 carafoam; .25 smoked cherry; .5 carapils; 3oz Roasted Barley; 1 honey;
6 dark dme [all lbs unless stated otherwise]

1 oz Cluster (60); 1 oz N. Brewer (30)

MJ42 New World Strong Ale

Pitch @ ferm at 65-68, heavy ferm 3 days, then slowed and added....

Secondary - 2 cans Oregon sweet dark cherries.

Water: 4 gallons RO; 3 Brita-filtered tap.

OG: 1.090 FG: 1.020

View attachment 765145

View attachment 765141

Sorry if I didn't understand the recipe correctly, but did you add 6lbs of dark DME along with the grains?

 

[TeflonTom]

It’s been a while since my last cherry beer but I like using a darker beer for the base. Say, a brown ale or a stout. If interested I can share a recipe.

To the point of cherries, and most fruit for this matter. Typically the sugars in the fruit ferment out completely so it’s not like eating a cherry. It’s mostly tart with a taste you recognize as cherry but not that complement you get when baking or using fruit in other applications. So, do you want tart but vaguely recognizable cherry or do you want candy flavored cherry? A lot of commercial beers that boast fruit use fruit flavorings. You can get that with flavor extracts.

I'd like to see the recipe you have, please! I haven't used fruit in brewing yet, so I would like to experiment and learn more about it.

 

[Kickass]

10 lbs pale 2-row
1.5 lbs victory
.75 lbs pale chocolate
Nottingham

3 lbs tart cherries - Freeze cherries then put them in a pot and bring to a simmer. Smash and simmer cherries for 15 minutes. Cool and add to fermenter for 7-10 days. Cold crash and rack to keg or bottling bucket.

 

[jcfontario]

I have my conditioning right now for a couple of months, since I found that a raspberry beer made last year really improved after resting for 4 months.
My cherry recipe was pretty simple
1 kg 2-Row
1 kg wheat malt
0.12 kg Crystal 15

Mash at 154 F.
25 IBU Hallertau Mittelfrau at 60 min

Ferment at 60 to 64 F with US-05

Add 700 g of sour cherries (they have 10 % added sugar - hope that it wont be too sweet). Blitz the cherries a bit in a food processor. Leave the cherries in a mesh bag in the primary for 2 weeks. Remove cherries, prime and bottle.

I will tell you how it tastes by June - if I can wait that long!

 

[bwible]

Cherry mead works too. (Melomel)

 

[TeflonTom]

Great replies! Thanks for the suggestions and help everyone! I'll have to post what creation I decide to create in the coming month.