Petoskey Brewing Michigan Cherry Wheat clone?

[sburnt]

Hello everyone,

This summer, I had the good fortune to spend some time on Lake Michigan, up near Petoskey, and enjoyed some delicious beer at Petoskey Brewing. They had a lot of great stuff, but I was particularly taken with their Michigan Cherry Wheat, which was light, tart, and very refreshing, with a potent cherry flavor. :rockin:

From their website:
Michigan Cherry Wheat
4.2% ABV, 5 IBU
Refreshingly tart, distinctively cherry! Brewed in the classic Berliner Weisse style and utilizing Michigan’s Kings Orchards Montmorency tart cherry concentrate for a pure Michigan summer ale.

I did give them a call, and the head brewer demurred on sharing the exact recipe, evidently because they brew it specifically for a cherry festival and the festival organizers have rights to it. Or some such.

I could take a stab at it from the stats and description... but wondered if anyone has brewed something comparable, or if anyone might be willing to assist with formulating a similar recipe?

Thanks.

 

[sburnt]

Thoughts on this? My biggest question is about WHEN to add the cherry juice concentrate, but I appreciate any other criticism or feedback. I'm thinking of just going with one of the commercial lactobacillus mixes, rather than souring from grain or lactic acid.

For 6 gallons in the fermenter:
5.125 lb German Pilsner
5.125 lb German Wheat malt
1 oz Hallertau Hersbrucker hops (10 mins)
2L starter of Wyeast 2191 Berliner Weisse
16 oz King Orchards Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice concentrate

Mash @ 149 for 90 min.
Add half (8 oz) of the cherry concentrate to wort at start of boil (??) -- thinking maybe this should only come after primary fermentation?
Boil for 15 mins, adding hops at 10 mins left.
Chill to 70 deg, pitch yeast, and ferment at 67 deg F.

When fermentation is complete, rack to secondary for 4 months.
Before bottling/kegging, add the other 8 oz of cherry concentrate (or all 16 oz)?

Any thoughts?

 

[phishheadmi]

Sorry I can't offer any advice, total newbie here.

I do live about two minutes from Petoskey Brewing though, so if I can help in that regard at all, just let me know.

 

[Homercidal]

I can't help, as:

1. I don't have access to Petoskey's brewing logs
2. I don't generally drink or like fruit wheat beers

So that said, I did have a pretty nice Cherry Wheat from @BrewerinBR recently. I know he used tart cherries. It wasn't overly cherry IMO, but you could tell it was cherry wheat.

All in all a refreshing fruit wheat beer that wasn't overpowering with fruit. you could always up the cherry if you like a lot of fruit.

Maybe he will chime in with a recipe or advice.

 

[sburnt]

Thanks for the input. In the recipe above, any advice on WHEN to add tart cherry concentrate?

 

[sburnt]

anyone?

 

[u81doughboy]

I'm not a big fan of their Cherry Wheat; a little too tart for me. HOWEVER their "Horny Monk" is probably my favorite beer at this time. The "Brain Freeze" is also very good.
If there is anyone who can clone either one of those, please share the recipe. I only brought 16 cans of Horny Monk home with me this year, and I won't be back up until next summer!

 

[BrewerinBR]

To answer your question: Add the cherry concentrate after fermentation that is where you get the best "cherry ness" in the beer.

I make a cherry wheat every year. A friend's family has a cherry orchard and I can get a lot of fresh cherries free. I use about 6Lbs of tart cherries. I remove the pits from them and 3 lbs go into the mash and then 3 lbs go into the freezer.

The recipe:

Main Mash
3 LBS Pale Ale
6 LBS White Wheat
1 LB Biscuit
1 LB Crystal 10
12 quarts strike water @ 153F 30 minutes at 138

Cereal Mash
1 LB 6 Row brewers malt
1 LB long grain rice
1 lb oats
3 lbs fresh tart cherries pitted.
4 quarts strike water.
Mix strike water cold with cereal mash grain and heat to 126F stir constantly
rest for 30 minutes.
Heat cereal mash to 151F rest 30 minutes
Heat cereal mash to a boil and boil for 10 minutes then add to main mash to achieve a mash temp of 151F rest for 1 hour

Hops:
1 OZ Amarillo 60 MIN
1 OZ Centennial 10 MIN
1 OZ Cascade 5 MIN

Ferment with Safale US 05 at 63 for 21 days and warm to 70.

48 hours to bottling bring the 3lbs frozen cherries and 2 quarts water to a boil and boil until you have cherry mush. Chill to 70 and add to fermenter with 1 OZ Cascade. Rest for 48 hours then cold crash and bottle.

MY OG was 1.066 and the FG was 1.010

this recipe and process was developed for my particular brewing equipment and style. Adjust as appropriate for your equipment and style.

Enjoy.