Sam Calagione Sour Cherry Ale

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

MikeyLikesIt70

Active Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2008
Messages
36
Reaction score
3
I am going to try this recipe, but have a few questions:

  • Fermenting times? It isn't defined in the book
  • If I am doing secondary fermenting, do I strain out the cherries or leave them in?

Thanks!

Mike
 
well i cant seem to find any of the recipe information that youre going off of. you should never strain your already fermented beer because it will come out tasting like wet cardboard. the cherries should be introduced into a fruit beer in the secondary if youre using fresh (or frozen) fruit, not the primary. fermenting times for most ales are pretty standard, 14 days in primary, 7-14 days in secondary. i would go with 14 days in the secondary due to the introduction of the fruit. you have to remember to add about .75 gallons of extra water to your brew to compensate for the loss due to the cherries when you rack from the secondary to the bottling bucket/keg. fruit takes up a lot of space in the fermenter. try to give some recipe/method information so i can get specific.
 
I am going from the Sour Cherry Ale from the Extreme Brewing book. It actually has me adding the cherries after the boil, when the wort has cooled.

The recipe don't speak to a secondary fermentation, but I would like to see if that's something I should do or filter them out if I move to the secondary.

Mike
 
you should never strain your already fermented beer because it will come out tasting like wet cardboard.

So when racking from primary to secondary....don't use a strainer? I have done this with all the brews I've done (granted only 5) and I have not experienced this wet cardboard taste you're talking about. What is it within that process that would cause that flavor?
 
Oxidation. You've been lucky so far, but you don't want to press your luck. Using an autosiphon, you really shouldn't have to worry about sediment too much, especially not anything large like a piece of fruit.
 
So when racking from primary to secondary....don't use a strainer? I have done this with all the brews I've done (granted only 5) and I have not experienced this wet cardboard taste you're talking about. What is it within that process that would cause that flavor?

If your strainer aerates the beer like what would happen if you pour it through a screen then the beer will become oxidized. This off flavor can taste like wet cardboard.

If you post the recipe and process we can help give you some ideas. There are a number of ways to get a sour ale and they involve very different steps in the fermenter. So we need to know what the recipe intended.

Craig
 
you can add the cherries to the wort either during the last 10 minutes of boil so as to pasteurize, but if you dont want pectic haze, you can add after the boil. i always boil to pasteurize because as ive said before, i prefer the haze over wild yeast in the beer. then you can put it all in the fermenter, the only problem with that is an, OH MY GOD ARE YOU KIDDING ME amount of trub in the fermenter. you might be susceptible to a stuck fermentation. personally, i would put the cherries in the secondary, then rack your fermented beer out of the primary over the cherries. thats what ive always done, just seems to work out just fine. and by the way, NEVER EVER STRAIN YOUR FERMENTED BEER. if youve been doing this STOP THAT!!!!! youll be pissed when you ruin a batch from oxidation.
 
Im glad i learned this. I must have been really lucky so far. Good to know, Im racking to 2nd this weekend and won't be using a strainer :)
 
Preboil:
  • 8 oz crushed wheat malt
  • 8 oz crushed Munich malt

  • 2 teaspoons gypsum

Boil
  • 6.6 lbs light malt extract (Can I use DME here?)
  • 1 oz Northern brewer hops
  • .5 oz Fuggles
  • .5 oz Tettanger (Same as Tettang?)
  • 1 teaspoon Irish moss
  • 2 lbs of dried cherries

End of Boil
  • 4 teaspoons of pectic enzyme

Wyeast Belgian Strong Ale

I'm supposed to add the cherries after the boil at 170 degrees. Then add the pectic enzyme once I get wort into the primary.

So, when primary fermentation stops, do I just siphon it off into the secondary without the cherries? I am wanting to go for max sour here, but I'm not sure if keeping the cherries in the secondary will give me that result.

Hope this is enough info, let me know if I've missed something.

Thanks again!

Mike
 
let that go for 21 days in the primary, then 5-7 days in the secondary just to clarify, leave the cherries in the trub in the primary.
 
Hi Mike

I did this recipe but substituted other fruit....turned out wicked but I added cranberries that are CRAZY tart...so we'll see if they mellow
 
Yah, I noticed this recipe wasn't complete in the book, but it still sounded like a kick-ass beer. I did the Orange Hefe recipe in the book, substituting navel oranges instead of blood oranges, since they weren't in season. Still looking to find out how it turns out. I'd definitely be interested to see how that one is supposed to play out.
 
That's wicked...tell me how both the Cherry and the Orange went (and pictures too if possible!). I totally want to hear.

I'm trying the Imperial Pale Ale from the book next but adding a bunch of local flavoring items such as Birch Syrup and Balsam tips....right now freakin' Christmas has drained my beer making $ reserves so we'll see what we can do in January.

If I'm still broke I've got several kilos of local, organic barley coming next weekend so I'll get a chance a malting....????????? Fortunately there's some solid malting threads in here.
 
The Orange Hefeweizen tasted pretty darn good when I bottled it today. Now I have to get it out of my mind so I can let it do what it needs to do.
 
That's wicked. Keep me posted on the Sour Cherry. My Cranberry version is a bit tart but mellowing nicely with time. It should be well balanced by New Years.
 
I tried one of my Navel Orange Hefeweizens after a week of bottle conditioning. It poured with a quarter inch, creamy white head atop a cloudy amber, and showed bubbles coming out of suspension when held up to the light. I noticed a slight banana / bubble-gum nose to it. When I took a drink, however, the aroma changed to something I'm not familiar with. Maybe it had to do with the yeast. I've only had one other Hefe (Shiner Hefeweizen) before, so I don't have much scent memory to compare it against. Anyway, it had a smooth mouth-feel to it. And it's probably the yeast that gave it a feeling of more body. I didn't notice any outright orange flavor in the beer, but there is a little bit of sweetness mixed in with the wheat character that melds nicely with the flavor of the yeast. There was also a slight bitterness in the finish that wasn't unpleasant. Definitely looking forward to trying one again next week to see how it's coming along, but this may turn out to be my favorite of the the four beers I've made so far, especially after my witbier turned out with no noticeable spice to it.
 
I am wondering if anyone else has plugged Calagione's recipes into BrewersFriend or BeerSmith and got really different numbers than the author is putting out there?

Lou
 
Back
Top