Using Oregon Red Tart Cherries

[rwing7486]

Was thinking of making my own puree using oregon red tart cherries in water (14.5 oz can) (110z of cherries). anyone else done this before by making a puree and adding it to the secondary? are these already pasteurized and how many cans should i use in the secondary?

Thanks guys

 

[Oldsock]

It shouldn't be an issue as long as you sanitize whatever you are using to make the puree. That said, I find purees harder to deal with, I like using whole fruit because it is much easier to get the beer off the fruit.

 

[bknifefight]

I added the whole cherries to the secondary before and it worked great. I wanted a lot of flavor for a Belgian Strong Dark Ale and added 5 cans for a 2.5 gallon batch. It was very nice but less than subtle.

 

[rwing7486]

Ya i was thinking about using 8-10 cans for a 5 gallon batch...this is an all grain wheat brew....12 lbs wheat, 8 pounds pale malt, and 2 lbs rice halls.....i split the boil volume into 2 primary fermenters and doing an apple wheat in one and cherry in the other. so using the cherries as whole works just as well as a puree? and do you think 8 cans of 11oz oregon tart cherries should be about right for the secondary fermenter? i dont want an over powering cherry taste, but i want it noticeable.

 

[bknifefight]

Your best bet is to add maybe 3 cans, give it a week, draw a sample and see if you want to add more. It's a better idea to do it a little at a time so you don't over do it. My beer was very strong with a lot of flavor so I added a lot. In a wheat ale the cherries would be far more noticable, I think.

 

[rwing7486]

after hearing peoples responses i think im going to go with 5-6 cans of the tart cherries....boil them and then add them to the secondary....going to be at about 5.5-6 gallons in the secondary. I am not going to be racking till tomorrow night so any more input today and tomorrow will be greatly apreciated.

 

[madbare]

Just dump the cherries and water in the secondary. No need to boil them, they are already sanitized. I used 10 cans of them in a Cherry wheat and it was awesome! Good stuff.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I have beer going now that I dumped two cans of Oregon Tart cherries. I heard two of these in wheat beer beer can make it kriek-like.

I'm making banana-cherry beer that I want like a pseudo belgian sour. I'm hoping the cherry makes some tartness in this beer.

 

[pdxal]

As mentioned 6 years ago, the cherries and water packing are pasteurized, so no worries about infection. 2 cans in 5 gallons of beer won't be very tart in my experience. If you want to make a sour you'll need to sour mash or add lacto or another yeast blend for souring like the Roselare blend.

 

[Schlenkerla]

As mentioned 6 years ago, the cherries and water packing are pasteurized, so no worries about infection. 2 cans in 5 gallons of beer won't be very tart in my experience. If you want to make a sour you'll need to sour mash or add lacto or another yeast blend for souring like the Roselare blend.

Ok, I don't want it very tart. I actually want more banana flavor with some hint of cherry sourness. Even if I don't get any sour, just a hint of cherry. Even if it's just a ABV bump.

I added banana in the last 10 minutes of the boil. Then pureed the cherries. To add at steeping.

I know it's pasteurized, I was going off of Sam Calagione suggestions for fruit additions. I understand that I may have set pectins. I have the enzymes to break down pectins.

I really didn't want the long term process of aging a sour. If I don't get any sour flavor it's no problem to me.