Cherry Wheat

[spryzie]

So I've got lots of cherries (for free!) and can't eat them all.


I'm thinking of just going crazy with them in a Cherry Wheat Beer.


How much fermentables do cherries add?


What are people's thoughts on the below recipe? Too many cherries? Not enough cherries (I have more)?

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 25.0
Original Gravity (OG): 1.044
Bitterness (IBU): 20

Grain Bill
----------------
2.500 kg JW Ale (50%)
2.500 kg Wheat Malt (50%)

Hop Bill
----------------
30.0 g Willamette Pellet (5.3% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (First Wort) (1.2 g/L)

Misc Bill
----------------
5 kg Cherries @ 0 Minutes (Boil)
5 kg Cherries (Secondary - for 2 weeks)

Single step Infusion at 65°C for 90 Minutes.
Fermented at 20°C with Safale S-04
Notes: Pit and freeze cherries prior - otherwise leave whole. Primary ferment for 1 week.

 

[Grainer]

Wow thats a lot of cherries!..That may be a bit to overpowering??? (Also be careful of the pectin adding unwanted taste front he pits in the hot water if they get through..hopefully not since your depitting).maybe just add to the secondary as this is where the flavours will come from. Id also go for Hallertauer hops

 

[spryzie]

Well, I've just pitted 6kg and am now over it. So It'll be 3kg each for boil and secondary.

I want it to be overpowering! I want it to scream CHERRY!

Cherries are in the freezer. Won't be brewing until the weekend so any other tips/ideas are appreciated.

 

[Dan Pratt]

Well, I've just pitted 6kg and am now over it. So It'll be 3kg each for boil and secondary.

I want it to be overpowering! I want it to scream CHERRY!

Cherries are in the freezer. Won't be brewing until the weekend so any other tips/ideas are appreciated.

That's a bucketload of Cherrys and I have no idea how that will affect the beer, I'm guessing to suggest it will taste like cherry juice.

Why the so4 ale yeast for a wheat?? Maybe a wb06 or a Bavarian from the MJ range would be better suited?

 

[yum beer]

I wouldn't bother putting cherries into secondary, they will leach very little flavour.
I made a cherry wheat last xmas and used 500gm which I simmered in a few litres of water for about 30 minutes then added liquid to the fermenter late.
The taste was just noticeable. I think 5kg will be butt loads more than you need but if you want plenty of cherry go for it.
Might even be worth using all your cherries this way.

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

I agree with yum that it will be tough to get flavour, but I don't think that's a reason not to add them in secondary. Krieks have cherries in secondary....patiently aged over many months, and I think that's the key....lots of time on the cherries (which really means glass fermenters)...of course that's against the short term drinking approach of a wheat beer, you might need to find a balance.

I did a Schwarz on cherries with cacao in December. 15l on 3kg fresh cherries and 15l on 3kg of drained, jarred cherries. In terms of fermentability, both fired off like crazy. The OG of the liquid the jarred cherries were in was 1.062. I let them ferment for about ten days and lager for about two weeks. The cherry sourness is there with the cacao but not the really flavour.

I think your ridiculous amount of cherries is worthwhile. Worst case, its overpowering and will mellow in the bottle. Best case, you get the crisp, refreshing, wheaty cherry ripe beer of your dreams.

 

[vittorio]

if u will add it to the primary, it will up the sugar context and make it more alcoholic and you will taste the alcohol more than cherries... if u want full cherry flavor you will have to juice it and add it to the secondary

 

[Dave70]

There may be an echo in here, but thats simply a ludicrous amount of fruit for such a nothing grain / hop bill.
I read once, in the case of wheat's anyway, a good rule of thumb is a 4:1 malt to fruitt ratio. I agree it's indeed a good place to start. 50 /50 is not.
Freeze the fruit and puree it, them dump it it in the secondary, or at least wait until the gravity stops dropping. The longer the beer sits on it, the more flavors impart, so taste it as you go, when your happy, keg or bottle it. Just keep an eye on the gravity readings. Thats a biggie.

I've learnt the hard way, though bottle bombs and undrinkable beer, adjuncts need to be treated wiht the same respect as the rest or the process in terms of making a decent brew rather than 'she'll be right'.

 

[spryzie]

So far, so good. Looks the right colour anyway.

Went with 7kg cherries in 19L of wort. Added to primary 24 hours after pitching yeast. Being S04 that was high krausen. I did that to lessen oxygenation problems without using a secondary (don't have one).

Tastes like cherry.

Think it's going to be good when carbonated.

Will bottle after 3 weeks in primary.

The recipe turned out to be this:

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 19.0
Total Grain (kg): 2.700
Total Hops (g): 20.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.034 (°P): 8.5
Final Gravity (FG): 1.009 (°P): 2.3
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 3.34 %
Colour (SRM): 2.7 (EBC): 5.3
Bitterness (IBU): 17.0 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 75
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
----------------
1.700 kg Wheat Malt (62.96%)
1.000 kg JW Ale (37.04%)

Hop Bill
----------------
20.0 g Willamette Pellet (5.3% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1.1 g/L)

Misc Bill
----------------
4.0 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) @ 0 Minutes (Mash) (Hobart water needs some of this)
7.0 g Cherries (added 24 hours after pitching yeast) (Primary)

Single step Infusion at 65°C for 120 Minutes.
Fermented at 25°C with Safale S-04 (no temperature control I'm afraid)

 

[spryzie]

Liking the colour at least.

 

[Weizguy]

There was a recipe in an Ausbeer magazine, entitled 'Cherry's cherry".

I'll try and source it tonight when I get home, if you want. Was a very nice beer by the sound of reports...

 

[spryzie]

Would be appreciated. I will have many cherries again next season for further experiment.

 

[Weizguy]

Copied in total from my file at home. Doc attached for those who have MS-Office or can otherwise view those files and prefer to keep it in that format...

View attachment Cherry's Cherry.doc

[SIZE=medium]The issue of the magazine came out in 1994, after the National titles, with an article by Todd Mazur (then, of Gippsland Home Brew) on "Brewing with Fruit". Here is the recipe (but not the entire article), copied in full, with all spelling errors, comments, vagaries and opinions.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Cherry's Cherry[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]"A very beddable beer" (Female taster)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Cherry's Cherry is probably as sexual as a beer can be brewed. Elle Ale was sensual, Cherry's Cherry is downright erotic. Cherries are a very flirtatious fruit. Surely the bible got it wrong saying how Adam and Eve ate the forbidden apple, if the truth be known the forbidden fruit was cherries. Apples are not the type of fruit to be eaten naked, then cherries definitely are.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]As awesome as the concept might at first seem, homebrewers have the ability to bottle this voluptuousness. Imagine turning your cellar into a harem, 24 bottles of carnal drinakability[/SIZE] awaiting your beck and call. Try to picture the scene if you can - nothing between you and the litres upon litres of this lustful beverage apart from a few defenceless crown seals.

[SIZE=medium]Best drunk before, during or after sex, Cherry's Cherry is a drink for lovers. The first mouthful conjures up seductive fantasy while this most intimate of ales remains real to the last sip.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]For sure there can be no greater sensation than cracking Cherry's Cherry. The colour[/SIZE] of Cherry's Cherry is unique, a blood red deepness that seems to darken with age. A comehither creamy head complements the appearance of the beer.

[SIZE=medium]Expect a young lustfulness to greet the tongue. Initially you detect a tender tightness of flavour[/SIZE] but this will soon pass, yielding to desire previously unknown. This tightness disappears when the beer begins to age so enjoy Cherry's Cherry while it's young. Slide into it early and let yourself go. You might never have the chance again. Goldings hops are provocatively bitter at the finale, but not assertively so, more like the gentlest of love bites on the most tender of areas.

[SIZE=medium]Cherry's Cherry does not walk into your life, she struts, with the longest legs of pleasure imaginable. Oh! Cherry, to taste you but once was a dream come true. Brew Cherry's Cherry and you'll have a chance to taste Cherry's Cherry too....[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]RECIPE[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]1.7 kg Amber liquid malt[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]1.5 kg Light liquid malt[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]400g Dried corn syrup[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]60 g Goldings hop pellets (Boiling) 10 AAU[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]3.5 kg fresh frozen cherries[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]2 teaspoons Irish Moss[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Wyesast Belgian Ale yeast[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Freeze the cherries for a couple of days before making this brew. The more over-ripe the cherries the better the beer and the cheaper the recipe. When you are ready to brew place the cherries into a stocking leg and tie off the end. No need to thaw them, nor remove the stones just remove the stems.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Into a large (16 litre) pot combine the malts, dried corn syrup and boiling hops with 6 litres of cold water. Boil this mixture for 60 minutes, adding the Irish Moss after 45 minutes. After the 60 minutes turn off the heat and add the stocking full of cherries to the pot. Place on a lid and allow it to sit for 15 minutes. Transfer the stocking full of cherries into a sanitised plastic fermenter, then strain in the remaining wort. Add enough cold water to make 21 litres total. Pitch the yeast at 26 degrees C, ferment at 22 degrees C. Rack to a secondary fermenter after 5 days and allow to ferment out. Bottle as usual. Suggest you get your tongue into Cherry's Cherry after 3 weeks maturing.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium][* Seth Note: - This article transcribed without permission of the author (who is now in the Philippines), nor the permission of the magazine (which is now out of print)].[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I'm sure you could adapt the recipe to all-grain if you wished.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]And ensure that the used stocking has been pre-boiled to remove the dye.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]I haven't brewed this ale, but sure would like to. I have some cherries which have been sitting in the freezer for far too long, waiting for me to start.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Cheers and Cherry Beerz :beer: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Seth [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]The important point here is the stocking or fruit bag, like a hop bag, to keep the pulp out of the beer, yet allow infusion.[/SIZE]