Newbie With Cherry Brew

[Tin Shed]

Hi all,

I'm fairly new to brewing, probably done half a dozen brews but had a go at a Hoegaarden clone, pilsner etc...
I haven't done a brew for a while now and after the Mrs tried a Kriek a little while ago AND cherries were going cheap I picked up 2.5 kilos of cherrys last week-end and had a go.

I sort of used what I had at home - half the cherries (over a kilo) a Blackrock Whispering Wheat (1.25kgs) plus 1.25kg of 'the right stuff' which was 500 dried malt extract, 500 dex & 250 dried corn syrup. I used S-04 an ale yeast. I dunno about these quantities but have the feeling it might be a tad strong.

I put it on last Sunday and it has been going strong since. I plan to rack it off into another fermenter this week-end and use the rest of the cherries - I take it this is secondary fermentation right???

My question is do I need to add more yeast to get it going again?

Should I wait until this secondary gets it down to around 005 before bottling?

I also have the feeling I am going to have problems getting it out of the fermenter because I didn't use any material over the tap.

Anyway any advice would be good.

Cheers,
Brett

 

[bconnery]

I put it on last Sunday and it has been going strong since. I plan to rack it off into another fermenter this week-end and use the rest of the cherries - I take it this is secondary fermentation right???

My question is do I need to add more yeast to get it going again?

Should I wait until this secondary gets it down to around 005 before bottling?

I also have the feeling I am going to have problems getting it out of the fermenter because I didn't use any material over the tap.

Anyway any advice would be good.

Cheers,
Brett

Brett,
Yes that's secondary alright.
No need for more yeast, especially with fruit. The sugars in the fruit will generally add in a little more fermentation.
I don't know about it finishing at 1005. Just leave it in secondary for a week or so.
I usually actually just throw the fruit in primary and then rack again to get the beer off the fruit. If you do decide to rack to secondary I would rack again for a few days after that, tertiary if you will, just to get the beer off the fruit some more.
Material over the tap won't be an issue, I never have. If you are really worried put a little bit of sanitised material, such as a stocking, over the end of your transfer hose.

Basically my fruit beer method, and I've made a few, goes.
Ferment.
Add fruit into primary after around 5-7 days.
Leave for 1 week.
Rack to container and crash chill for a week to drop out the last fruit floaties.
Bottle/Keg.

 

[Tin Shed]

bconnery - thanks for the reply mate :icon_cheers:

Your method sounds good and I might now not bother racking off just add the more fruit to the fermenter this w/e i.e screw of the lid and dump the fruit in (after mixing with a small amount of boiled water and cooling down) and then let to go till the following w/e.

The only thing I'm not sure about is chilling for a week after next week because when bottling shouldn't I be adding a couple of carb drops and therefore cause another fermentation in the bottle - won't the previous chilling be a problem ???

Sorry these are newb questions - I don't even know if you can start fermentation again after chilling for week :blink:

 

[Tin Shed]

Okay to update this thread today I bottled after 3 weeks in the fermenter. At week 2 I added the other one and a quarter kg of cherries after steeping them in boiling water and mashing them up.

I got the FG down to around 06 or 07 - couldn't seem to get it any lower than this. Looks like all the goodness has leached out of the cherries and a taste confirmed that this appears to be getting better. Will leave the long necks (made 23 litres) for a few weeks under the house and chill a week or few days before Christmas, ready to go when visitors arrive. Will have to see how this goes. Overall it has the taste of the wheat beer but with a nice cherry hint -not too sweet but enough for pleasant aftertaste and hopefully once carbed up will do the trick.

Cheers.

 

[jurule]

Hey mate, how did this cherry brew turn out?

Interested in giving it a go!