[1vertical]

resto3,
I was advised to get the mahlab "whole" NOT ground because it looses flavor rapidly
after grinding.  I thought It would be no problem to put the whole seeds thru the
grain mill....Then I was gonna give em a little bath in some everclear just to be careful...

I got my oak cask from Vadai Wine
http://www.vadaiwinebarrels.com/
And I highly recommend them.  

[1vertical]

Update,
Today I harvested 5 gallons of beer from Solera that has been in the oak about a month.

Here is the SpGr at this point...1.011 To my read...


Added 1/2 lb of Mahleb AND almost 5 gallons of Sour Pie Cherries back to the barrel
along with 2 packages of Wyeast Lambicus and the dregs from a couple bottles of
Avery Depucleuse (sp).

by the way, the Monster 2 roller Malt mill handled the Mahleb nicely....then I put it all in a quart mason jar
and wet it down with everclear just to reduce the microbe presence from the cherry seeds.

[1vertical]

Today I topped up the Cask with some rochefort I made just for that purpose.
I have a couple airlocks in the bung and have everclear as the liquid in them.

Got home today and man did I ever get it topped off, the "s" bubblers were full
almost overflowing so I got a lil too much in the thing....I opened it up and pulled
a few sanitized wine thief draws out of the mix and snuck a taste...

I gotta tell you this is headed down a good direction for an interesting beer.
That maleb is a little overpowering now, but I think it will mellow as the brett
works. The cherries have started to get a little white pellicle appearance.

I get maleb up front on the palate, followed by cherry, and finish is like beer mixed
with maleb and cherry...the aroma is maleb. The finish is long and starting to sour already,
but the maleb balances the sourness in a nice way and it definately lends a neat aroma.
so it is like a 3 stranded braid of flavors and aroma. a tastebud olfactory carnival.
I await the 4th strand to manefest and that will be the oakiness in time, time, time.

[1vertical]

Here is that beer in my glass cold...it is backlit and clear, the haze is condensate.
Taste is great. Hope it gets better with the addition of cherries...(currently fermenting away)



Anyone know if the cherries will be consumed by the bugs?

Brew on....Brew on.....

[tankdeer]

Here is that beer in my glass cold...it is backlit and clear, the haze is condensate.
Taste is great. Hope it gets better with the addition of cherries...(currently fermenting away)



Anyone know if the cherries will be consumed by the bugs?

Brew on....Brew on.....

Looks damn tasty. And yeah, the bugs will eat the cherries. I've heard if you leave them in long enough there will be nothing left but the pits.

[1vertical]

Sampled this beer today and got an update photo for you all...

the stuff is coming together nicely, NOT finished yet however.
Aroma is Cherry Pie, flavor is sour cherry for sure, and the mahleb finishes with a
nifty floral thing, not much oakiness yet....color has migrated from dark brown/red to lighter brown with red hues.
chunks of pellicle and mahleb floating around.

well if it ain't a prize winner, at least I think I can enjoy this! oh, and I have been known to share.
I think a couple more months might not be a bad thing for this beer.
 

[tankdeer]

Sampled this beer today and got an update photo for you all...

the stuff is coming together nicely, NOT finished yet however.
Aroma is Cherry Pie, flavor is sour cherry for sure, and the mahleb finishes with a
nifty floral thing, not much oakiness yet....color has migrated from dark brown/red to lighter brown with red hues.
chunks of pellicle and mahleb floating around.

well if it ain't a prize winner, at least I think I can enjoy this! oh, and I have been known to share.
I think a couple more months might not be a bad thing for this beer.
 

Your camera focused on the pile of rocks/wood and not your glass. looks like a tasty beer either way, even if it is out of focus. 

[pyrite]

 Did you use any specialty malts or is the color contribution from the cherries alone.  Your beer looks like a good reddish/tan leather.  

[1vertical]

Did you use any specialty malts or is the color contribution from the cherries alone.  Your beer looks like a good reddish/tan leather.  

Yes there are specialty malts and from the photo trail I show, it has changed from dark  ruby brown
to this lighter color must be from the cherries...tankdeer, that is really how it looked  NOT very clear yet.....
Look closely there are whitish flecks in it....pellicle and mehlab chunks...they are in focus.

goggle " herman holtrop rochefort" and that is the base recipe I follow sort of...

[1vertical]

Update time...
The inside of the airspace in the cask has a nice white pellicle on the cherries and on the wood.
Inside the bung around the edge of the hole is a white ring...
I quickly stuck a wine thief in the thing and withdrew a sample and put it into my tulip glass.
1st thing that hits you is the aroma of the mahleb...almondy flowery nice.
then the beer's reddish hue and clarity come into focus a couple chunks of cherry floating around....
chewy beer lol...
It is developing a nice sour cherry flavor  with finish palate notes of almond. I got NO oak to speak of
yet...so it can just stay there a while.

Today I got 8# of frozen pitted balaton cherries from Scofield fruit in Colorado (mentioned here with owners permission).
My plan is to soon as I kick the keg of rochefort in the fridge,  harvest a goodly amount of the beer
from this cask, thaw those balatons, add them back to the barrel and then top off with some more rochefort.

Then, carb up the keg of my Kriek and enjoy it thru the dead of winter....grin....

[brewmonk]

Wow! Sounds like a lot of work, but it also sounds like it is definitely worth it.  Wish I could sample some.  I think you're in for a pretty merry Christmas .  Cheers!

[1vertical]

"bump"
Sampled this last night. Pulled one wine thief out and dropped it into a tumbler.
Chunks of white pellicle were clinging to the glass of the thief...
Color is rust...migrated away from the dark tones of the rochefort base to a lighter redish hue.
Aroma at first resembled vinegar...but not strongly...faintly...then after the pull sat in the air
for 5 mins or so, the aroma was very floral and laced with the smell of the mahleb.
No vinegar at all...(may have been gasses from the headspace/oak)

The taste was at first kind of a vacuum...your mind questioning ....what was THAT???
Then suddenly the sour bret character takes ahold and it is distinctly tart and dry...fruity
yep pie cherry fruity..pleasant. Oak comes in the mix somewhere and is noticeable to me now.
 The mahleb then comes thru with the almond/pit note and it lingers on your palate for
20-30 mins...pleasantly dancing on the taste buds...after taste is strong and long...

Never tasted anything like this before....It should prolly come out of the cask soon an I hope
to make a pull when I get another keg kicked.
Then I will replace the pull with 8# of frozen pitted balaton cherries and top up with some more
rochefort that I brewed for that purpose...another stint in the barrel and we will see what comes out next pull.......

[tankdeer]

Wow, sounds delicious. You're making me thirsty. 

[1vertical]

Wow, sounds delicious. You're making me thirsty. 

I would give ya a taste tankdeer if you could pull yourself out of the  texas sand and visit the prarie

[tankdeer]

Texas? No sir. Only a couple thousand miles away.