[TeeDubb]

Soooo, those of us in the California Bay Area (and other parts of the US to follow) may have some time on our hands to contemplate and brew some beer while we shelter in place. I froze 3 lbs of de-stemmed, pitted sweet cherries mid-summer last year and trying to clear the freezer. I was thinking of just augmenting a standard wheat beer in secondary with the fruit and not overthinking it. Another option would be a porter with same approach.  This will be a 5 gal batch and I know I may be a little light on the lbs of fruit/gal.  I could add purchased puree, but then it won't be an official vintage Would appreciate any thoughts from those that have used sweet cherries in a beer.

[Northern_Brewer]

In Belgium they can go anything up to 400g/l, and over 200g/l is pretty common - but their traditional Schaerbeek cherries have relatively little flesh to stone. A 50:50 mix of sweet and sour/Morello cherries is often suggested as an approximation.

The vintage thing is overrated, most champagne is non-vintage because it's better than way, what matters is something that tastes good. So maybe buy in some morello puree or something else like damson?

[Village Taphouse]

How are you considering adding the fruit?  At some later point in the process?  I have spent far too much time thinking of ways to make decent fruit beers but many times I tried it (by adding fruit to a secondary fermenter, etc) the fruit kicked up a secondary fermentation that went on and on and on and eventually dried out the beer to the point of tasting dreadful.  How can a brewer keep a decent balance between 'beer' and 'fruit' without the beer being too dry?

[TeeDubb]

I was thinking exactly what you said - transfer to a secondary (which I normally avoid) and let the beer sit on the fruit for a few weeks. Or to save the hassle and oxygen exposure, just add fruit to primary maybe when 2/3 to target gravity. I could see the sugar in the cherries being fully consumed in the fermentation, but the non fermentable part of the barley and wheat sugars should still remain, leaving a reasonable body.  Or am I missing something?

[Village Taphouse]

I guess I would look for ways to make a beer that would ordinarily come out too sweet (low hops, more crystal malt, a lower-attenuating yeast, maybe water that leans far towards chloride with very little sulfate, a higher mash temp if that even matters anymore, etc) and then once the dryness of the fruit fermentation kicks in, you might get better balance.  In 20+ years of brewing I have tried this with blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc. and I have whiffed mightily.  I tried the Oregon fruit purees (same issue) and eventually went to gourmet extract places like Olive Nation but those beers had a more 'fake' flavor to them.  If you make an attempt and find good balance, please outline your process here.  If you find that the finished product is mouth-puckeringly dry... welcome to the club.   

[TeeDubb]

That is really helpful advice.  Maybe I'll go after a dark beer, like a porter or stout and include some lactose for added body.  Thank you!

[EHall]

I've used flavoring syrups in the past with good results, known of breweries that do that too. it doesn't take much either to get the flavor.

[Village Taphouse]

I've used flavoring syrups in the past with good results, known of breweries that do that too. it doesn't take much either to get the flavor.

I have a grocery store near me that specializes in some exotic products.  They had bottles of fruit syrup (I bought the strawberry and the raspberry) but I also see that they're loaded with sugar.  I could see having a dark lager or ale on tap and just adding a dash of this stuff to the glass and then tapping it but I certainly wouldn't want an overly sweet beer as a result of adding this stuff.  I have heard of people dropping a tub or two of lemon Crystal Light into a keg and then transferring the beer on top... no sugar to kick up another fermentation.  I have never tried it but I could see it making a nice lemon wheat ale.  I have also heard of people killing the yeast (I forget what you would use... sodium metabisulfate?) and then adding the fruit so you wouldn't have another fermentation and I have also heard of people adding real fruit juice to a cold keg... if it were an ale it would be too cold to ferment but you would HAVE to keep the keg cold. 

[smkranz]

If you'd prefer to use *just* your fruit without adding puree or other supplementals, I would split the batch (say 3 gallons, and 2 gallons).  Add fruit to the 3 gallon portion after primary fermentation has been going for a few days, then let it finish fermenting on the fruit.  Rack it off the fruit, and if you like it just leave it as is.  If it has a stronger cherry character than you want, just add back some of the plain portion until it's where you want it.

[coonmanxdog]

I always add my fruit into the primary after it crashes. That way you don't have to have it sitting on the fruit in secondary for so long and it does prevent those "endless fermentations" as well. Pectic enzyme can be added if you want a clearer beer as well.

But I always do a secondary as well.

[reverseapachemaster]

The problem with sweet cherries by themselves is after they ferment out you can have that cherry medicine flavor which is why you see a lot of cherry beers made with tart pie cherries or a combination of sweet and tart cherries. You may want to consider blending them with tart cherries if you can get them in the summer or raspberries which blend well in beer with cherries. I would have to really think about a beer made with sweet cherries alone I really like. I have probably had less than five I thought were pulled off successfully.

If you are committed to using these sweet cherries personally I would steer into the sweetness and opt for an imperial stout and add vanilla and cocoa nibs to try to round out the cherries and maybe conceal some of the medicinal aspect.

[coonmanxdog]

The problem with sweet cherries by themselves is after they ferment out you can have that cherry medicine flavor which is why you see a lot of cherry beers made with tart pie cherries or a combination of sweet and tart cherries. You may want to consider blending them with tart cherries if you can get them in the summer or raspberries which blend well in beer with cherries. I would have to really think about a beer made with sweet cherries alone I really like. I have probably had less than five I thought were pulled off successfully.

If you are committed to using these sweet cherries personally I would steer into the sweetness and opt for an imperial stout and add vanilla and cocoa nibs to try to round out the cherries and maybe conceal some of the medicinal aspect.

Yup. I know exactly what you are talking about. I once dumped a six pack of Sam Adams Cherry Wheat down the sink for that very reason.

The only time I used cherries was a dark ale and I didn't overdo the cherries. Fruit should always be a secondary flavor anyway. So just beware that with cherries you can use too much and don't go with too many the first time around.

[HopDen]

I haven't tried this but, adding potassium sorbate with the cherries at the end of fermentation would/should prevent any secondary fermentation. Again, I have never used potassium sorbate in beer but I have used it in wine when back sweetening.