So I'm still pretty much a rookie Homebrewer. I've made 5 different batches, none have skunked and all have come out fairly well, but there's still a lot of stuff I don't know.
I'm assembling a recipe for a Cherry Rhubard wheat to brew this weekend, as I have some fresh organic cherries and rhubard from a local farm I want to throw into the mix. I've got all my hops and yeast and malt selections and everything, but the thing I can't figure out is when to add the fruit. Do I let it steep at ~170F for a time, then remove the fruit and continue with the normal boil, or do I do the same thing but after the boil has completed and I've removed the hop bag? Some recipes even recommend adding fruit only as the beer goes into the fermenter.
What do people recommend here in this forum? I guess I'm not sure how the timing of adding the fruit affects the flavor profile. Will adding later make it stronger?
I made a pumpkin beer last fall and used 10lbs of Fresh pumpkin and let it steep pre-boil and it came out fantastic, so I'm tempted to do the same here, but with rhubarb and cherries being a tart flavor I'm questioning where it should be added to help be able to really taste the fruit flavor. I've got 5lbs of each to add to the beer.
Thoughts?