Cherries - Usage tips?

[Megary]

I have a Stout fermenting away that I plan on adding cherries to. Then again, if I come to my senses, maybe I won't.

Now I can easily add packaged, frozen cherries to a secondary fermenter, rack the beer on top and let whatever happens happen. Seems easy enough, but maybe...not so fast?

My biggest concerns are:
1. I really, really, really want to avoid any medicinal, "cough syrup" flavor in the finished beer.
2. IF packaged, frozen cherries are not "clean" enough, I'm concerned that a "sous-vide" type sanitizing step will strip some flavor away.

Yes, there are other options for adding cherries.... Fresh, cherry juice, extract. I'm not opposed to any of them, though the medicinal concern remains, even more so with extract. And I suppose I missed the boat for the best fresh cherries.

Of course, I don't need to add Cherries. I can go with Raspberries or Cranberries instead.

Thoughts?

 

[Zefram]

I bit late to respond, but I've not personally experienced any obvious flavor loss doing the sous vide process... that's what I do anytime I'm using fruit in a brew.

 

[Megary]

Thanks for the response. I ended up just dumping the frozen cherries (and cranberries!) straight from the bag into a second fermenter. Racked the beer on top and let it go for a week.

This beer has since been kegged and I will probably tap it this weekend.

Cheers Zefram.

 

[Zefram]

Cheers back at ya. Let us know how it turns out!

 

[Brewer #413384]

I bit late to respond, but I've not personally experienced any obvious flavor loss doing the sous vide process... that's what I do anytime I'm using fruit in a brew. geometry dash lite

Ik ben u dankbaar voor uw reactie. I went ahead and put the frozen cherries and cranberries straight into a second fermenter. added the beer and left it for a week.

I've been drinking this beer for a while now, and I'm going to be drinking it this weekend.

 

[Bigbre04]

you can always "wash" the fruit with liquor. Also pulverizing and or pureeing the fruit will allow significantly higher flavor potential since it opens everything up. This mixed with a little bourbon or whiskey would be pretty nice. Basically it makes a sort of tincture or slurry that can be added straight in.

 

[Zefram]

My process is to puree fresh fruit, sous vide at 170°F for 15-20 minutes, then freeze in the same bag. When time, I thaw to room temperature and pour the puree into the secondary before transferring the beer. Give it a week or two before kegging/bottling.

Cherries are a pain because of the pits (a tedious job trying to remove them), but everything else I've used is pretty easy.

If I were to use packaged frozen fruit, I'd probably just thaw it out and do the same thing above. I might skip the refreezing if the timing worked out.

 

[Bigbre04]

My process is to puree fresh fruit, sous vide at 170°F for 15-20 minutes, then freeze in the same bag. When time, I thaw to room temperature and pour the puree into the secondary before transferring the beer. Give it a week or two before kegging/bottling.

Cherries are a pain because of the pits (a tedious job trying to remove them), but everything else I've used is pretty easy.

If I were to use packaged frozen fruit, I'd probably just thaw it out and do the same thing above. I might skip the refreezing if the timing worked out.

this is a great way!