Sour cherries: in season?

[dstar26t]

Supplication is made with dried cherries that have the oil still on them. They are not available with out the oil. I use veggie wash to try and remove most of it, then rinse with sterile water.

[PhillyBrewer]

I was holding off on doing anything with my Flanders red because it just hadn't gotten very sour. I think that was because I had to move the carboy early on in its aging when it had a pellicle and it ended up breaking and never really coming back. In either case, it's now 26 months old and it's started to get a nice sour flavor.

Will adding sour cherries affect its souring? Like should I wait until I'm satisfied with its sour level or will it continue to sour after I add the cherries?

Lastly, I found 100% sour cherry juice at Trader Joe's. This would be much more convenient to use than dried or regular cherries for numerous reasons. Has anyone ever used 100% fruit juice? If so, what were the results? How much should one use if they went this route instead of actual fruit?

Thanks!

[brewinhard]

Adding the cherries (or juice) will help to increase the funk and sourness especially now that the brett and lacto/pedio have control over the beer. Any added fermentables will boost the sourness in your finished product.

As for juice, I think that is a great route to take and much more convenient and easy. Be sure the juice you use has no added preservatives and is as natural as possible. That juice looks great to add to your flanders. I would start with the whole bottle and see how that goes. You can always add more if need be depending on how much cherry flavor and aroma you are looking for.

[Bugeater]

I use a tart cherry juice concentrate. The stuff is expensive (about $20 a quart) but it tastes great and a little goes a long way.

[PhillyBrewer]

Hmmmm. The tart cherry juice I bought was $3.99/quart. What's the difference in the juice?

[Bugeater]

That bottle of concentrate is the equivalent to 2 gallons of regular juice. Two gallons of your $3.99 juice would cost $32. By using concentrate you don't run out of room in your fermenter or keg before you get enough cherry flavor in there. Adding that much extra liquid in your beer would also change the character of your beer in ways other than just cherry flavor.

Wayne

[spiderwrangler]

Adding that much extra liquid in your beer would also change the character of your beer in ways other than just cherry flavor.

Including your gravity/ABV, and mouthfeel...

[Lewybrewing]

I bought red tart cherries from amazon. It was 30 bucks for 8 pounds. Canned in water, nothing added. I've used this type of cherries In a coupple of other batches. The brand is Oregon