The very next batch of homebrew is now underway! Maybe I'm starting to get a good reputation for this, or maybe not, but this is the very first batch I've made that has people waiting to try it! That, in and of itself, it an exciting proposition. The variety: Cherry Wheat. This is the beer that I wanted to make for both the Cantaré party and the Renaissance Festival brewing competition but just didn't start in time. That's alright, though, because I'm just happy to share the fermented fruits of my labor with any family and friends.


This batch has given me some fits, though. It was intended to be a (mostly) full-mash concoction (the addition of 1lb of dry malt extract to 4 lbs. of roasted malt is still 'mostly' full mash). Indeed, this attempt at mashing the malt was the best yet, if you judge by the thermal accuracy of the mashing process. (For those in the know, I was able to keep the malt between 156°F and 152°F for a full 60 minutes). Awesome! My last mashing effort, the Kölsch-style (which I should really just call and IPA because that what I've got!) had temperatures that were out of control- 160°+. This temperature control would be excellent were it not for the fact that, after the boil, I measured a temperature-adjusted original gravity of 1.020. (Seriously!?)


Well, the next morning I returned to the brewing supply store to purchase some additional dry malt extract to add to the wort to increase the specific gravity of the wort. This is enough to get any homebrewer just a little nervous, though, because I haven't yet pitched the yeast! As every homebrewer knows, the most critical time for contamination is the period between the end of the boil and the obvious beginning of fermentation. Why? At this stage you have a fermenter full of sugar water- warm sugar water at that! This is the environment which is best suited for bacterial contamination. Once fermentation begins, the wort-beer is covered with a layer of Krausen- a carbon dioxide-rich foam which effectively suffocates aerobic bacteria. This is part of the reason why you can leave your beer in a fermenter for several weeks to months, with no ill effects, but a bottle of beer left open on the counter top will spoil in only a few hours.


After a short boil, I was able to successfully add the additional dry malt extract and pitch the yeast. The temperature-corrected starting gravity for this batch was an acceptable 1.048 and, within few hours, that gravity began to drop as the fat and happy yeast began to do its thing.


On the 7^th day of brewing, the beer was racked into the secondary fermenter- a standard 6-gallon glass carboy. Having little idea of what to expect from such a problematic batch of beer, I was pleasantly surprised when a small stolen sample of the wort actually proved to be quite palatable! ('Whew', I sighed, when I couldn't detect any signs of contamination).


Enter: The Cherries! I've been planning a fruit addition to a beer for some time now. The biggest sticking point to such a recipe is the fruit itself. For those of you who aren't familiar, fresh fruit has a lot of issues which makes it potentially difficult to add to beer. The first is contamination: fresh fruit is crawling with micro-organisms which, while generally not harmful to us, stand to potentially contaminate the vat of sugar-water we call wort. Second- pectin. Pectin is a protein compound found in many fruits; it is the compound which allows jelly to become 'gel-like'. Obviously, this is bad for beer! It also renders cooking as a useless option for sterilization as the heat will activate the pectin and, in cherries at least, turn tart, fresh fruit into a mushy cherry-pie-like substance. Not good. One could also add cherry extract but let's admit it- that no fun at all (especially not in a cherry state like Michigan). Consulting with a few experts on this matter, I was surprised to find out that many brewers throw caution to the wind and just add the fruit as-is, without the benefit of sterilization. To me, that seems suspect because you will, at some point, watch as a batch becomes contaminated.


What to do... What to do...


Ruminations on this topic, as several pounds of cherries say in my refrigerator, brought me to a unique idea. Interestingly enough, consultation with more experts came to the conclusion that this is a new idea! What did I do? It's actually remarkably simple: Wash your fruit and discard those items which are obviously beyond their prime. After pitting, slicing, and juicing, simply mix the extracted juice with a portion of a neutral spirit like vodka. I have no particular frame of reference for quantities, so I mixed my 12oz. of cherry juice (extracted from 4lbs. of cherries) with about 7oz. of vodka and allowed that to sit in the refrigerator for about a week. The cold temperature and presence of alcohol seems to be enough to sanitize the juice without altering its basic flavor or texture.


I added the cherry juice, thusly sanitized, after the initial racking. From here, it was allowed to sit for two more weeks as it finished the brewing in the dark silence of my laundry room (the perils of brewing in an apartment). After sufficient time had passed, the beer was racked again into my bottling bucket, allowed to sit for about 12 hours, mixed with 6oz. of sterilized dry malt extract, and bottled.


The Verdict?


The sample I tried before bottling was quite light and refreshing with just a hint of cherry flavor and a pleasant golden colour. The hydrometer gave a suspiciously low reading of 1.003, which matches with the light mouthfeel. The yield of this batch was 39 bottles and I can't wait for the next few days to pass so that I can give them a try! If you're in the area at the end of August, drop me a line and stop by to try one of these. Pictures will come once it has finished carbonating but I expect this beer to be a light golden colour with the slightest hint of pink and pour with a strong head.