flussohneufer
New Member
I've recently taken over a garden that includes a sour cherry tree, so a friend and I are planning on making a kriek.
We're aiming to do a smallish-batch of about 10L (2.5 gallons). From what I've read, 2–3kg of cherries would be good for that. We'll probably have to add the cherries quite early (like 1 month into the base lambic fermentation), then let the whole thing sit for several more months into next year.
I've not tried this before, or any fruit beer, so I've got a couple of questions. I've found conflicting information about these online so far.
We're aiming to do a smallish-batch of about 10L (2.5 gallons). From what I've read, 2–3kg of cherries would be good for that. We'll probably have to add the cherries quite early (like 1 month into the base lambic fermentation), then let the whole thing sit for several more months into next year.
I've not tried this before, or any fruit beer, so I've got a couple of questions. I've found conflicting information about these online so far.
- Is it advisable to prepare the cherries in any way before adding them to the base lambic? I've seen mention of freezing, which should kill some microbes? I'm not sure I want to roast/cook/pasteurize, though, as this could affect the flavour.
- Cyanide. It's traditional to leave the cherry pits in to achieve a nutty/almond flavour. But since they will also cause the release of cyanide, I need to be sure it won't be in dangerous quantities. Obviously commercial kriek that uses the pits appears to be safe, but I'm a bit paranoid, and have seen sites advising to pit the cherries and add almond extract. Can anyone say confidently how much cyanide would be released by about 3kg of unpitted cherries in 10L of beer over 7–8 months?