Beer Forum

I have a lambic that's about two years old and I'm starting to think about adding some fruit. I moved into a new house about six months ago and just discovered yesterday I have a cherry tree in my backyard. I'm not sure if they're tart or sweet cherries yet but I would assume the latter. They're not ripe yet but the unripe cherries are very tart and tasty. Assuming I go with a kriek by adding cherries, should I wait till the cherries are ripe (and assumbly sweet) or try the unripe tart cherries? I used treat cherry juice for a three year old Flanders red which I recently bottled and I think it added to the perceived tartness.

If you add sweet cherries the sugar is going to ferment anyway. I'd go with tart ones since your beer is 2 years old. I haven't made too many lambics but is 2 years old too late to add fruit?

ziggy wrote:If you add sweet cherries the sugar is going to ferment anyway.

At 2 years old, the brett is going to be more prominent than the sacchro... enough time in the bottle, it'll chew away at it, but very slowly. The tart cherries will have some sugars as well.

ziggy wrote: is 2 years old too late to add fruit?

Not at all

PhillyBrewer wrote:but the unripe cherries are very tart and tasty

As long as they're tasty, I'd say go for it. I would think racking part of the batch on to the tart cherries & racking another part onto the ripened cherries, leaving part of it untouched would be a good idea. Plenty of blending options later. One batch may stand out or need just a touch of the character from one of the others.