A friend of mine recently came to me and said he had a Belgian beer at some local bar that served craft beer. He didn't know the name of the beer but he swore it was a triple with cherry flavoring in it. I've never heard of such a thing so I asked him what it was called and like I said above he didn't remember. Google searches didn't return much. I'm rambling. Basically I was curious if it would be possible or even worth it to make something like this. I was planning on making a Belgian beer soon and thought maybe it would be interesting, anyone know of anything like this? Would anyone even recommend cherry flavor in a Belgian beer? Could anyone give me any advice on making something like this? Thankful for any and all advic!
I recommend focusing on making a good beer first, and then mess with a fruit addition after you create a beer you are happy with. It's harder to determine how to improve a beer if some flaws are covered by fruit. But if you aren't worried about that, just brew what you want and add cherries or whatever you choose after primary fermentation is finished.
I bet your forgetful friend had a Lambic-Fruit Kriek. Belgians have been brewing with kriek (Flemish for cherries) for over 500 years, because that's what they have. If you search the Beers section of BA for "kriek" you see what's out there. It's a complicated style, expect a couple of years for it to be ready . . . or if your friend can remember where he left the local bar, return and have one immediately.
Three Philosopher's, classified as a quad here at BA, has 2% cherry juice added somewhere in the process. One of my earliest homebrews was a dubbel with a 3lb can of cherry puree added to it in a secondary fermenter. It was OK, although I haven't set out to repeat it.
Thanks so much for all your help I plan on going down to the bar and seeing what's up. I don't plan on adding any cherry this time. Thanks again friends cheers
