A friend of mine just helped me install hardwood floors and I want to brew him a kriek (his favorite style) to thank him. Probably going to try to brew a 1 or 2.5 gallon batch. Would love to see any particularly successful recipes people wouldn't mind sharing... Cheers.
This is a pretty advanced beer to make authentically: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriek_lambic Although I have seen a Brewferm "kriek" extract kit that is available.
Hard to justify small batches of beer that take years to age. Do you have a commercial beer you like in mind? Lindemans (for example) is pasteurized and back-sweetened, a very different character than you’d get from a traditional process. You might consider a "quick" souring process (sour mashing, sour worting etc.), to get him a tart fruit beer in a few weeks rather than a few years.
I have done a traditional kriek and it is a process. I would try something along the lines of a 50/50 wheat malt/pilsner grain bill with .5 oz very low aa hops at 60. Use only brett L and no sacch to ferment. It should ferment out in about 2-3 weeks. From there, add cherries and give it two more weeks. Bottle from there. Once you bottle, you should check the carb and get it in the fridge once carbed because all brett beers have a tendency to overcarbonate. This won't give you a kriek but you should get a tart beer with some cherry flavor.
A cherry berlinerwiesse might be a good option for you if time is an issue. Brew a berlinerweisse, add mountain of cherries at flameout (boil wort 5-10mins) and allow them to steep in the hot wort for 30 mins. Pitch lacto first, hold the fermentation HOT for a day or two, then pitch yeast.
