I’m always behind on my entries, so here’s a wrap up of the sour cherry ale.
I named it Elysian Cherry Ale, and technically it’s a soured cherry Belgian pale ale.
After primary fermentation (which was quite vigorous), the final gravity was 1.014. I added 1 Lb of cherry juice concentration, which brought it up to 1.022. After a week of secondary fermentation, the gravity was 1.016. I transferred that to a corny keg, and it was force carbonated for a week at about 2.5 vol CO2.
It was then entered into the BUZZ Iron Brewer where it ranked 4th out of fourty-some. The top ten beers then competed in a public tasting where it tied for 2nd. All in all, not too bad.
The flavor was quite unique I think. There is a lot of cherry flavor and aroma, with a slight puckering tartness. It was described as being a little soda-like. Personally I found it enjoyable. I’m definitely going to give it another go, but I’ll do a secondary fermentation with Brett, I think.