Cherry Fever Stout

Ingredients for 5 Gallons

Malt Extract
	Dark syrup: 3.5 lbs.
	Light syrup: 3 lbs.
	Dark dry: 1.5 lbs.
Specialty Malts
	Crystal: 1 1b.
	Roasted barley: 0.5 lb.
	Black patent: 0.5 lb.
Bittering Hops
	Bullion, whole: 2 oz.
Finishing Hops
	Willlamette or Cascade, whole: 1 oz.
Yeast
	Ale, dry
Clarifying Aids
	Irish moss: 1 tsp.
	Gelatin: 1 tsp.
Inorganics
	Gypsum: 5 Tbsp.
	Ascorbic acid: 0.75 tsp.
Priming
	Corn sugar: 0.75 cup
Flavorings
	Bing cherries, destemmed, washed, frozen, crushed: 10 lbs.
Water
	2.75 gal. water to start boil
	3 gal. boiled and cooled water for start of fermentation
	0.5 gal. water for priming sugar
	

Directions

* Sanitize all equipment!  
  I used a 20-quart cheapo pot, a 5-gal. William's siphonless 
  plastic fermentation bucket, and a William's siphonless priming tank.
* Start with 2.75 gal. cold water and the three specialty malts.
* Bring to a boil.  Remove spent grains with slotted spoon.
* Add malt extracts, bittering hops, and gypsum.
* Boil 55 more minutes, stirring to prevent scorching.
* Add Irish moss.
* Boil 5 more minutes.
* Add finishing hops and ascorbic acid.
* Remove from heat.
* Let cool a few minutes until temperature is just below 180 F.
* Add cherries.
* Cool with wort chiller or just let it sit until cooled below 90 F.
* Sparge (pour in a splashy manner) into fermentation bucket
* Pour in the previously boiled and cooled water to make 4.75 gal.
* Add dry yeast to 1 cup sanitized water.
* When wort has cooled to below 80 F, cast yeast.  
* Remove a hydometer-tube-full of wort for specific gravity readings.
* Put airlocks on containers.
* Take daily specific gravity readings.
* After 5 days, remove as much of floating debris as possible.
* At this time, drain to secondary fermenter.
* Also, dissolve gelatin in a cup of hot water and stir in.
* When hydrometer readings don't change for 2 days, the 
  wort is ready for bottling.
* Dissolve priming sugar in 0.5 gal. boiled and cooled water.
  (This will bring the volume back up to about 5 gal.)
  Siphon or gently pour into priming tank.
* Drain wort into priming tank, leaving sediment behind.
* Bottle in sanitized bottles.
* Wait 2+ weeks for carbonation.

Notes

OG = 1.083, FG = 1.031 
Alcohol = about 6.0% by volume, including the effect of dilution.
Very rich (note high final gravity).   

A real winner beer tasting with friends.
I substituted local bing cherries for sour ones in the original
recipe.  The cherry taste, even with 10 pounds of cherries,
was barely perceptible.

In one batch of this recipe, I fermented a gallon without the 
cherries.  It was an excellent stout by itself.