This is Cornwall --One of Cornwall's biggest breweries is to recreate one of Europe's most famous beers – with a Cornish twist.
St Austell Brewery is hoping to produce its first batch of Belgian style "kriek" beer before Christmas.
The slow-brewed beer is famous for its naturally tart taste which the brewery will sweeten with cherries picked at Bohetherick Farm in the Tamar Valley, near Saltash.
The batch began life at the brewery earlier this year, and will be slowly conditioned in wooden barrels for six months.
Head brewer Roger Ryman said: "The natural fermentation process required for a kriek beer does bring with it a whole bunch of challenges for a commercial brewery – it's a bit like putting a hay meadow in your pristine bowling green – but we've been very careful to keep it entirely separate.
"We brewed a strong beer in pre-used wooden barrels and inoculated it with wild yeasts and friendly bacteria. Now we'll add the cherries. We don't yet know when it will be ready – sometimes the Belgians leave it for three years – but Christmas is a good estimate. The finished result will have quite a tart, vinous taste that is then balanced by the fruit to create something not far off a fine port." The Tamar Valley was once renowned for fruit growing after the development of the railway meant producers could have their produce on sale in Covent Garden just hours after picking.
But the global marketplace has seen demand dwindle and there are now very few cherry trees left in the region.
Bohetherick Farm has an orchard with more than 50 Burcombe cherry trees.
Jessica Jeans, who runs the farm with her husband, said: "This year has seen a bumper crop of cherries and they really are quite delicious. We are very keen to support local sourcing so we were delighted when St Austell Brewery asked us for cherries for their beer. We really look forward to enjoying a bottle or two of the finished article." Reported by This is 5 hours ago.