Cherry Melomel started

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Well, I finally got around to starting my cherry melamel (with 51" of snow in the last week, there wasn't much else to do!)

4.75lbs fresh (then frozen, thawed, and pitted) cherries
3 tsp. pectin enzyme
9 lbs orange blossom honey
Lavlin 71B-1122
hightests SNA schedule

I will eventually rack on to another 5.25 lbs of cherries, and then eventually to tertiary to be topped off with some show mead (1 gallon batch, 3lbs orange blossom honey).

Now for the mead pr0n:

cherries:
cherries_small.jpg


pitting cherries:
pitting_cherries_small.jpg


mead:
cherry_mead_1_19_10_small.jpg


fermenting away:
cherry_mead_1_28_10_small.jpg
 
Very nice.

I used the oregon puree in mine, and bought cans to do another batch very soon. I bottled half the batch as semi-dry (whatever it ended up being, didn't take a reading) and the other I backsweetened heavily with honey and cherry concentrate (accidentally to 1.050 and is very sweet and super-cherry).


Can't wait to see how yours turns out.
 
I have a bunch of cherry juice I want to use to make something very similar to this, but my DAP and StarSan are backordered. You just had to torture me with mead pr0n, didn't you? It's a conspiracy, I tells ya!

Definitely not helping my level of patience . . .
 
I think that sight just inspired me to make MEAD...... thanks for the post

Go for it! Just remember, it takes a looooonnnnnng time for mead to age!

It sure looks good AZ. What kind of cherries?

I honestly don't remember - I bought them this summer and threw them in gallon ziplock bags in the freezer.

MEAD!!!!!!!!!!!


When is the release date so I can plan a trip to north eastern AZ?

I'm not going to rush this one at all, so I anticipate bottling late summer/early fall (maybe later?) But I have a raspberry melamel I bottled almost a year ago that's really starting to peak!

Lookin' good, AZ!

Thanks! your pictures of your cherry mead where the inspiration!

I have a bunch of cherry juice I want to use to make something very similar to this, but my DAP and StarSan are backordered. You just had to torture me with mead pr0n, didn't you? It's a conspiracy, I tells ya!

Definitely not helping my level of patience . . .

patience is something a mazer needs a ton of! Good luck when you get yours going.

:mug:
 
That looks awesome! I'm feeling inspired.

When you rack to secondary and add cherries, do you sulfite?
 
That looks awesome! I'm feeling inspired.

When you rack to secondary and add cherries, do you sulfite?

I probably won't sulfite as these cherries have been frozen quite a bit, and the ABV will be high enough to knock out anything.

I'm a little surprised how quickly the color has faded, but will hopefully get some of it back in the secondary

cherry_mead_1_28_10_small.jpg
 
Now I'm shocked at how the color has changed as active fermentation is pretty much done. And look at that lees! Wow.

cherry_mead_2_2_10_small.jpg
 
wow. between lees and cherries, you're gonna get --- maybe 2 gallons of mead out of that bad boy???

Need to step up to 5-6g batches mister! :)
 
wow. between lees and cherries, you're gonna get --- maybe 2 gallons of mead out of that bad boy???

Need to step up to 5-6g batches mister! :)

see the batch of show mead on the right --- that's for topping off eventually!

but yes, you're right. When I move into my new house, time to go big or go home! :tank:
 
on 2/13/10 the gravity was down to 1.010 so I racked off the less and cherries and onto an additional 5.25 lbs of cherries.

I was hoping to get a little more fermentation but I'm already at 13+%, so it may not eat up any of the new sugars. I guess I could pitch some EC-1118, but I think I'll wait for a couple weeks and take a reading and see....

I'm loving the color!

cherry_mead_2_15_10.jpg
 
Looking at the headspace in that carboy, you could dilute a little with a dryer mead to make up headspace and top that up which would dry it out and potentially add a bit more ABV.

When you rack off the fruit again in a few weeks, you'll have lots of headspace in that thing anyways and will eventually need to figure out something for long term aging.
 
Looking at the headspace in that carboy, you could dilute a little with a dryer mead to make up headspace and top that up which would dry it out and potentially add a bit more ABV.

When you rack off the fruit again in a few weeks, you'll have lots of headspace in that thing anyways and will eventually need to figure out something for long term aging.

Yep, that's what that show mead on the right is for. I'm going to use that to top off after I get it completely off the fruit.
 
Then personally, I think you're fine, unless you like it uber-dry. I think 1.010 is the lowest I would want my mead to go.

How'd the sample taste when you racked? Was it still too sweet for you, or just hoping for more ABV?


Sounds like you have a plan, just gotta get ready for the aging...that's the fun part.

I have 2 cans of Oregon Cherry Puree ready to put in secondary once I get my base mead going for it...just need an open fermenter. Last batch is still in bottles. I overbacksweetened 1/2 of it, and the other half didn't have enough cherry flavor to my liking. Might need a 3rd or even 4th can in a few months.
 
How'd the sample taste when you racked? Was it still too sweet for you, or just hoping for more ABV?

I was hoping it would finish at 1.010 when all was said and done. Adding 5.25 lbs of cherries is gonna bring that up some if fermentation doesn't restart. But, like you said, diluting with a dry mead will bring it back down some.

The sample sweetness was were I want it. And yes, time is gonna be my friend on this one.

I think I'll use the puree next time - whole pitted cherries are too much of a PITA to work with using a carboy
 
I was hoping it would finish at 1.010 when all was said and done. Adding 5.25 lbs of cherries is gonna bring that up some if fermentation doesn't restart. But, like you said, diluting with a dry mead will bring it back down some.

The sample sweetness was were I want it. And yes, time is gonna be my friend on this one.

I think I'll use the puree next time - whole pitted cherries are too much of a PITA to work with using a carboy

It likely will ferment out a little bit from the fresh cherries and remaining sugars. What yeast did you use and what tolerance does it have?

If I remember the dates you started -- this thing is barely 3 weeks old. Probably hasn't really finished up yet, even if main airlock activity stopped. (My airlocks are still going at 1 every 8 seconds a month later)

And, if it doesn't - then you still have the dry top-up mead to bring it back down a little.

Sounds like this is gonna be tasty this time next year.
 
I used 71B-1122 (tolerance ~14%)

I know this is still really young - but man that SNA really got this fermentation going quick!

Can't wait to try this on valentine's day 2011 :D
 
If you're using a 14% tolerance yeast, and you're at 13...you're probably damn close to done, if not completely done. That last 1% is probably the hardest. Might come in secondary, who knows...but this will probably end up sweeter than 1.010 unless you top up with something dryer.
 
So I racked this to tertiary today. The gravity was 1.012, which I'm pleased with (I thought it would be much higher after the addition of the 5.25 lbs of cherries in the secondary). Then I topped off with some show mead (same honey & yeast) to replace the volume loss from the cherries.

The color is absolutely amazing, and the aroma is awesome.

I'll bulk age this until the rest of the lees drops out, then rack again and age until crystal clear, and then maybe oak?
 
any news on this

haha. funny you should ask :D

I was going to respond in TapRoom.

I racked off the lees again a few days ago and am going to let it bulk age for awhile. I may split it off into three 1-gallon carboys and oak one, leave one alone, and then carb one gallon.

Aroma and color are absolutely amazing!
 
racked this onto an oak spiral today and will let it sit for ~6 weeks, and then bottle...

The color is absolutely amazing. Th hummingbirds thought it was feeding time :D

IMG_1936_small.jpg
 
I really want to hold off trying this until next summer. But yes, for a wuss like you, it's way to cold in November in Pinetop :D

Dude, I know I've been acclimated for the past 20 yrs, but don't forget I grew up in the north & have seen -58F on the thermometer not counting wind chill. Having said that, I don't think I have a winter jacket anymore.
 
Wow. This stuff is amazingly smooth for only 3 months in the bottle. It didn't carb up at all; I knew the yeasties had probably given there all.

This stuff will be amazing in a year....
 
Did you use a medium toast American oak spiral in this...and did you let it sit for 6 weeks? I know that's what you were thinking but wondered if it actually soaked for that long.
 
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