Calling All Mead Experts.....

[InYerMouth]

I made a cherry mead approx 30 days ago. Still in Primary sitting on top of 10lbs tart cherries and gravity reading is at 1.000. This gves me approx 14.9% alcohol.

I am ready to move to a secondary and plan on putting 5 more lbs of cherries in secondary. I plan on back sweetening at end lil bit of honey at a time to sweeten up some. My question here is would it be ok to stabilize now and stop fermentation and allow the 5lbs cherries to back sweeten or should I wait until I bulk age and back sweeten with 1/2lb of honey or so??

I think my current alcohol content is fine so I dont care to create aymore, just wondering if there is a down side to backsweetening with tart cherries??

 

[MedsenFey]

You can do it either way. However, it is easier (and thus more reliable) for sorbate/sulfite to work on a nice clear mead, so don't be shocked if you use it and still find some fermentation of the added cherries.

Medsen

 

[InYerMouth]

Thanks for the info....Maybe I will just wait then and if it doesnt have the nice strong cherry flavor I want then I will add an ounce or so of extract. What is a good amount of honey to back sweeten with in order to obtain a semi sweet mead?

 

[mrgoodcheese]

With the alcohol at 14.9% you can add sulfite and sorbate now, and should not worry about the yeast taking off again, even with the addition of fruit.

As for how much honey to backsweeten, if you add more fruit for flavor I'd wait until after that is removed. Then get a new SG reading and taste, and backsweeten at that point. Basically backsweeten to your preferred taste. I've backsweetened many batches, initally to taste, but always while using my hydrometer. Now I usually backsweeten batches I've made before to a set SG.