Idea for Mead Recipe - Seeking Advice

[TriangleMead]

As I have said, I am an amateur mead maker, having only done so a few times.

I was interested in trying to make a cherry mead until I saw how several people online had tried it and it apparently came out like robitussin.

So I was considering making a cherry-cyser?

Thinking two large cans of cherry-purée, 5 gallons of apple juice and maybe 9 lbs of honey?

Does that sound like it would work? Taste decent? Gravity too high?

 

[loveofrose]

The trick is to use tart cherries rather than sweet cherries. Sweet cherries turn out like robitussin.

This is my recipe: https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/cherry-bomm/

It has been a favorite for both my family and brew club.

 

[Seamonkey84]

Also, try with juice if you don’t want to mess with fruit solids. You can make the process as simple or as in depth as you want it. I follow loveofrose’s protocol (aka BOMM) that he linked, or you can also set it and forget it, but will need time to age.
With fruit

With juice

 

[TriangleMead]

The trick is to use tart cherries rather than sweet cherries. Sweet cherries turn out like robitussin.

This is my recipe: https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/cherry-bomm/

It has been a favorite for both my family and brew club.

I’m certainly not opposed to working with sour cherries to avoid the robitussin effect, but would my idea have a chance of working? Do you think it might create a cherry-apple flavor that’s sweet?

 

[Maylar]

Your plan would work, but I suggest using tart (Montmorency) cherry juice rather than puree. Much less of a mess, and the purees are too sweet.

 

[bernardsmith]

The trick is to use tart cherries rather than sweet cherries. Sweet cherries turn out like robitussin.

This is my recipe: https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/cherry-bomm/

It has been a favorite for both my family and brew club.

I agree that using sweet cherries rather than tart cherries often results in a cough medicine flavor BUT I think that the use of sweet cherries is not itself the cause but a co-occurence. High alcohol, low acidity, and the presence of chlorophenols is what you will find in OTC cough medicines. Sweet cherries provide the lack of tartness. The candidate solution then is to aim for a reasonable ABV (say 12%), tart cherry wine with no chlorophenols. Cholorphenols (I think) are the result of contamination by Brett , and because of the introduction of chlorine in your water, but I believe that most wine yeasts are prolific producers of phenols