New mead started - smoked cherry!

[Srimmey]

I did it, I made another mead! Pitched the yeast this afternoon, shot complete off the cuff, no recipe was followed.

14.5lb blackberry honey, smoke 3 hours with apple wood (stirred every 20 minutes).
96oz organic tart cherry juice, not from concentrate.

1.5 gallons black cherry juice, not from concentrate

10g d47 yeast
15g firmaid O
Gofirm
Water to 5 gallons
OG 1.120

 

[bonerjamz]

Looks like a cool experiment. Did you taste the honey after smoking it? You do a cool smoke?

 

[Srimmey]

Looks like a cool experiment. Did you taste the honey after smoking it? You do a cool smoke?

Oh yes, it is very smokey. I smoked it at 140 deg because I didn’t want the honey’s flavor profile to be ruined. I’m hoping a lot of that smoke comes through in the finished product.

I love peated scotches, I wanted to see if I could get close to that level of smoke. Also hoping to avoid some of the acrid flavors that can go along with it…

 

[kjdevault1]

Can’t wait to hear how this comes out! Not a mead, but I smoked some apples a bit ago and used them to make a smoky cider. Just transferred to secondary. It’s awesome so far!

 

[Srimmey]

Can’t wait to hear how this comes out! Not a mead, but I smoked some apples a bit ago and used them to make a smoky cider. Just transferred to secondary. It’s awesome so far!

I’ll let everyone know in about 6 more weeks!

I have it aging on some oak right now, come early august it will be time to rack it off and bottle. Will definitely be doing a tasting on bottling day.

 

[Srimmey]

Today was bottling day! 22 bottles + 1 healthy pour for tasting

It was also the first serious taste testing and it blew all expectations out of the water. Everyone who tried it enjoyed it, the closest thing that anyone had as a point of comparison was a port.

First look: perfectly clear, moderately deep red, a little lighter than a Pinot noir. Great legs on the swirl.

Nose: heavy on the smoke, some cherry comes through on the end.

Tasting: right away your mount is flooded with cherries and honey, backed up by tannin from the smoke. The mouthfeel is perfect - smooth and silky but not thick.

Finish: more cherries and a considerable acid bite at the end. It has a boldness and complexity that still need 6 months to a year before it matures.

Final thoughts: this is a fantastic mead, definitely one of my favorites that I made. I would benefit great from another year of aging in the bottle. I will commit to popping a bottle at Christmas and another for Easter. It will hit its prime next fall, hopefully I can keep from dipping below 18 bottles by then.

 

[MightyMosin]

Beautiful color and clarity!

 

[Srimmey]

Beautiful color and clarity!

Thank you!

 

[AllHorror]

Today was bottling day! 22 bottles + 1 healthy pour for tasting

It was also the first serious taste testing and it blew all expectations out of the water. Everyone who tried it enjoyed it, the closest thing that anyone had as a point of comparison was a port.

First look: perfectly clear, moderately deep red, a little lighter than a Pinot noir. Great legs on the swirl.

Nose: heavy on the smoke, some cherry comes through on the end.

Tasting: right away your mount is flooded with cherries and honey, backed up by tannin from the smoke. The mouthfeel is perfect - smooth and silky but not thick.

Finish: more cherries and a considerable acid bite at the end. It has a boldness and complexity that still need 6 months to a year before it matures.

Final thoughts: this is a fantastic mead, definitely one of my favorites that I made. I would benefit great from another year of aging in the bottle. I will commit to popping a bottle at Christmas and another for Easter. It will hit its prime next fall, hopefully I can keep from dipping below 18 bottles by then.
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I know this is old, but very curious to know how it was after aging. Were you able to hold off? Did it improve with age?
How was the cherry flavor with 96 oz in the 5 gallon batch? Was it enough?

I found this post when searching smoked cherry mead.

I don't have a smoker. My plan is to introduce smoke through Lapsang Souchong tea.

 

[Srimmey]

I know this is old, but very curious to know how it was after aging. Were you able to hold off? Did it improve with age?
How was the cherry flavor with 96 oz in the 5 gallon batch? Was it enough?

I found this post when searching smoked cherry mead.

I don't have a smoker. My plan is to introduce smoke through Lapsang Souchong tea.

Hi there,

I still have 7-8 bottles of this stashed away and it has improved a lot in (almost) 2 years.

The smoke has backed off a considerable amount and made way for the much more cherry. The acid and sugar levels are perfectly balanced, both are a bit more pronounced now with age.

If I was to do it all again, I would only smoke half the honey initially. It is still very smokey, even if smoke is no longer the dominant flavor. On the plus side, it makes THE BEST meat marinade I’ve ever tried. Soaking a steak or pork chop in this stuff for a few hours will make a fantastic dish.

I’m looking forward to cracking another bottle on the 2 years mark!

 

[Dan O]

On the plus side, it makes THE BEST meat marinade I’ve ever tried. Soaking a steak or pork chop in this stuff for a few hours will make a fantastic dish.

If you have the means to marinate under vacuum, (in either a bag or vacuum bowl) it opens the pores in the meat & really infuses the flavor much deeper....& it will do the same in 30 minutes as it would marinating for 3 hours.