Rainier cherries - better than tart cherries?

[Srimmey]

Rainier cherries will be coming into season at my local u-pick farm in the next 3 months.

I was thinking of pick 50-75 pounds to make into a cherry mead. How do these cherries do compared to the tart charries we buy at the store?

For reference, I’m going to juice 2/3rds of the cherries and use the juice in primary. The remaining 3rd will be added in secondary.

My hope is to get 5 gallons of must that’s at least 60% cherry juice (use max 2 gallons of water in a 5 gallon batch).

Also, can I add pectin enzymes at the same time as k-meta or will the k-meta kill the enzymes?

 

[Maylar]

Google says,
"Rainier cherries contain low acidity and have one of the highest sugar contents of sweet cherry varieties, ranging from 17 to 28 Brix. The fruits have a delicately floral, sweet flavor with notes of peaches and a caramel-like finish on the palate." Never heard of them used in mead, typically people use Montmorency which are tart. But it'd be worth a try I think.

I add the enzyme and k-meta at the same time in my ciders.

 

[Rodent]

We have 10 Rainier cherry trees in our small orchard here in SE Washington, and they produce consistent ultra sweet cherries in late June to early July depending on the year. They're quite juicy when ripe, and depending on your pressing method should yield a decent amount of juice

This said, they are nowhere near as juicy as a Montmorency 'pie cherry'

A lot has to do with the flesh type - a Rainier is juicy yet somewhat firm, thought not nearly as firm as a Bing sweet cherry. The flesh of a Monmorency is loose an liquidy, and quite unlike the firmer flesh of a sweet cherry. I suspect you'll get more juice per pound with a pie style cherry vs sweet cherry

 

[SimPilot]

Ive made a 6 gallon batch with local u-pick cherries....with semi-sweet mead, it has a bit of "cough syrup" taste. Not my fav.