Hey BA'ers! I'm doing an experimental procedure, and I thought I'd seek some critique.
A friend of mine has some great tasting cherries, I put about 2.5# in a Belgian wheat beer. The smell coming from it is very appetizing. Anyway, he brought me many more cherries today and I want to make a Cherry "pseudo wine". I say Pseudo wine because I want to use some Belgian Ale yeast I have. So here's what I'm going to do:
1) Mash cherries up with some blunt kitchen instrument (potato masher?)
2) Drain cherries utilizing sanitized strainer and/or nylon mesh bag.
3) Heat juice to "almost" boiling, so as to sanitize (I'm really not concerned if I get some beasties, I would appreciate a little sourness).
4) Cool down in a cold water bath.
5) Add to a 3 gallon carboy, add yeast.
6) ferment for about 3-4 weeks, and bottle (aging time will depend on my O.G.).
Any thoughts?