[joe_meadmaker]

No question or anything.  Just a nice picture.  Last weekend I added a bunch of fruit to a 1/2 barrel batch of wildflower honey mead.  The final tally was about 6 lb of tart cherries, 6 lb of sweet cherries, and 4 lb of blackberries.  I'm thinking I might still put a couple more pounds of sweet cherries in it.  But either way, the batch is going to be racked and kegged in a few weeks.  Then about one more month after that to let things settle out before bottling some.

[dmtaylor]

Sounds yummy.  Sweet cherries are so bland though.  Can you get more tart cherries?  That's the only kind I'll use.  WITH pits if possible, pits add flavor too.

Cheers.

[joe_meadmaker]

That's interesting.  I've always had good results with sweet cherries.  This is my first batch using tart cherries.  Although I've read in multiple places that tart is much better to use.  I was finally able to find some at a local farm.  Although after having good results with sweet, and never using tart before, I didn't want to go "all in".  That's the reason for the 50/50 split.

The place where I got the tart cherries was probably out 3 or 4 weeks ago.  So I'll have to wait until next year to try again.

I never considered leaving the pits in.  Is there a definable flavor you get from them?

[dmtaylor]

I never considered leaving the pits in.  Is there a definable flavor you get from them?

Just a slightly increased cherry flavor from the pits.  A friend of mine just ran an experiment and the difference was definitely noticeable, not huge but noticeable.  It is optional but something to consider.  Kind of like winemakers who are concerned about "skins vs. no skins" in their wines for astringency.  In the case of cherries, theoretically the pits contain tiny amounts of cyanide, which tastes great but is also slightly poisonous.  But I'm sure you'd have to drink dozens of gallons of the stuff in one sitting to be hurt by it so it's not really a concern.

[joe_meadmaker]

Right on!  Thanks Dave.  I'll keep that in mind next time around.

[dannyjed]

The Berry Mead that I made over a year ago has blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, sweet and tart cherries. I really like what the tart cherries bring to the mix and helps cut through the sweetness and adds a nice layer of brightness. So, echoing what Dave said you might want to give it a try. I’ve used tart cherries with the pits in a sour beer and the pits definitely added a noticeable flavor of nutty, earthiness. I never thought of doing this in a Mead, but it might add another dimension.


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[joe_meadmaker]

@dannyjed - Thanks for the input.  I'm definitely excited to see what the tart cherries bring to the mix.  You mentioned them adding a brightness to the batch you made.  I often use lemon juice for this.  I definitely prefer sweet meads to dry, and normally add a little lemon juice to balance things out a bit.

[telder4336]

For a 15gal Mead the fruit in that amount is going to be really muted. You almost need to triple or quadruple the amount of fruit for it to make a real contribution.

[joe_meadmaker]

For a 15gal Mead the fruit in that amount is going to be really muted. You almost need to triple or quadruple the amount of fruit for it to make a real contribution.

While I can't speak for this particular mead until I have a chance to try it, that is not my experience.  The last batch of cherry mead I did had approximately 17 lb of sweet cherries for a 1/2 barrel.  The cherry flavor wasn't muted at all.  I actually added a note to my recipe to back the fruit off a little when doing it again.  When using a new fruit, which in the case of this new batch I have two, I usually shoot for around 1 lb fruit per gallon.  For me, that gives a good baseline.