Cherry Mead help

[Ronald C Gregory]

Just tasted a Cherry Mead I made for the first time.
this was the recipe for a 2 gallon batch
3 lbs of honey
3 lbs of frozen sweet cherry
45 organic raisins
1 US-05 yeast pack
2 tsp yeast nutrient
1 tsp yeast energizer

Everything worked out well enough and it has been bottled for a little over a month now. The small problem is it came out with a more tart bite than I wanted. my question is what can I do to cut that bite down but not lose it completely. being that its already bottled and the bite wasn't this strong at bottling I am not sure what to do.

thank you for any ideas or thoughts in advance

Ron

 

[RPh_Guy]

The acid is from the cherries.

What was the FG?

It's still (not carbonated), right?

 

[Ronald C Gregory]

The acid is from the cherries.

What was the FG?

It's still (not carbonated), right?

I did not carbonate it correct.
Final Gravity was just above 1.010.
I figured the acid was from the cherries just trying to see what i can do to soften it a bit. As it is its drinkable but you pucker a bit on it.

 

[bernardsmith]

You might try stabilizing and then sweetening it a little more. To do that I would bench test the amount of sugar (in syrup form) to add. The sweetness should counter balance the tartness.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Sweetness will balance the tart flavor.

Malolactic fermentation is an option to actually decrease tartness (which you would do before stabilizing).

 

[Ronald C Gregory]

So quick questions would it be easier and faster to move everything into my 3 gallon bucket to sweeten it or do it per bottle?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Probably easier per bottle if you have a syringe or pipette.

Try some samples sweetened to around 1.015 , 1.020 , and 1.025 (or higher) to see where you want it.

 

[Ronald C Gregory]

Probably easier per bottle if you have a syringe or pipette.

Try some samples sweetened to around 1.015 , 1.020 , and 1.025 (or higher) to see where you want it.

No I dont have one I'll take some time this weekend to try and stabilize and back sweeten it thanks for the help

 

[bernardsmith]

Sweetness will balance the tart flavor.

Malolactic fermentation is an option to actually decrease tartness (which you would do before stabilizing).

How much malic is in cherry? I understood that the main acid in cherry was ascorbic, with citric then tartaric. Malic is way down the list of available acids in that fruit, no? But that said, can you go through MLF and then use K-sorbate to help stabilize? Doesn't that create off flavors because of the production of geritol?

 

[bernardsmith]

So quick questions would it be easier and faster to move everything into my 3 gallon bucket to sweeten it or do it per bottle?

Two gallons? So you have - what -ten bottles? IMO it is easier to back sweeten by the batch but you then need to be cautious when pouring out the bottles. you really don't want to the wine to absorb too much oxygen so try to avoid splashing and pouring the bottles from a height: I would try to keep the mouth of the bottle submerged so you pour from underneath the surface of the wine and that would mean sanitizing the mouths of your bottles as you open them

 

[RPh_Guy]

Here's one reference:
"Malic acid is the chief organic acid but small amounts of citric, succinic, and lactic acids have also been observed."
https://www.extension.iastate.edu/wine/wines-cherries-and-soft-fruits

Another:
"The predominant organic acid in sweet cherry was malic acid, which is in agreement with Serrano et al. (2005)."
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814607007790

This one is conflicting:
"ascorbic acid was determined as the major organic acid (17 mg/100 g) in fully ripened sweet cherry fruit followed by citric acid, tartaric acid and malic acid."
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjADegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw2UOTIWeSg9khqt30Pjn8BX

KFL doesn't test ascorbic acid but seems to find a lot of fumaric acid and some malic acid.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjAKegQIABAB&usg=AOvVaw0FHFjpEdL61JxwUV7PsLPx
I found at least one reference that MLF will also transform fumaric acid, and a reference that fumaric acid tastes more sour than lactic acid. (I guess fumaric acid is a precursor to malic acid. Maybe their testing method picks up malic acid as fumaric acid.)

So in summary, yeah I think MLF would probably work, but might not, depending on the cherry cultivar.

The use of sulfite eliminates (or drastically reduces) the risk of off-flavors from LAB activity in the presence of sorbic acid. Same as any stabilized backsweetened wine/mead/cider that has wild LAB.

You can't pour from a bottle with the mouth submerged :/ ... unless you get creative with a bendy straw or something.
Sulfite should prevent oxidation though.

 

[Ronald C Gregory]

I made a simple syrup for 1 bottle and it worked well enough as I open the other bottles I will do the same thanks for the help everyone