Lookkng for help with my recipe!

[Stevie G]

I have decided I want to try to make a "chocolate covered cherry" mead. Using cacao nibs, cherries and vanilla beans. Sweet ,with lots of flavor. Would it be best just to make a traditional mead and add all the ingredients in secondary? Or would primary be better? I've seen a lot of folks say that in primary you lose a lot of flavor and aroma. Thanks

 

[MightyMosin]

IMO, ingredients in primary and secondary give the most depth of character/flavor though there are instances where that isn't the case. Some ingredients, like strawberries, take a very large amount in primary to not get destroyed by fermentation and hold on better when used in secondary. I like whole blueberries in primary and carry them over with racking until the fruit is mostly white.

Roasted cacao nibs work better in secondary, unless you want to get some of a coffee like bitterness from them in which case you might use them in primary for that and then also in secondary for that chocolate flavor. My limited experience is that cacao will start to fade after a bit and you may need to overshoot that desired flavor if this isn't for close to immediate consumption.

I don't really have much experience with cherries and I've seen a lot of posts about them giving a cough syrup like taste. I believe that actual varieties of cherries used has a large impact on what you get in that regard.

 

[DBhomebrew]

I understand sweet cherries turn into cough syrup, tart cherries make good mead. I've had excellent and very easy results using tart cherry juice in lieu of fresh fruit. A quart bottle of juice replaces the same volume of water per gallon in primary. Supposedly equivalent to ~3lbs of fruit per gallon.

 

[Stevie G]

IMO, ingredients in primary and secondary give the most depth of character/flavor though there are instances where that isn't the case. Some ingredients, like strawberries, take a very large amount in primary to not get destroyed by fermentation and hold on better when used in secondary. I like whole blueberries in primary and carry them over with racking until the fruit is mostly white.

Roasted cacao nibs work better in secondary, unless you want to get some of a coffee like bitterness from them in which case you might use them in primary for that and then also in secondary for that chocolate flavor. My limited experience is that cacao will start to fade after a bit and you may need to overshoot that desired flavor if this isn't for close to immediate consumption.

I don't really have much experience with cherries and I've seen a lot of posts about them giving a cough syrup like taste. I believe that actual varieties of cherries used has a large impact on what you get in that regard.

Much appreciated