Tart cherries vs sweet cherries in meads and ciders?

[MNHazmat]

Most of the recipes I run across call for tart or sour cherries. What would happen if one were to use the sweet cherry puree? Isn't all the fructose going to ferment out anyway? What is the flavor impact of using sweet vs tart?

[dannypo]

Tart cherries have a much stronger "cherry" flavor. Sweet cherries really don't taste like much once you remove the sugar.

[brewinhard]

I have had good results using a blend of the two different types at a 50/50 ratio or even 1/3 to 2/3(tart cherries) in my lambics. I feel that it can be tough to get a good cherry flavor AND aroma at the same time. Please let us know what you decide upon.

[MNHazmat]

I went with tart. I'll report back on the results in a few months!

[MNHazmat]

Ok update time! The cider turned out fantastic - the wife approves and has named it Sex Juice. It's a hack recipe that probably won't win any awards, but the ladies love the stuff.


3 gallons store bought cider
1 can Vintners Harvest cherry wine base
White Labs Sweet Mead yeast
Pectic enzyme
Yeast nutrient

Combine above and ferment 3 weeks @ 64 degrees, then rack to secondary for an additional week. Add potassium sorbate and pot meta to stabilize, then add 1 can organic frozen apple cherry juice concentrate (sorry don't recall the brand) + 1 more can apple juice concentrate. Allow to settle for an additional week, then rack to keg, chill and carbonate. I did find that allowing the keg to sit cold for a couple of weeks before applying the gas helped with the clarification. You can of course vary the amount of backsweetening to fit your tastes. The amounts I have listed bring it to pretty balanced mix leaning to the tart side.