1 Gallon Sour Cherry (October 3, 2010)

[jeskremer]

Before this recipe was begun, the cherries had been boiled/mashed in a pot, strained, and canned for future use. The recipe in the WineMaker's Recipe Handbook calls for 3# of sour cherries, but I had 4# in this batch of canned cherries.

Because there was an additional 1# of cherries with a bunch of sediment in the canning jar, I added 8 pints instead of 7 pints of water to the primary fermenter.

[jeskremer]

36 HOURS LATER (October 5 AM)
Added 1/2 packet of Pasteur Red yeast.

4 1/2 DAYS AFTER ADDING YEAST (October 9 PM)
SG 1.030. Racked and placed into the secondary.

[jeskremer]

FOUR MONTHS LATER (February 8, 2011)
Finally racked for the first time off of the lees. Not much flavor.

[jeskremer]

EIGHT MONTHS
Finally bottled. Very good cherry flavor, however, strong alcohol content. Use a bit less sugar next time.

[jeskremer]

Opened a bottle 8 months after bottling. Still a strong alcohol flavor. Let sit a bit longer and see how time will help.