I brewed a hydromel a few months ago with the intent of adding something to it at some point, I just didn’t know at the time. The time came when some cherries my wife had bought started to show signs of going south, and I wasn’t going to waste them. So that is how this mead specifically was born.

Strawberry Cherry Melomel Ingredients:

Wildflower honey to a gravity of 1.063

0.75 lb / gal – Strawberries (Secondary)

1lb / Gal – Sweet Cherries (Secondary)

Red Star Montrachet Yeast

FG 1.000

ABV: 8.25%









3 Months:

After three months, the melomel to be was perfectly clear and fully attenuated down to 1.000 gravity. At this time I sliced and pitted a pound of sweet cherries and 3/4 pound of strawberries. These were added into secondary (however the mead was not stabilized), so they will ferment, but not so vigorously that the aromatics are driven off. If I had planned better, you can add the fruit in after the fermentation has finished rather than waiting for it to clear. This way you don’t need to wait for it to clear twice. It’s okay though, I’ve got time. Fermentation kicked back up once the fruit was added and then finished off.

5 Months:

After five months, the fruit dropped out to the bottom leaving a beautiful red mead. So it was time to bottle. I lost a significant amount of volume to the fruit but the end result was a nice light red/ rose mead with a crisp fruity note. It’s not overpowering and it resembles a smooth white wine with strawberry notes. The cherry didn’t really show up but did add some tannins to help the body of this hydromel. I have a full tasting report here.

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