In article . net>, "Nick R" > wrote:
>I picked 5 gallons of bitter cherries, rinsed, and smashed them. I then
>added a little less than 6 quarts of boiling water. I am letting it sit for
>24 hours. Today I will strain the juice and add 2 pounds of sugar per
>gallon of juice. Then add some yeast and let it start fermenting. Do you
>see anything wrong with this setup? I didn't have any campden (sp) tablets
>to put in. A buddy reccomended them. Do you have any suggestions or advice
>for future batches? thanks much

Sour cherries have a lot of pectin in them, you might want to use some pectinase
(pectic acid). This is used to prevent clouding of the wine, which is caused
when the pectin jels somewhat.

While you *should* use camden tablets, unless you've put everything in
refrigeration and can get to a brew shop immediately, you're best with
proceeding with the yeast. Definitely use them in future batches, as this
knocks out any wild yeasts that may have been on the surface of the fruit you've
used.

Another item that you may want to consider, and I've seen others recommend, is
yeast nutrient. This is labelled as "Yeast Nutrient", and contains nutrients
that help the yeast to flourish. This is a good thing, because it helps to keep
things moving along.


Woods