Chocolate Cherry Melomel If it's good for ancient Druids, runnin' nekkid through the wuids, Drinkin' strange fermented fluids, it's good enough for me! - Pete Seeger Mission Semi-sweet and seductive three gallon recipe... this mead combines cherry, chocolate and mahleb. Ingredients 10-12 lbs clover honey (SG 1.132) 12.5 oz South Ridge Farms Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate Utah spring water for about 3.2 gallons 10g (2 pkgs) Lalvin RC212 dry yeast Yeast happiness nutrients 2 oz mahleb (when racked to secondary) 2 oz chocolate extract from Nielsen Massey's (post fermentation) 1 oz heavy toast French oak (after clearing) General Assembly Clean and prep the primary Scrub, rinse and then soak the plastic primary bucket/lid/airlock overnight using warm water and Five Star PBW®. Rinse the primary well, then use One Step® and some warm water in each, swish around and drain. Do not rinse again. Prepare the must Heat 1 gallon of water on stove to 115°F, and remove it from the heat. Add 11 lbs of honey to the heated water - mix well. Add the warm honey/juice mixture to the primary. Add cherry juice concentrate to the primary. Add enough chilled spring water to the primary to equal 3.2 gallons. Check the mixture’s temperature, install an airlock and allow it to cool below 80°F. AFTER the mixture is BELOW 80°F, take a SG reading and a temperature reading, and record these values with the date and time. Make the yeast happy