Take the 2-minute tour ×  Last week I started a cherry mead and
discovered yesterday that it had turned to vinegar (and not even
nice-tasting cherry-flavoured vinegar - it smelled and tasted
awful, though the colour was great). I'm not sure how this
happened, so I'm posting what I did in the hopes that someone
can diagnose the problem before I try again.    1. Boil 4 litres
(I make mead in a 5L jar on my kitchen counter - my apartment is
not big enough for rows of carboys!) of water for 25 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to below boiling and add 1 kg (about 1L) of honey
(plain, Billy Bee honey).   3. Remove scum from surface until no
more scum forms.   4. Add 500 ml of washed, diced, pitted black
cherries (tied up in a cheesecloth) to the water and honey   5.
Add 750 ml of black cherry juice (bought at a nearby health-food
store), because I didn't have very many cherries left.   6.
Simmer for about 20 minutes.   7. Cool, add to fermentation jar,
pitch yeast (Lalvin champagne yeast).  An observation: this
batch ferm