Sour Cherries

I would check farmers' markets and the like. When I did my cherry sour, I just bought up a pound or two of cherries whenever I saw them at a good price and kept 'em in the freezer until I had about 12 lbs. Cellular integrity is not a huge issue when you're just going to let them sit in a fermenter for a year anyway.

 

http://naturesflavors.com/cherry-juice-concentrate-red-sour-tart-23019

then add a ~2# of sweet cherries and some unground mahlab

 

I've read that Russian River uses dried fruit.. if those are any more readily available than fresh

 

http://www.mi-cherries.com/can.htm

 

Check your local farmer's markets and check them early in the day. The season is short, at least in the mid-Atlantic states. You'll miss them if you blink. You'll also need to fight off the pie-makers. I bought a couple of pounds last year to use in a sour cherry porter. In the end, I made a standard porter and a couple of pies instead.

 

i just foraged 17 lbs of sour cherries off my neighbour's tree