With the warm weather finally arriving I’ve delved into the archives for a great summertime drink, this takes about a week to ferment so some forward planning is necessary.
Tepache is basically a light pineapple beer which can also be used as a mixer in cocktails or even mixed with beer. It’s relatively low alcohol content should also make it safer to operate the BBQ without as many accidents!
The recipe I use has the added bonus of producing some fermented pineapple chunks which you can add to pretty much anything if you fancy a particularly pineapple-y party.
To make this recipe you'll need the following:
-2 Pineapple
-500g Brown Sugar
-10 Cloves
-1 Cinnamon Stick
-Large seal-able container
-Empty bottles
-Yeast
-Sanitiser
1) Sanitise and rinse your container
2) Wash your pineapples and cut them into chunks leaving the skin on.
3) Heat 2 litres of water and dissolve the sugar into it.
4) After the water has cooled add it to the container with the pineapple chunks, cinnamon stick and about 10 cloves then top up with another 4 litres of water and make sure that it completely covers the pineapples.
5) Add a small packet of yeast (around a teaspoon) to your mixture. Whilst this isn't strictly necessary due to using the pineapple rind and the natural yeast that will include I find that I get better results by using it.
6) Now seal your container and leave it in a warm place for 3 days.
7) Once 3 days have passed you can open your container and will now want to separate the fluid for the pineapple chunks. To do this I use a cheese cloth but you don't need to get all the tiny pieces out so you should be OK using a colander. Put the chunks in the fridge or eat them straight away.
8) Now it's time to bottle so you'll need to sanitise and rinse the necessary amount of bottles. Add a teaspoon of brown sugar to each and them fill them to about an inch from the top. Once you've capped your bottles you'll now only need to leave them for another day until it's ready.
That's all's there is to it. I've seen people also add peaches, tamarind and raisins to their mixtures so it should be fairly safe to experiment with and make something to enjoy with your BBQ or mix with your favourite beer to give it a tropical twist.
]]>
I’m back and have just finished bottling the cider made in the last post (which can be found here).
While it isn’t fully ready to drink yet I couldn’t help myself and had a little sample. As for the results, well it’s better than I expected not the best cider ever but certainly enjoyable and very drinkable.
Planning
Along with keeping everything clean and tidy, planning is right up there with the most important things to do. So over the next few weeks and months I'm going to be making and documenting some progressively more complicated home brews.
Starting off with some basic kits and progressing to more complicated and truly unique creations.
Whats Next
Next up I intend to be making a rather simple lager with as little equipment as possible which I'll try to keep doing going forwards. So expect a lot of random household items, general cooking equipment and possible even power tools in the future.
]]>Over to the man himself...
For the past few years now I’ve been making can kits but now it seemed a good time to take the next steps and I’ve decided to bring you along for the ride.
Having recently moved house most of my brewing kit is either hiding in one of the many boxes yet to be unpacked or sitting at my parents’ house. So I’ve decided to make something simple which requires very little equipment or time - Turbo Cider.
As mentioned above this recipe doesn’t require very much equipment in fact you only need the following to make it:
Now I know what you’re thinking as I was wondering the same…
“Why put tea in it?”
Well I had a look and apparently it’s because the apples they use to make cider normally have more tannin in them than the ones they use to make juice. So if you want a dry cider then use the tea and if not then don’t.
This recipe can also be made with 4.5 litres of apple juice and still fit into a 1 gallon demijohn you’ll just need another 50g of sugar and some more bottles.
Once my cider is ready to drink I’ll post an update as to what it’s like and hopefully by that point I should be ready for my next adventure....
In the meantime if cider is your tipple, then have a look at our current cider selections from some more experienced but still independent producers.
https://order.beer/products/order-cider-online-delivered-to-your-door
]]>