Summertime is finally here!

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.