Drinks/Brewing

[Bondbug 32]

Nota Bene: Liquid measures here are Imperial.

US gallon about ¾ of an Imp gallon.

Imp gallon is 4.6 litres approx.

 

Also note that nothing should be left to ferment in metal containers – use plastic or earthenware, or glass.

Metal pans OK for the initial boiling/mixing stage only

 

I used a galvanised bucket for my first attempt at elderberry wine. It stripped the galvanising.

 

Another note: Use plastic tube as siphon for bottling so as not to bottle sediment that may have snuck thro the filter. Don't just shake it up and pour it enthousiastically through a funnel.

 

1…Nearly the season for elderberries here, so here is an elderberry syrup, good for winter coughs. To drink, mix with water like normal syrups, cold and iced in summer, or using near-boiling water for a hot drink in winter.

Don't wear your best clothes - elderberry stain is a pig to remove. Best is to borrow a plastic pinny!!

 

- A pint of elderberries, stripped from stalk with a fork. Discard any green berries.

- Put in a pan, just cover with water, simmer gently for ½ hour, crushing occasionally with a wooden spoon. (It will take a lot of elbow grease to remove stain from spoon afterwards)

- Press thro a sieve.

- For every ½ pint of juice add ½ lb sugar.

- Bring to boil, stirring till sugar is dissolved and simmer until the liquid is syrupy.

- Bottle and store in dark cool place.

 

Mix with water as a drink or use as a dressing for ice cream.

 

2…A sort of sherry. Recipe from a friend in Scotland before most of you were born and Borg was a young lad.

 

Per Imperial gallon:

½ lb green grapes

8 pints water

3 lbs sugar

2 lbs raisins

½ oz yeast, sherry yeast for preference, but baker’s will do.

3 medium sized peeled potatoes

 

- Bring water to boil, stir in sugar to dissolve and allow to cool.

- Add grapes and raisins

- Dissolve yeast in a teacupful of luke-warm liquid from the pan.

- Slice potatoes

- Mix altogether and put into a plastic bucket or earthenware container. Large enough to leave, say, 4” clear above the liquid so that the fermentation does not get into the cloth covering.

- Cover with a clean cloth

- Stir gently every day for 21 days or until fermentation stops…..This is what the recipe says, but some authorities are wary of over enthousiastic stirring which may well temporarily slow fermentation. So go canny, one or two slow circuits of the spoon only.

- When fermentation stops, filter and bottle.

- Leave bottles uncorked a further 2 weeks ( drape a cloth over the bottles)

- Store in a dark, cool place.

- Then add a tablespoon of whisky to each bottle, and cork.

- Do not be in a hurry to drink. Several months at the least

 

3…A beer recipe

This is for 4 gallons of a fairly dark brew.

1 ¾ oz hops

2 oz yeast

2 lbs dark brown sugar

2 lbs malt extract (thick)

¾ lb black treacle

 

- Put the malt, treacle, sugar and water into a large pan We use a jam-pan (jelly-pan?).

- Put the hops into a cloth bag, tie the neck and hang it over the edge into the liquid

- Bring to the boil and simmer ½ hour

- Let it cool to not more than luke warm

- Mix about a pint of the liquid with the yeast, shake it up well.

- Remove the hops

- Turn the liquid into a plastic or earthenware container, and stir in the yeast liquid.

- Cover with a cloth

- A single gentle stir each day

- After 5 days you should note that the fermentation has slowed to a few isolated spots on the surface of the brew.

- Filter it thoroughly, and let it sit a day (covered)

- Add a ½ level teaspoon of sugar to each bottle. This is to ‘prime’ the beer so that you get a head when it is poured. Don’t overdo it or the bottle might blow its top. – Bottle. Don’t use screw-tops. Use what I call flip-top bottles (there’s a photo in a previous post) or wine bottles if you have a means of corking them.

 

Give it at least 3 weeks. Better 3 months.

 

Any questions will have to wait three weeks (holiday)

 

But I am sure that others will no doubt be able to advise/comment or whatever (like ‘struth NO, that’ll kill you!’)

 

I am not sure whether my insurance covers this…good luck.