the best of

® ALTERNATIVE FERMENTATIONS

Please note all file contents are Copyright © 2021 Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This file is for the buyer’s personal use only. It’s unlawful to share or distribute this file to others in any way including e-mailing it, posting it online, or sharing printed copies with others. MAKING MEAD BY BRAD SMITH

ead, which is a fermented beverage made from honey, is one of the oldest alcoholic M beverages. Vessels found in China dating back to 7000 B.C. have organic compounds consistent with fermented honey and rice. Mead was the revered “nectar of the gods” in ancient Greece and the “drink of kings” throughout history, though it has faded to obscurity in modern times. For homebrewers, mead is a great addition to complement your other fermented offerings. Many of your guests may have never tasted a good quality mead or melomel (fruit mead), but almost everyone enjoys this sweet beverage. Using some modern methods, mead is also relatively easy and quick to make, and you can use equipment you already have on hand for homebrewing.

MODERN MEADMAKING TECHNIQUES When I started homebrewing back in 1987, the fermentation of mead was a very slow process, taking 12 to 18 Photo by Charles A. Parker/Images Plus Parker/Images A. Charles by Photo months for a mead to fully ferment and age. Honey has antibacterial it highlights the flavor of the honey country may have additional variants. properties and is poor in nutrients, varietal itself. In the US, a lot of honey production particularly nitrogen, resulting in a The variety of honey and strength is still done by small, independent very slow fermentation. you use will largely determine the beekeepers. The National Honey Over the last 10-15 years, however, flavor of the finished mead. Honey Board runs a honey locator at http:// meadmakers have made significant varieties are determined by the honey.com/honey-locator that can advancements in speeding the blossoms the bees feed and pollinate. help you find local honey in your area. fermentation and aging process For example, I enjoy the flavor of In addition, many commercial vendors through a combination of techniques orange blossom honey with fruit sell honey in bulk; 60-lb. (27-kg) and utilizing yeast nutrients. It is meads. Orange blossom honey is made pails typically offer the best price and now possible to complete a primary from bees that pollinate orange trees, volume for a serious meadmaker. fermentation in two weeks or less, and this variety also makes a nice show Once you have found a source even for a high-gravity mead. Some mead. Another honey varietal I enjoy for your honey, the next decision to low-gravity meads can be enjoyed in is Tupelo, which is made by bees that make is how sweet you want to make as little as a month, and even high- pollinate white (Ogeche) Tupelo trees your mead. The basic guidelines for gravity meads can be cleared and aged in the swamps of the Southeastern straight mead is based on the final within three months, though many US for two weeks every spring. Other gravity, which is mainly a function of will continue to improve with age for varieties such as clover or wildflower the original gravity and the alcohol years to come. can have more variation in flavor tolerance of the yeast used. Dry mead depending on where specifically the is generally below 1.010 finishing CREATING A MEAD RECIPE honey is harvested and the mix of gravity (FG), semi-sweet runs up to For the first time meadmaker, I flowers found near the beehives. about 1.020 FG, and sweet can run into recommend making a straight honey There are at least 40 widely available the 1.030s, though very sweet “sack” mead, also called a show mead, as honey varieties, and your local area or meads may be as sweet as 1.040.

1 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved RESIDUAL SWEETNESS FRUIT MEADS (MELOMELS) homebrewing. You will need to degas One critical point to understand when AND ADDING SPICES the mead twice a day during the early making any mead is the fermentability In order of preference, I always try to stages of fermentation, and this is of honey and the concept of residual work with fresh, ripe, whole fruits first much easier in a bucket than a carboy. sweetness. Honey is composed of a as they provide the biggest, freshest For melomels with fruits like variety of simple and complex sugar flavor impact. Fruit juices, particularly blackberries, raspberries, or currants, chains and will ferment to a dry pure fruit with no preservatives can it is often best to freeze the fruit first, finish much like grapes ferment into also work very well. I generally stay which will break down the cellular dry wine. The implications of this is away from purees only because they walls. I typically wash, dry, and then that, in general, yeast will continue are very difficult to separate from freeze the fruit on a cookie sheet. to ferment away almost 100% of the the mead resulting in quite a bit of After the fruit is frozen you can bag it sugars in your mead, leaving a very loss. I prefer to add all of my fruit in to prevent freezer burn if you are not dry beverage with a final gravity below the primary. using them immediately. When you’re 1.000. The dry mead won’t taste much As with straight honey meads, ready to make your mead, thaw the like sweet honey, as it has almost no fruit meads will generally ferment fruit. You will have much less waste remaining sugars. very dry finishing below 1.000 specific in the fermenter if you bag the fruit in If you want a semi-sweet or gravity (SG) unless you make the a large grain bag before adding it, just sweet finish to your mead you need effort to introduce residual sweetness. as you would for dry hopping. Bagging to use one of two methods. The first I personally prefer to make a high- the fruit also makes it very easy to is simply starting with an original gravity mead and ferment it to its remove after a few weeks. gravity high enough to exceed the alcohol tolerance. Keep in mind that When mixing the mead to create alcohol tolerance of the yeast. In this many big “fruit bomb” meads require your must, the critical point is to hit case, the yeast will ferment until it additional residual sweetness to offset your target original gravity. With reaches its alcohol tolerance level and the acidity and tannins from the software or an online mead calculator then stop and leave residual sweetness fruit and may therefore need an even you can calculate the amount of honey because the yeast itself can’t tolerate higher finishing gravity than sweet and water needed. I generally add the the high alcohol environment. Wine meads. Many of my big fruit meads bulk of the honey and all the water and yeasts used in mead generally have a finish in the 1.030s and even 1.040s if then slowly add the remaining honey high tolerance of 15% ABV or more, so using acidic fruits. until I reach my target gravity. When this means starting with gravity that If you are making a mead with working with real fruit you can crush may be 1.100–1.150 to end up with spices, it is often best to make the a bit of fruit to get juice and measure meads in the 0.996-1.040 final gravity mead and then create an infusion or the gravity of the fruit juice to get an range. tea from spices and add them to taste accurate number before mixing it. The other option you have to make to get the best balance of flavor. Keep in mind when you mix fruit in a semi-sweet or sweet mead is back For yeast, my go-to mead strain is with the mead it will often come in a sweetening. This method involves Lalvin 71B Narbonne dry wine yeast, bit below your predicted gravity until adding both sulfites and sorbates to which many commercial meadmakers the fruit dissolves into the must. inhibit fermentation after your mead use exclusively for all of their meads. When measuring high gravity is complete and then adding additional This yeast performs particularly well meads: Always use a hydrometer honey or sweeteners to bring it up to in fruit meads in part because it can instead of a refractometer to measure your target final gravity. Many mead process some malic acids common the gravity. Refractometer equations purists avoid this method as the fresh in fruit, and also it has a predictable used to adjust for fermenting beer honey added does not have the same attenuation of just over 15% which is or wine simply do not work well and flavor and finish as residual fermented important for reaching a target final you will get an inaccurate reading. honey added in the primary. gravity and residual sweetness level A hydrometer, as long as it has a For large fruit meads, I’ve found critical for these fruit meads. scale high enough for your starting that fruits high in acidity and tannins gravity, will work well through- such as raspberries, blackberries, tart PREPARATION OF out fermentation. cherries, red and black currants, and INGREDIENTS cranberries work best as they provide Many older meadmaking books and YEAST PREPARATION the acidic/tannic structure to offset articles recommend heating your Because most meads have a very high residual sweetness in the honey. honey and fruit (if making a fruit starting gravity, yeast preparation is Variants like loganberry, elderberry, mead), or heating the must. Today, the very important. If you try pitching and boysenberry also work well. vast majority of meadmakers mix the dried yeast directly into a high gravity Unfortunately, many sweet and stone honey and water at room temperature mead you can shock the yeast due to fruits like peaches, strawberries, before pitching yeast. an effect called osmotic shock. The plums, etc... tend to ferment away I recommend using a large plastic sugar will pass directly into the cell leaving very little fruit flavor in the fermenting bucket for primary before the yeast is in a state to regulate finished mead. fermentation, just as you would for its cell wall resulting in a strong shock

2 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved that may even kill the yeast cell. To When you prepare the mead must, recommend using an oversize 8-10 prevent this, dried yeast should be the pH should be in roughly the 3.6- gal (30-40 L) bucket, even if you are added to warm water at about 104 °F 4.2 range. The pH of the must will making a 5-gallon (19-L) batch. (40 °C) with Go-Ferm yeast nutrient often drop once fermentation enters There is some controversy over at the manufacturer’s recommended an active phase. If the pH drops whether it is good to add additional dosing rate of 1.25 grams of Go-Ferm below 3.4 it can start to affect the oxygen by splashing at this point. per gram of yeast. Next, slowly bring speed of fermentation, and if your pH Some meadmakers say that the the temperature of the mixture down falls below 3.0 it can actually inhibit additional oxygen will be metabolized to the temperature of your mead must fermentation and also stress your by the yeast to promote fermentation. by adding small quantities of must, yeast. As a result, monitor the pH of The counterpoint is that fruits, in making sure you don’t change the the must with a pH meter once a day particular, are prone to oxidation temperature of the must more than during early fermentation to make so adding free oxygen may not be 5-10 degrees °F (5 degrees °C) at a time. sure it stays above 3.4. a good idea after fermentation has This gives the yeast the nutrients Monitoring pH is particularly progressed. While I don’t have and time needed to adjust to the high important if you are using a large the final answer, I generally avoid gravity must before pitching. portion of acidic or tannic fruits. Fruits splashing too much when working If you are using liquid yeast, such as black currants and cranberries with large quantities of fruit and focus osmotic shock is much less of an issue, have a pH as low as 2.4 and can on degassing instead. but I do recommend using a yeast significantly lower the pH of the must, Most sources recommend you con- 2 starter as high gravity musts certainly inhibiting fermentation. Straight tinue degassing until about ⁄3 of the benefit from a high yeast cell count honey meads are less likely to reach sugar has fermented away. This means 2 and active yeast culture. very low pH levels, but I still monitor that when you get ⁄3 of the way to them just to be sure. your expected final gravity you stop AERATION OF THE MUST If your pH drops too low, you will degassing, though I will often degas Proper aeration of the must when need an alkaline additive to raise one final time after fermentation is pitching is critical for a mead. Yeast the pH back above 3.4. My preferred entirely complete because I prefer still will quickly absorb the oxygen during additive is potassium bicarbonate, meads (no spritz). the early growth stage, result-ing which comes in a powdered form. Since in a robust fermentation. There are it is difficult to predict the buffering STAGGERED two methods for aerating your wort: capacity of the must, the best approach YEAST NUTRIENTS Vigorous stirring, and direct oxygen is to add a little at a time. I generally The addition of staggered yeast 1 injection. mix in ⁄2- to 1-tsp. increments (into nutrients — small nutrient additions Vigorous stirring is usually done a 5-gallon/19-L batch) and then wait added during fermentation — literally with a wine-whip (degasser) device an hour or two for the chemistry to revolutionized meadmaking over the or paint stirrer driven by an electric settle before measuring and adding last 15 years by allowing meadmakers drill, which you can find at most more if needed. to make mead in months instead of well-stocked homebrew and home In the later stages of fermentation years. A variety of nutrients have been winemaking suppliers. This is the the pH will often slowly rise, and at that used in that time, though most provide same setup you will use over the next point you will not need any additional critical nitrogen needed to promote a week or so to degas the must while it additives and can stop monitoring the rapid fermentation of the honey. is fermenting. Stir the must at high pH daily. The current “state of the art” speed with the wine-whip near the nutrient schedule is called TONSA-2 surface to get as much oxygen as DEGASSING THE MUST (Tailored Organic Staggered Nutrient possible into the must, and continue DURING FERMENTATION Addition) and uses Fermaid O, an for at least one or two minutes. As the mead ferments it builds up a lot organic yeast nutrient, along with the If you have access to pure oxygen of carbon dioxide. Much of the carbon Go-Ferm addition discussed earlier in from an oxygen tank or small welding dioxide will end up in solution within the section on hydrating yeast. Go- tank (make sure it is food-grade), then the must as carbonic acid, which Ferm is added when hydrating the direct injection is the best option. I can actually inhibit fermentation. yeast, and then Fermaid O is added in use an aeration wand for about two To promote rapid fermentation, equal size increments at 24, 48, and minutes with pure oxygen for a typical meadmakers now “degas” the must 72 hours after pitching, and lastly at 2 5-gallon (19-L) batch of mead. twice a day during active fermentation. either one week or when the ⁄3 sugar White Labs also recommends a To degas the must, I use a simple break is complete. In my experience, second injection of oxygen at the 12- wine whip and electric drill as this combination can result in a hour point for high-gravity musts discussed earlier. Vigorous degassing complete fermentation even for a high (above 1.080 SG). running a cordless drill at high speed gravity mead in as little as two weeks.

to get all of the CO2 out of solution I covered the Go-Ferm addition MONITORING THE can result in a huge amount of foam for hydrating yeast earlier, but the pH DURING FERMENTATION on the top of bucket, which is why I Fermaid O amount is governed by the

3 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved nitrogen requirements of the yeast, to three weeks. I’ve done a few very original gravity of the must and batch high-gravity meads that have taken size. The formula for grams of Fermaid a bit longer, and it is not a bad idea FAST MEAD (5 gallons/19 L) O is: to let the mead sit for a month or OG = 1.126 FG = 1.035 so before adding clarifying agents ABV = 13.9% Fermaid O = BS x YR x Brix / 5 and sulfites. When working with fruit and This is a simple and straightforward BS = Batch size in gallons certain yeast strains like 71B Narbonne, mead recipe that should have your YR = Yeast requirements. This is 0.75 I generally try to separate the fruit fermentation finished within a few for low nitrogen, 0.90 for medium, and and primary yeast from the mead as weeks. 1.25 for high nitrogen strains. I get close to completion of primary fermentation. Depending on how INGREDIENTS For practical purposes Brix and Plato much sediment accumulates, I may 18 lbs. (8.2 kg) Orange blossom are the same, so for example a big rack it again before attempting to clear honey 1.140 SG show mead would be 32.2 it. While a bucket works well for active 2 packages Lalvin 71B-1122 Brix/Plato. My go-to yeast, Lalvin 71B/ fermentation, I recommend racking Narbonne yeast Narbonne, is a low-nutrient strain to a closed glass or plastic carboy with 12.5 g Go-Ferm (when hydrating) and I generally make 5 gallons (19 L) an airlock for aging as many meads 6.2 g Fermaid-K (at 24 hours) of mead at a time. So, running the are still subject to oxidation. 6.2 g Fermaid-K (at 48 hours) numbers I have, the equation is: The mead will not clear until 6.2 g Fermaid-K (at 72 hours) 1 fermentation is 100% complete. My 6.2 g Fermaid-K (at 7 days or the ⁄3 left sugar break) 5 gal. x 0.75 x 32.2 / 5 = 24.1 grams personal choice for clearing a mead 1 package Super Kleer KC Finings is Super Kleer KC Finings, which is a 0.3 tsp. potassium metabisulfite So my total Fermaid O requirement two-part clearing agent consisting would be 24.1 grams, which I would of kieselsol and chitosan. If you have STEP BY STEP then divide into four additions of 6 access to refrigeration, you can cold Add honey to 3 gallons (11 L) of grams each. crash your mead, which will certainly room temperature water in a large For big fruit meads, only half the clear it more quickly. (8- to 10-gallon/30- to 37-L) amount of nutrient is often needed Once I’m certain my mead is fermenter. Stir the honey and water because the fruit itself may have a 100% fermented, I also add a small mixture well and top up with enough 1 1 substantial contribution of nutrients. quantity ( ⁄8 to ⁄4 tsp.) of potassium water to make 4.7 gallons (18 L), For more information on this method, metabisulfite (sulfite), which is a saving a liter of space for your yeast. Google “TONSA 2 Mead” and you preservative. These sulfites help to Prepare the yeast by adding it can find the original source article stabilize the mead and also aid in to a liter (0.2 gal.) of warm water as well as online calculators to assist preventing oxidation during aging. at about 104 °F (40 °C). Add 1.25 in determining your of nutrients You can also add potassium sorbate if grams of Go-Ferm per gram of yeast. addition requirements. you plan to back sweeten your mead Slowly bring the temperature of the The other popular nutrient with additional honey or sugars. mixture down to the temperature schedule for mead is called TiNOSA After you’ve added your clarity of your mead must by adding (Tailored Inorganic Staggered Nutrient agents and sulfites, it mainly is a small quantities of must. When the temperature is acclimated, add the Additions). It follows a similar schedule waiting game while the mead ages yeast slurry to the fermenter and stir but uses Fermaid K in the place of and clears. Your mead, which may vigorously. Fermaid O, as Fermaid K is generally taste something like rocket fuel Monitor your pH throughout easier to find and less expensive than immediately after fermentation, will fermentation. If the pH drops below Fermaid O. Finally there are several mellow significantly over time. Most 3.4 add an alkaline additive, such older nutrient schedules that use meads I’ve made are quite drinkable as potassium bicarbonate, to raise either Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) within 90 days, though a few with very the pH back above 3.4. Degas the or a combination of DAP and Fermaid tannic/acidic fruits took a bit longer to must during fermentation using a 2 O. These are still in wide use including age out. I generally keg my mead at low wine whip regularly until about ⁄3 of by some commercial meadmakers and pressure without carbonation, though the sugar has fermented away. Add you can find details for either using a you can certainly bottle it, or even your fermentation nutrients at the quick web search. carbonate it if desired. intervals indicated in the ingredients list. Following primary fermentation, CLEARING AND Brad Smith is the author of BeerSmith add potassium metabisulfite, and FINISHING YOUR MEAD homebrewing software and host of fine your mead with Super Kleer. If you’ve handled the yeast nutrients the BeerSmith podcast on iTunes. He When your mead is fined to your and degassing properly to this point, has nearly three decades of experience satisfaction, you can bottle or keg, your mead should usually ferment brewing beer and mead at home. carbonating if you choose. to completion within the first two

4 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved MAKING HARD CIDER BY ANNE WHYTE

ou might remember a time when a jug of cider that sat around in the fridge too long Y started to get fizzy. When you removed the cap there was a little spurt of pressure released and, sadly, the cider was deemed too old and sent down the drain. If you only knew then what you know now; that fizzy cider was starting to ferment. With an airlock and a little patience, you might have had your first taste of hard cider. Fast-forward and one of the hottest “new” beverages to create is hard cider. Craft beer has gotten most of the press in the last decade, but lots of homebrewers are looking for the next new thing. Hard cider can be made using the same equipment and brewing techniques as homebrewing and can deliver the same thrill of designing a drink to be exactly what you want. Hard cider is also probably the easiest alcoholic beverage to ferment for people who are gluten intolerant. If you are a homebrewer then you already own all the equipment you need. Basic homebrewing techniques such as sanitizing, siphoning, using a hydrometer, etc. are exactly the same for beer or cider. In this story we will explore how to make sweet cider into hard cider that you’ll be proud to share with your friends and family.

THE CIDER In Vermont, where I live, we are lucky to have many small orchards that Plus Parker/Images A. Charles by Photo press cider from early September into cider, or you can heat the cider and you are using unpasteurized cider November. The best ciders are the kill the yeast yourself, however this you can add sulfite in the form of ones that have been treated the least. might also have the side effect of Campden tablets, which will neuter Most orchards will wash the apples changing the flavor and aroma of the the yeast. If it can’t reproduce, it can’t and some orchards will also pasteurize cider. Most pasteurization techniques ferment. Sulfite will not kill yeast and the cider before it is sold to eliminate used for commercial cider are “high it doesn’t protect your cider from any pathogens that could make you temperature, short time” and the acetobacter/vinegar bacteria. Typically sick. Cider producers pasteurize cider effect on flavor and aroma is far less the Campden tablets are dosed 1 per that is sold to the general public as dramatic than batch pasteurization. gallon (3.8 L). I crush them between raw cider has been linked with E. coli If the cider has been pasteurized two spoons, add them to the cider and deaths. then there will be no wild yeast and wait 24 to 36 hours before pitching If you don’t want wild yeast to be no need to add sulfites to the cider the yeast to let the sulfite do its thing. a part of the fermentation you have to “knock them out,” nor will there If the cider is very cold, as it can be two choices: You can use pasteurized be sorbates to slow them down. If fresh from the press, I wait even

5 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved longer than 36 hours to allow the made from a blend of all-purpose and sugar) cider to warm up to room temperature culinary apples, which will make a Amére de Berthecourt (~60 °F/15 °C) before adding my yeast, totally acceptable sweet or hard cider, Ashton Bitter nutrients, sugar, etc. but it won’t be very complex. Unlike Beden As for the cider itself, this is the the Macintosh, Granny Smith, and Binet Rouge main ingredient. As a cidermaker I Empire varieties you might find in the Brairtot Fuji want some tartness in the final cider grocery store produce section, true Brown Snout to add more flavor and to balance the “cider” apples are not generally good Bulmer’s Norman cider. Antique cider apples are not eating apples. While supermarket Chisel Jersey easy to find but some orchards will varieties tend to be in the 12–14 °Brix Dabinett have a special hard cider pressing. (1.048–1.057 SG) range, cider varieties Ellis Bitter Varieties that are true cider apples are will often reach 15 °Brix (1.061 SG) Frequin Rouge fairly inedible. They are so tart that and others can get as high as 20 °Brix Medaille d’Or you would probably spit them out (1.083 SG). Cider varieties also have Michelin if you ate them raw. The higher the different acid and tannin levels than Somerset Redstreak percentage of tart apples, the more all-purpose eating apples. What Stembridge Jersey that character will come through in apples you choose to use for making Yarlington Mill the final product. If you can’t find any cider are your call, however, consider of the old cider varieties, some crab this advice from Oscar Mendelsohn Bittersharp (high tannins and acid) apples will do just fine. We sponsor a in his book The Earnest Drinker: A Fox Whelp crush at Vermont Homebrew Supply Short and Simple Account of Alcoholic Herefordshire Redstreak every year where the apples and the Beverages for Curious Drinkers: “Cider Kingston Black proportions of sweet to tart varieties of a sort can be made from any variety Porter’s Perfection varies. For more on cider apple of apple juice, but for a fine beverage Stoke Red varieties, read on. it is essential to use ‘vintage’ Tremlett’s Bitter If you don’t have access to fresh apples, which are distinguished by a Yarlington Mill cider you can also use a cider from the chemical composition which make grocery store if it hasn’t been treated them inferior or even unusable for Cidermakers also often use other with sorbates, which should be listed general purposes. Cider varieties apple varieties that are sometimes as on the label. Pasteurized cider is of apples are broadly distinguished good for eating or cooking as they are fine but sorbate is used to inhibit by comparatively high acidity and for fermenting. Here are a few to try: any naturally occuring yeast (and tannin. They are therefore somewhat Baldwin any that you add too) so that grocery sour and bitterish.” Black Gilliflower stores don’t have to take back fizzy There are four generally-accepted Elstar returns. Store cider may not have the categories of cider apples: Sweets, Gala complexity of a blend from an orchard sharps, bittersweets and bittersharps. Golden Delicious but it will make a fine hard cider. Here are some suggestions of cider Granny Smith apple varieties to look for in your area: Hidden Rose CIDER APPLE VARIETIES Jonagold If apple cider is something you Sweet (high sugar levels, which Macintosh always just bought at the grocery encourages fermentation and raises Newtown Pippen store when summer turns to fall, alcohol levels. Low tannins and Pomme Gris you may have never thought much acidity.) Wickson (a crab apple) about the varieties of apples that Ashmead’s Kernel are used to make it. Variety makes Esopus Spitzenberg YEAST a big difference when it comes to Golden Russet Once you have selected your cider the making cider, however — especially Gravenstein next decision is which yeast to use. hard cider. Just as a brewer decides Sweet Alford Much as in beer brewing there are which grains are needed to make a Sweet Coppin commercially manufactured liquid specific beer style, a cidermaker must Northern Spy and dry yeast strains. You can use beer, also choose his or her apples wisely. Taylor’s Sweet wine or mead yeasts for cider, but you And with more than 7,500 different should always make sure the yeast you varieties of apples grown around the Sharp (high in acidity, tend to be choose likes the temperature of your world, 2,500 varieties in the US alone low in sugar and tannins.) homebrewery and that it can ferment (which are grown in all 50 states), Bellflower to the alcohol content you desire. I there are many apple choices, indeed. Bramley’s Seedling don’t go out of my way to oxygenate Most of the sweet (non-fer- Brown’s Apple my cider; it’s already brown because mented) ciders you can get at the it has been exposed to oxygen during grocery store or local farm stand are Bittersweet (high in both tannins pressing. I do, however, make sure

6 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved Photo by Shutterstock.com by Photo to pitch enough yeast and, as stated lager brewer’s yeast. Just make sure what you’re going to get for an alcohol before, make sure the yeast can do your pitching rate is sufficient. I have content. Unlike beer, cider will fully what I want it to do. had some lovely ciders brewed with ferment out so the potential alcohol If you can get an orchard or Belgian yeasts. Without the malt and scale is very useful. Most of the time producer to sell you some raw cider you hops getting in the way, the flavor and my ciders test out between 5 to 6.5% might want to try a “spontaneous” aroma of the yeast can really shine. alcohol, but it can vary widely and I fermentation. Most apples will have For ciders over 10% ABV I prefer wouldn’t want to assume anything a blend of yeasts on the skins. You to use a wine or mead yeast as they just from how sweet it tastes. Once I won’t know how many strains are can tolerate higher gravities. I’ve also know the starting gravity I can then there or what it will taste like, and you used liquid cider yeasts to enhance decide if I want to fortify the cider to won’t know how much alcohol they the fruitiness of the cider. German get more alcohol. Not only will adding can ferment or what temperatures white wine yeasts will give a very more sugar increase the alcohol they like. For that reason, I don’t try aromatic nose, while Champagne content, it can influence the color, to make cider with wild yeasts myself. yeast is the most commonly used wine flavor and aroma of your cider. Darker, I keep the alcohol content under 10% yeast for cidermaking. Champagne more caramelized sugars are great to and the temperature over 60 °F (15 yeast has the ability to ferment a try. I have used Belgian amber candi °C). I’ve enjoyed the ciders I’ve made higher alcohol cider, and tolerance to sugar, dark and light brown sugars this way and lots of other cidermakers cooler temperatures make it work in like raw, Turbinado and Demerara. A agree. It can be a little stressful (that’s a variety of recipes and temperature bit of molasses will darken the color my inner homebrewer talking) but if conditions. Champagne yeast is also and add another layer of complexity you’ve dabbled in Brettanomyces and used for its ability to attenuate. The to a New England-style cider. And sour beers, and if you have the right final gravity of cider can be as low honey has been my go-to sugar for cider, go for it. One time I waited a as 0.995. If my cider is already going cidermaking for many years. It will week for the fermentation to start and to be tart due to the apple blend, completely ferment out so it will I couldn’t take anymore — I pitched a then Champagne yeast might be not add honey sweetness, and I like wine yeast and got the fermentation too tart and dry for you. In a cider the smooth mouthfeel. I have used a going. Other cidermakers with the with no cider-specific apples, then lavender honey that added a delicate same blend encountered the same champagne yeast will give you the floral nose. — expensive but worth it! thing, so be prepared to pitch a crispest, driest cider. You can dissolve the sugar in a small commercial strain if you try a wild amount of cider then pour it back fermentation and feel that it is taking ADJUNCTS into the fermenter. If you aren’t sure too long. You can always try a wild Once you have your cider you will want how dense the sugar is then you can fermentation again next year. to know its sugar density. When you check the gravity then add more if you If your cider is going to be under take a hydrometer reading you can need it. 10% ABV you can also pitch any ale or use the potential alcohol scale to see Other adjuncts could include

7 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved spices, fruits and berries, oak chips/ more like winemaking. I might give cleared as well as the other ciders we cubes, flowers, ginger . . . there a 12% cider a year in secondary and made that year. Oxygen in the sweet really is no limit. Just remember that enjoy it for the next 3–4 years. But cider is what makes it brown, but in the cider is going to be clean, crisp like all homebrews, trust your palate the secondary the cider will settle out and dry. Whatever you add, do so and if you aren’t sure it is ready wait and lighten to a pale yellow that can judiciously. You can’t take it out but a bit longer. be totally transparent. If there is too you can always add more. Since cider will tie up a secondary much headspace/oxygen, however, When I want to oak a cider I have for a fair bit of time, you might want then it may go back to an amber tint had the best results from using a to invest in a cider-only carboy that and develop nutty/oxidized aromas. small amount in the secondary. I have isn’t needed for your beer brewing. boiled and steamed the chips and just Ciders that don’t get enough time to BOTTLING added them to the carboy. If you don’t fully sediment out can have a deep It’s your choice whether to bottle your want to risk too much oak exposure layer of sediment in the bottle. That cider still or sparkling. A still cider then plan on thieving out a sample sediment can be fluffy and come can be bottled in any kind of beer or and be prepared to rack into another up off the bottom when you open a wine bottle. If you choose to carboy. A scale is very helpful when carbonated cider. carbonate your cider, however, only you are recording adjunct additions. use thicker-walled Champagne- Lately I have been soaking the oak POST FERMENTATION FUN style bottles, and be sure that if your chips in a spiced rum during the In addition to the adjuncts that you cider has been back sweetened that fermentation, then adding them to can add in secondary, you can still you don’t overcarbonate and create the secondary. tweak your cider. One of the more bottle bombs by adding too much common adjustments is to sweeten sugar. And of course you can keg your OTHER ADDITIONS your cider. If the cider is too tart, back- cider too. I prefer a fairly light level of I always add 2–3 tsp. of a yeast sweetening can help to balance things carbonation. Since I also use liter and nutrient to a 5-gallon (19-L) batch of out. If you are trying to duplicate a half-liter bottles I prime 5 gallons (19 cider if the alcohol content is going to commercially-made cider you can de- L) with 1⁄3–1⁄2 cup of dextrose/corn be over 10%. It wouldn’t hurt to do it gas and take a hydrometer reading of sugar. You can also use honey or a for a lighter cider either. With a tart a sample to see how sweet it is, then darker sugar to prime. I have also had cider you won’t need to increase the adjust your cider to match. Of course, success using raisins to prime ciders. acidity, but you might have to bump once you have added sorbate you One or two per bottle did a great job of it up with a store-bought cider. I won’t be able to carbonate the cider lightly carbonating a spontaneously- have added dried tart cherries and unless you can force carbonate in a fermented cider. I have thought about cranberries to cider that needs acidity keg. trying this with dried cranberries to good effect. After fermentation is Blending ciders is also an option. or cherries; I might use two or three over you can add a little acid blend If you have done more than one cider small ones per pint bottle or just one (much like a meadmaker), but try to recipe, then perhaps a third version is or two if they seemed like very large let the cider clear and condition a bit possible from a blend. raisins. before you start making adjustments. But wait, there’s more! Here in the Pectic enzyme can help you get OTHER CONSIDERATIONS North Country winters can be dark your cider to be clear. Apples naturally Just like beer, you need to be sure and very cold. If you find yourself with contain high levels of pectins that can your equipment is in good shape a clear, 12% cider on a -20 °F (-29 °C) haze your cider. If it doesn’t matter to and well sanitized. The fermenter February night, try making applejack. you if it clears or not, then it’s totally should have enough headspace to Siphon some hard cider into a plastic optional. Using sweet cider to top off accommodate a little foam, but many bucket, cover and set it out to freeze can add a haze so do this only if you ciders will not head up like a beer so for a day or so until it forms a layer don’t mind a cloudy cider. you can get away with using a slightly of ice on the top, bottom and sides. smaller fermenter. Since cider will Using the black knob of a racking TIMELINE likely be in secondary longer than cane, poke it through the ice, siphon The time it takes to ferment and most beers, it is critical that there and bottle. I have taken 12% ciders and secondary your cider has a lot to do is only an inch or two of headspace after freezing they test out at just over with the alcohol content and the to prevent oxidation. I always try to 20%. Not hot like a distilled brandy, tartness of your cider. A 6% ABV cider make an extra quart or two of cider but nice to have on a cold night. could take two to three weeks to fully in the fermenter so when I rack into ferment out and another two to four my carboy I can always fill it right Anne Whyte is the owner of Vermont months to clarify. Carbonation time up. When you have extra headspace Homebrew Supply in Burlington, is about the same as it is for beer, and no cider to top up, a white wine Vermont. She is a longtime home- and your cider should be crisp and works very well in a pinch. We used brewer and cidermaker, having won tasty for a year or two. Once you start sweet cider to top up a fermenter one numerous medals for both. adding sugar the process is much year and that batch of cider never

8 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved HARD CIDER RECIPES some water and add it to the cider ½ cup of dextrose in some water RED FLANNEL CIDER before bottling. for 5 gallons (19 L) of carbonated (5 gallons/19 L) cider. A typical fermentation can last OG = 1.095 FG = 0.998 1 gallon (3.8-L) option: Scale down three to six weeks depending on the ABV = ~12% to 1.25 gallons of fresh apple cider, temperature and another two to four 1 lb. (0.45 kg) sugar (combination months to clarify. A classic New England barrel-style hard listed in ingredients above), 0.5 tsp. cider. each of yeast nutrient and pectic 1 gallon (3.8-L) option: Scale down enzyme, 1 package of dry wine yeast to 1.25 gallons (4.7 L) of fresh apple INGREDIENTS or Wyeast 4767 (Port Wine™) yeast, cider, 4–5 oz. (113–141 oz.) sugar or 5.5 gallons (20 L) of fresh apple cider, 0.25 oz. (7 g) toasted or untoasted oak raw unfiltered honey, 0.5 tsp. each of pasteurized or not* chips (optional: soak in rum, bourbon, yeast nutrient and pectic enzyme and 1 5 lbs. (2.3 kg) sugar: a combination calvados, etc.), 4 oz. (113 g) organic package of dry wine yeast. of white sugar, brown sugar, a bit of raisins (brown or red flame). molasses, honey, raw sugar 2.5 tsp. yeast nutrient AUTUMN GOLD APPLE CYSER 2.5 tsp. pectic enzyme AUTUMN SPARKLE (5 gallons/19 L) 2 packages of dry wine yeast or Wyeast (5 gallons/19 L) OG = 1.080 FG = 0.998 4767 (Port Wine™) yeast OG = 1.060 FG = 0.998 ABV = ~10.5% 1 oz. toasted or untoasted oak chips ABV = ~8% (optional: soak in rum, bourbon, A cider-mead hybrid. calvados, etc.) A crisp, dry cider. 1 lb. (0.45 kg) raisins INGREDIENTS *If your cider is not pasteurized you INGREDIENTS 5.5 gallons (20 L) of fresh apple cider might want to add one Campden 5.5 gallons (20 L) of fresh apple cider, 5 lbs. (2.3 kg) raw, unfiltered honey tablet per gallon (3.8 L) to the cider, pasteurized or not* 2.5 tsp. yeast nutrient wait 24–36 hours, then add the 1.5–2 lbs. (0.7–0.9 kg) sugar or raw 2.5 tsp. pectic enzyme sugars, other additives and yeast. Do unfiltered honey 2 packages of dried wine yeast not try to ferment cider that has 2.5 tsp. yeast nutrient been treated with sorbates. 2.5 tsp. pectic enzyme STEP BY STEP 2 packages of dry wine yeast Dissolve the honey into a small part STEP BY STEP *If not pasteurized you might want to of the cider and mix it back into Dissolve the sugars in a small part of add one Campden tablet per gallon the main volume of cider. Stir well. the cider and then mix that back into (3.8 L) to the cider, wait 24–36 Add the yeast nutrient and pectic the main volume of cider. Stir well. hours, then add the sugars, other enzyme and stir again. Record the Add the yeast nutrient and pectic additives and yeast. Do not try to starting gravity. Add the yeast and enzyme and stir again. Record the ferment cider that has been treated keep the fermenter sealed with an starting gravity. Add the yeast and with sorbates. airlock at 60–75 °F (15–24 °C) until keep the fermenter sealed with an fermentation is complete. Siphon the airlock at 60–75 °F (15–24 °C) until STEP BY STEP cyser into a 5-gallon (19-L) carboy and fermentation is complete. Siphon the Take a hydrometer reading of the keep it sealed with an airlock until it cider into a 5-gallon (19-L) carboy. cider. You will need to add enough clears. Once clear, you can bottle the Keep the cider under an airlock until sugar to get 8% potential alcohol. cyser with or without carbonation. If it clears. Add the raisins. When the Dissolve the honey/sugar in a small you carbonate, you can add a scant raisins have settled out, cover the oak part of the cider and then mix it back teaspoon of corn sugar (dextrose) chips with boiling water, strain off into the main volume of cider. Stir per 22-ounce bottle or boil ½ cup of the water and add the chips to the well. Record the starting gravity. Add dextrose in some water for 5 gallons carboy. A typical fermentation can last the yeast nutrient and pectic enzyme (19 L) of carbonated cyser. A typical three to six weeks depending on the and stir again. Add the yeast and fermentation can last three to six temperature in your homebrewery and keep the fermenter sealed, with an weeks depending on the temperature another two to six months to clarify. airlock at 60–75 °F (15–24 °C) until in your homebrewery and another two Once the cider is clear you can bottle fermentation is complete. Siphon the to six months to clarify. it with or without carbonation. If you cider into a 5-gallon (19-L) carboy and want to carbonate the cider you can keep the it under an airlock until it 1 gallon (3.8-L) option: Scale down add a scant teaspoon of corn sugar clears. Once it is clear you can bottle to 1.25 gallons (4.7 L) of fresh apple (dextrose) per 22-ounce bottle or add with or without carbonation. If you cider, 1 lb. (0.45 kg) raw unfiltered two or three organic raisins per bottle. want to carbonate the cider you can honey, 0.5 tsp. each of yeast nutrient For 5 gallons (19 L) of hard cider you add a scant teaspoon of corn sugar and pectic enzyme and 1 package of can also boil ½ cup of dextrose in (dextrose) per 22-oz. bottle or boil dried wine yeast.

9 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved WINE FROM GRAPES BY ALISON CROWE

othing feels as satisfying and authentic as making your first batch of wine from fresh N grapes. And there’s no better time to try it than in early autumn, when grapes all over the country are ripening in vineyards and backyard gardens. There are many kinds of grapes to choose from, depending on where you live. Vitis vinifera is the classic choice for flavor, varietal character and historic authenticity. This famous European wine-grape family includes such renowned varieties as Chardonnay, Merlot, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. In the United States, to make a sweeping generalization, V. vinifera grapes thrive in California and the Pacific Northwest. They also grow well in microclimates scattered from New York to the Great Lakes, the Mid- Shutterstock.com by Photo Atlantic states and beyond. • Food-grade pail with lid (2–4 suspicious. Also, it’s very important Those who live in colder, wetter gallons/8–15 L) that all the stems are removed, since climates may not be able to find V. • Cheesecloth they will make your wine bitter. vinifera grapes grown locally. Don’t • Hydrometer be discouraged. Fine hybrids and • Thermometer KEEPING IT CLEAN Vitis labrusca grapes, which are less • Acid titration kit Winemaking demands a sanitary susceptible to cold and disease, • Clear, flexible half-inch diameter environment. Wash all of your may be growing near your home. plastic tubing equipment thoroughly with hot water, Other options include ordering • Two 1-gallon (4-L) glass jugs boiling what you can. It’s also wise grapes through your favorite local • Fermentation lock and bung to arm yourself with a strong sulfite winemaking shop or from a produce • Five 750-ml wine bottles solution to rinse any equipment that wholesaler. • Corks comes in contact with your wine. To Whatever kind of grapes you use, • Hand corker make it, add 3 tablespoons of sulfite the general techniques, equipment powder (potassium metabisulfite) to and ingredients are the same. Here’s INSPECTING THE FRUIT a gallon of water and mix well. an overview of some key steps along Winemaking starts with inspecting the way. the grapes. Make sure they are ripe by ADJUSTING THE JUICE squishing up a good double handful, Adjusting the juice or “must” of BASIC WINEMAKING straining the juice and measuring your wine is critical. Luckily, it’s also EQUIPMENT the sugar level with a hydrometer, easy. Acid content is measured with a Here’s everything you need to make a handy device you can buy at a simple titration kit; you can buy one your first one-gallon batch of wine winemaking supply shop. The sugar at a supply shop. The ideal acid level from fresh grapes. If you make beer density should be around 22 °Brix – is 6 to 7 grams per liter for dry reds already, it’s likely you have most if this equals 1.0982 specific gravity and 6.5 to 7.5 grams per liter for dry not all of this equipment on hand. or 11 percent potential alcohol – and whites. Anything you don’t already have the fruit should taste sweet, ripe and Here’s an example: If your must you should be able to find at any slightly tart. measures 5.5 grams per liter, then homebrewing or home winemaking The grapes also must be clean, you need to add 1 gram per liter of supply shop. sound and relatively free of insects tartaric acid to bring it up to 6.5 g/L. and other vineyard debris. Discard any Since 0.2642 gallons equals 1 liter, 1 • Large nylon straining bag grapes that look rotten or otherwise g/L is equivalent to adding 3.8 grams

10 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved of tartaric acid to your one-gallon lose your siphon suction. batch. Add this powder in one-eighth DRY RED TABLE WINE teaspoon intervals, checking acidity BOTTLING THE BATCH (1 gallon/3.8 L) carefully after each addition, until the Bottling may sound complicated, but desired level is reached. You can buy it’s really not. To bottle your wine, you This is a very basic recipe for dry tartaric acid at your supply shop. simply siphon your finished product red wine that illustrates the steps You also need to monitor the into the bottles (leaving about 2 and equipment required. Specific sugar level with your hydrometer. inches of headspace below the rim), adjustments may be made depending The must should be about 22° Brix for insert a cork into the hand corker, on grape varietal, however this recipe both reds and whites. To bring the position the bottle under the corker should result in a solid wine no matter sugar concentration up, make a sugar and pull the lever. It’s always wise the varietal used. syrup by dissolving one cup sugar into to buy some extra corks and practice one-third cup of water. Bring it to a with an empty bottle before you do it INGREDIENTS boil in a saucepan and immediately for real. 18 lbs. ripe red grapes remove from heat. Cool before adding Wine bottles can be purchased 1 campden tablet (or 0.33g of in small amounts, one tablespoon at at home winemaking stores, or you potassium metabisulfite powder) a time, until the desired degrees Brix can simply wash and recycle your Tartaric acid, if necessary Table sugar, if necessary and specific gravity is reached. To own bottles. These supply stores also 1 packet wine yeast (like Prise de lower the sugar level, simply dilute rent hand-corkers and sell corks. Mousse or Montrachet) your must or juice with water. You should only buy corks that are The temperature of your must can tightly sealed in plastic bags because STEP BY STEP also be adjusted to provide the perfect exposure to dust and microbes 1. Harvest grapes once they have environment for yeast cells. Warming can spoil your wine. Corks can be reached 22 to 24 percent sugar (22 up the juice gently (don’t cook or boil sterilized just before bottling, with to 24 °Brix). it!) is an easy way to bring it to pitching hot water and a teaspoon of sulfite 2. Sanitize all equipment. Place temperature without damaging the crystals. the grape clusters into the nylon quality of the wine. Fermentation A 1-gallon (4-L) batch will yield straining bag and deposit the bag can sometimes reach into the 80–90 about five standard-size (750 mL) into the bottom of the food-grade °F (26–32 °C) range, though the 70 bottles of wine. If the fifth bottle pail. Using very clean hands or a °F (21 °C) range is standard for reds isn’t quite full, then either drink sanitized tool like a potato masher, (whites often are fermented at cooler that bottle or use smaller bottles to firmly crush the grapes inside the temperatures). keep the wine. The key is to have full, bag. Crush the campden tablet (or If your grapes have been sealed containers that are capable of measure out 1 teaspoon of sulfite refrigerated or are too cold, use this aging. crystals) and sprinkle over the must unorthodox but quick trick: Heat Now you’re ready to make your in the nylon bag. Cover pail with up a small portion of the juice in first batch of fresh-grape wine. Below cheesecloth and let sit for one hour. 3. Measure the temperature of the the microwave, mix it back into the you’ll find step-by-step recipes for must. It should be between 70 –75 fermentation pail and re-test the a dry red and a dry white table wine. °F (21–24 °C). Take a sample of the temperature. An electric blanket The recipes have similar steps and juice in the pail and measure the wrapped around the fermentation techniques, with one important acid with your titration kit. If it’s not pail also works, but takes longer. For difference. Red wines always are between 6 to 7 grams per liter then cooling, add a re-usable ice pack and fermented with the skins and pulp in adjust with tartaric acid. stir for a few minutes. Pitch the yeast the plastic pail; the solids are pressed 4. Check the degrees Brix or specific when the temperature reaches 70° to after fermentation is complete. White gravity of the must. If it isn’t around 75 °F (24 °C) for reds and 55–65 °F (13– wines are always pressed before 22 °Brix (1.0982 SG), add a little bit 18 °C) for whites. fermentation, so only the grape juice of sugar dissolved in water. winds up in the fermenting pail. 5. Dissolve the yeast in 1 pint warm RACKING THE WINE (80–90 °F/26–32 °C) water and let “Racking” means transferring Alison Crowe is the Director of stand until bubbly (it should take the fermenting wine away from Winemaking for Plata Wine Partners, no more than 10 minutes). When sediment. You insert a clear, half- which makes Garnet Vineyards and it’s bubbling, pour yeast solution inch diameter plastic hose into the Picket Fence Vineyards among many directly on must inside the nylon fermenter and siphon the clear wine other projects and brands. She holds a bag. Agitate bag up and down a few into another sanitized jug. Then top winemaking degree from UC-Davis. times to mix yeast. Cover pail with it off and fit it with a sanitized bung Alison has penned the “Wine Wizard” cheesecloth, set in a warm (65–75 °F/18–24 °C) area and check that and fermentation lock. This can be a column for Brew Your Own’s sister fermentation has begun in at least delicate operation and it’s important publication WineMaker since its 24 hours. Monitor fermentation to go slowly. You don’t want to stir up inception 20+ years ago. progression and temperature the sediment, but you don’t want to

11 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved necessary. Take a sample of the juice in the pail and use your titration kit to measure the acid level. If it is not between 6.5 and 7.5 grams per liter, then adjust with tartaric acid. 6. Check the degrees Brix or specific gravity of the juice. If it isn’t around 22 °Brix (1.0982 SG) adjust accordingly. 7. Dissolve the packet of yeast in 1 pint warm (80–90° F/26–32 °C) water and let stand until bubbly (no more than 10 minutes). When it’s bubbling, pour yeast solution directly into the juice. Cover pail with cheesecloth, set in a cool (55–65° F/13–18 °C) area and check that fermentation has begun in at least 24 hours. Monitor fermentation progression and temperature at least once daily.

Photo by Shutterstock.com by Photo 8. Once the must has reached dryness “Punch down” the cap of grape skins that rise to the top during fermentation twice daily. (at least 0.5 degrees Brix or 0.998 SG), regularly. Keep the skins under the may be made depending on grape rack the wine off the sediment into a juice at all times and “punch down” or varietal, however this recipe should sanitized 1-gallon (3.8-L) jug, topping mix twice daily. (Red wine is fermented result in a solid wine no matter the up with dry white wine of a similar with the pulp and skins. This “cap” will varietal used. style. Fit with a sanitized bung and rise to the top, so you need to “punch fermentation lock. Keep the container it down” frequently with a sanitized INGREDIENTS topped with white wine. Be sure the utensil.) 18 lbs. (8.2 kg) ripe white grapes fermentation lock always has sulfite 6. Once the must has reached “dryness” 1 campden tablet (or 0.33g of solution in it. After 10 days, rack the (at least 0.5 °Brix or 0.998 SG), lift the potassium metabisulfite powder) wine into another sanitized 1-gallon nylon straining bag out of the pail and Tartaric acid, if necessary (3.8-L) jug. Top up with wine again. squeeze any remaining liquid into the Table sugar, if necessary 9. After three months, siphon the pail. 1 packet wine yeast (like Champagne clarified wine off the sediment and 7. Cover the pail loosely and let the or Montrachet) into clean, sanitized bottles and cork wine settle for 24 hours. Rack off the them. sediment into a sanitized 1-gallon STEP BY STEP 10. Store bottles in cool, dark place (3.8-L) jug, topping up with a little 1. Harvest grapes once they have and wait at least three months before boiled, cooled water to entirely fill reached 19 to 22 percent sugar (19– drinking. the container. Fit with a sanitized 22° Brix). Pick over grapes, removing bung and fermentation lock. Keep the any moldy clusters, insects, leaves or container topped with grape juice or stems. any dry red wine of a similar style. 2. Place the grape clusters into the After 10 days, rack the wine into nylon straining bag and put into the another sanitized 1-gallon (3.8-L) jug. bottom of the food-grade plastic pail. Top up with dry red wine of a similar Using very clean hands or a sanitized style. tool like a potato masher, firmly crush 8. After six months, siphon the up the grapes inside the nylon bag. clarified, settled wine off the sediment 3. Crush the campden tablet (or and into clean, sanitized bottles. Cork measure out one teaspoon of sulfite with the hand-corker. crystals) and sprinkle over the crushed 9. Store bottles on their side in cool, fruit in the bag. Cover pail and bag dark place and wait at least six months with cheesecloth and let sit for one before drinking. hour. 4. Lift the nylon straining bag out of the pail. Wring the bag to extract as DRY WHITE TABLE WINE much juice as possible. You should (1 gallon/3.8 L) have about 1-gallon (3.8-L) of juice in the pail. This is a very basic recipe for dry white 5. Measure the temperature of the wine that illustrates the steps and juice. It should be between 55–65 °F equipment required. Specific adjustments (13–18 °C). Adjust temperature as Photo by Charles A. Parker/Images Plus Parker/Images A. Charles by Photo

12 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved MAKING KOMBUCHA BY HANNAH CRUM & ALEX LaGORY

ombucha is an ancient tonic that has been brewed lovingly at home for centuries or K perhaps even millenia. But what the heck is it? Fermented tea! Just like chocolate is fermented cacao and sauerkraut is fermented cabbage, kombucha is the end result of microbes converting tea and sugar into an effervescent, lightly tangy, refreshing beverage loaded with nutrition in living form. Unlike sauerkraut, whose organ- isms live on the leaves of the cabbage, the microbes that ferment the sweet tea live together in a pancake of bacterial cellulose (primarily Brettanomyces) called a SCOBY. An

acronym for “symbiotic culture of Shutterstock.com by Photo bacteria and yeast” invented in the 1990s to distinguish the culture from made from tea and the oldest relics camps. They brought it back to the the drink, it also has been called many of fermentation are traced back to European mainland, where it was other names throughout history China, it makes logical sense. From especially popular in Germany. including “mother,” “mushroom,” there, various stories link kombucha Waves of research would happen, in and “tea fungus” to name a few. to the Silk Road, Genghis Khan in the Germany and Russia especially, over If you’ve consumed raw apple steppes of Mongolia, the Samurai the next 15 years, with hundreds of cider vinegar, you may have noticed in Japan, and a “Dr. Kombu” from studies published about kombucha’s a similar culture living in the bottle. Korea, though again, written records effect on everything from asthma to Kombucha is also an acetic acid- are lacking. cancer and more. Paper after paper producing ferment, hence the tangy We know for certain that there was printed in German scientific flavor. You might even think of exist long family histories of making magazines of the day relating the kombucha as “tea vinegar,” though kombucha in Russia, where it ability of kombucha to have a positive it’s a very smooth type of vinegar, was often brewed for a short time effect, often on patients who had topping out between 0.25% and 1% (3-4 days) to be served as a sort of been suffering acutely. total acids, whereas vinegar from the homemade soda pop. Stories began While Germany was busy getting store is typically around 5%. The brew to spread, telling of mountain towns scientific, Italy, as it is wont, had a is harvested well before the flavor is where centenarians abounded, who more passionate and brief love affair too intense to consume as a beverage. all supposedly drank kombucha daily. with kombucha. There, the culture was The acetic acid bacteria produce These “legends” seem to follow passed around like a chain letter, with cellulose as a byproduct which is why everywhere kombucha goes, and in scandalous handwritten instructions both ferments create a mother. this case the stories of kombucha’s and a warning if they weren’t followed power led to it being studied in exactly. Taking these passions to the HISTORY OF USE & DIASPORA Russian universities as far back as the extreme, Italians, seeking the most Due to the recent explosion in the early 1900s. Owing to these stories, blessed batch possible, began swiping popularity of kombucha, many think samples of kombucha cultures were holy water from the church fonts for of it as a novel beverage. But for collected from all over the Russian brewing their sacred “booch.” This people in Asia, Russia, Europe, and countryside and studied to uncover was a step too far for the priests, who yes, even here in the United States, where this ancient brew might have started preaching against it from the it has been a staple for generations. come from and what health-giving pulpit, and so kombucha’s future in So where did kombucha come from? properties it may provide. Italy was damned. Though there’s The mythology claims 220 B.C. China, During and after World War I, a neat pop song from the 1960s by but there are no known records. The European soldiers stationed in Russia Renato Corosone called “Stu Fungo most common theories point to folk were introduced to the kombucha Cinese” — find it on YouTube! origins in Asia. Since kombucha is culture, sometimes even at prisoner When World War II broke out, along

13 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved came rationing of basic supplies like tea and sugar. With fewer nutrients available, kombucha brewing waned. The studies in Germany and Russia dried up around 1950, and kombucha receded into the underground again. The brew gradually re-emerged in the United States in the 1960s as a hippie fad. As the ‘80s came along, a few scientists in Germany pick up the trail, and both the German First Lady Veronica Carstens (confirmed) and Ronald Reagan (unconfirmed) are linked to drinking kombucha daily. It wasn’t until the early 1990s that kombucha was finally put into a bottle and sold on grocery shelves in the USA. GT Dave, a teenager from Los Angeles, bottled the brew made in his mother’s kitchen and sold his first cases to a local health food store, and thus an industry was born. The early 2000s saw an increase in brands being offered with the trend hitting a tipping point over the last few years. Now, kombucha’s popularity has spawned hundreds of craft and small brands around the world generating jobs and diversifying grocery shelves Publishing) (Storey with healthier choices. Not to mention the industry has an estimated $800 million footprint worldwide, which is on pace to top $2 billion by 2024. Touted as the “21st century yogurt,”

kombucha is here to stay and if you Kombucha of The Big Book want to save a few dollars and make some tasty quaffs, then try brewing this ancient elixir at home!

BREWING EQUIPMENT AND PROCESS Other than the SCOBY and starter

liquid, the supplies used for making from Armendariz Matt by Photo kombucha can often be found around the house. For step by step directions, and caffeine for fuel but also all the steep longer or even use a bit more refer to the recipes on at the end of good things in tea, which are then tea. this article. Tea is simple and only fermented in the kombucha, making Many types of fermenting vessels requires a pot or kettle. Stir in the them more bioavailable. A blend may be used in a variety of shapes sugar with a spoon of any material of black and green tea is the most and sizes. Glass, porcelain, stainless and cover the vessel with a tightly popular. steel, and oak are all excellent choices woven cloth such as a tea towel or Mixing small amounts of herbal for fermenting. Some food-grade even an old piece of t-shirt provided tea like yerba mate or rooibos or even plastic may be okay, depending on there aren’t any holes. Cheesecloth is some flavored teas may be acceptable, the type, but will wear out over time not suitable as the weave is too loose but those containing oils or other and may scratch, which makes them and could allow fruit flies into the flavoring agents may negatively less desirable and not recommended. brew. Bottling can be done with the effect the brew, so stick to real tea for Very skinny vessels, tall but not wide, same technique you bottle beer. the best results. A steep range of 7–15 don’t ferment well due to less oxygen Any type of real tea, i.e. Camellia minutes provides an opportunity to exposure for the aerobic brew. Use a sinensis, will provide the nutrients adjust the flavor to your preference. If tightly woven cotton cloth and rubber for a good brew, such as tannins you like a stronger flavor, let the tea band to cover the vessel.

14 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved CROSS CONTAMINATION

As a homebrewer you already know this: Fermentation contamination issues. Even commercial breweries have is fun and when fermentation fervor strikes, nearly to take extreme measures when they add sour beers every nook or cranny in the house can be filled with yet to their roster to prevent contamination. Some will go another culture or project. Each ferment has its own as far as to brew in separate facilities. Others do not unique microbiome of bacteria and yeasts depending on permit employees working with sour beers to enter the the substrate and end product being made. However, as other parts of the facility or require a change of clothes a homebrewer, and if you also make wine at home, it is before re-entry along with wash up policies worthy of a vital to understand the organisms in kombucha as they chemical lab. don’t play nice with most types of beer and wine. So unless your goal is to make only hybrid or sour Kombucha’s most common organisms — beer styles, keep the kombucha as far away from your Brettanomyces bruxellensis (lambic and sour beer yeast) brewing or winemaking as possible. You might even and Gluconacetobacter (vinegar) — are considered house them in separate areas — i.e. basement or garage spoilage organisms for most beer styles and all wines. and follow the tips below to keep all of your ferments Some kombucha cultures may have different organisms happy. We’d also recommend: like Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Lactobacillus, but according to a recent study conducted by Kombucha • Use separate brewing and decanting equipment to Brewers International and Oregon State University, it was avoid cross contamination found that most SCOBYs are Brettanomyces dominant.1 Contamination from wild yeasts in beer and wine can • Adjust the brewing schedule so that each product is result in off flavors, hazy colors, and biofilms forming worked with on different days on the surface. They can also be an absolute nightmare not only due to the loss of product and the time, effort, • Store beer or wine yeast in airtight containers to and ingredients, but also the need to sanitize everything prevent exposure to airborne wild yeast from top to bottom and then pray for no further

Next, find a place to ferment, time, as the longer it goes, the more refrigerate once the bottle has built typically the kitchen or pantry. Any sour it becomes, so, especially in up the bubbles you crave to prevent it warm room will do, provided it is your first few batches you brew, taste from carbonating further. out of direct sunlight and at optimal each day until you like the flavor. When it comes time for bottling, temperature. The yeast, the Y in Also, similar to fermenting beer, the flip-tops or recycled kombucha SCOBY, prefer warmer temperatures cooler the temperature, the longer bottles from the store are great (75–85 °F/24–29 °C is the best range, the fermentation process takes. Taste options. Watch out for metal lids as 80 °F/27 °C is the “sweet spot”) and is king so let your buds tell you when they can react with the brew in the they are key to acidifying the brew the brew has the sweet/sour balance bottle, and if the cap is too loose, the quickly to protect against mold. that works for you. fizz may fizzle. Kombucha is often Direct sunlight can be antimicrobial, The trace amount of ethanol available on tap and homebrewers so keep in a lightly shaded (ambient produced by the fermentation who already have kegging systems light is fine) area that is also process acts as a preservative and may choose to keg their brew. Switch ventilated (cupboard works too). If serves as nutrient for the bacteria. It to higher-grade hoses to prevent your home doesn’t maintain such hovers between 0.3-0.8% on average leaching and store kegs between warm temperatures year-round, at bottling, however adding high 40–60 °F (4–16 °C) to prevent over- heaters and warming belts do a great sugar flavors and capping to store at foaming. Keep hoses and plastic job. Choose one with a thermostat room temperature can increase those fittings used for kombucha separate to avoid frequent recalibration or levels to up to 2%. Hydrometers and from those used for homebrewing. repositioning. refractometers can provide a ballpark The 7-21 day fermentation time estimate of the ABV, however KOMBUCHA FLAVORING varies based on brewing conditions excess particulate and multiple RULE OF THUMB (temperature, size of batch, etc.) and acids often skew readings higher. When the kombucha has the sweet- taste preference. If a sweeter flavor Carbonation will increase during sour flavor that tastes best to you, is preferred, ferment for a shorter second fermentation, so it is best to that means primary fermentation is

15 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved complete. Many people enjoy the brew selecting the right type of brewing vessel and start with a fresh culture. just as it is without anything added. vessel, location, and temperature. A common question is if the mold However, one of the most fun parts The tips that follow will help you is just on top of the brew, can’t I of brewing kombucha is flavoring it, avoid common pitfalls and protect save the SCOBY under the liquid? also called secondary fermentation the brew from mold. Take care of the The answer is no. Once mold appears or 2F. Because of kombucha’s vinegar kombucha and it will take care of you! on top of the brew, the liquid and nature, it quickly absorbs nutrients The most important aspect of everything below has now been and taste from whatever you put in brewing safety is sourcing the culture. exposed to the spores. Brewing up a there. And a little goes a long way! SCOBYs are not created equal and new batch with either the liquid or If too much flavoring is added, off finding a culture that is healthy and culture from the moldy batch almost flavors and/or too much carbonation strong ensures a lifetime of delicious always results in visible mold and will result, which can be dangerous kombucha. If you have a friend who leaves anyone consuming the brew and potentially cause bottles to burst, is already brewing their own, that is potentially exposed. Accidentally so start with less. a great place to start. Sometimes they consuming mold once is unpleasant Also, the form of the flavoring are offered on community websites but not so bad, but drinking it over will dictate how much is needed. for a fee but without knowing the and over could cause longer term For instance, you will need more type of ingredients or conditions that issues. apple pieces than apple juice. That’s the cultures are grown in, it is wisest Other than weak conditions, because the sugars in the apple pieces to source a culture from a reputable direct exposure to mold spores is the are not as easily accessible as they are vendor. Do be careful to avoid vinegar only other way kombucha contracts in the juice. But beware, adding juice eels, which can be found in raw apple mold. Since the culture is prolific, we is like adding liquid sugar, so always cider vinegar and often end up in recommend storing extras in a SCOBY start with less. If you want to use SCOBYs offered on exchanges or even hotel. Take an inventory of the ideal fresh fruits and desire more flavoring by low-quality sellers. A reputable conditions, tweak as needed, and then to absorb, consider chopping up source will provide at least one cup simply start over with a fresh culture larger pieces into smaller ones, as (240 mL) of strong starter (which is from the hotel. more surface area increases the well-fermented kombucha, aged at effectiveness. least a couple of weeks or more) and RESOURCES a 4 oz. (113 g) of culture or larger for 1 https://kombuchabrewers.org/ LIVING IT UP IN THE HOTEL a one-gallon (4-L) batch of sweet tea. kbi-osu-dna-sequence-study- SCOBY-FORNIA Some people still attempt to grow analysis-report/ A SCOBY hotel is the homebrewer’s one from a commercial brand, and backup stock. Kombucha is abundance while sometimes a culture forms, Hannah Crum and Alex LaGory, in action as every batch yields a fresh because of the changes made to the are the creators of Kombucha SCOBY culture in addition to the brew for commercial purposes, often Kamp (www.KombuchaKamp. original. This means extras are always it does not. Even if a culture forms, com), the top informational site for being made and since the bacterial they tend to be weaker and produce a kombucha in the world. They are cellulose is durable, provided it’s kept weak or “watery” beverage, again due also the authors of The Big Book moist and at the correct pH (2.5–3.8 to the changes introduced to make of Kombucha (Storey Publishing, pH), it will hang out for many weeks storebought kombucha shelf stable. 2016). or months, until reintroduced to sweet tea. Cover with a cloth and it MOLD INSPECTION will grow a new SCOBY that will act as As a living food, kombucha never the lid while keeping bugs at bay. expires or “goes bad” once it is The SCOBY hotel does need to be brewed, but at the early stages, if refreshed from time to time. Once the the brew is not able to acidify quickly culture dries out, even just on top, it enough, that delicious sweet tea is vulnerable to mold. Remove dried can be colonized by mold. Mold in out cultures and top off the jar from kombucha only ever grows ON TOP time to time with sweet tea or already of the new culture forming on the fermented kombucha to keep them surface of the brew, which means moist and at the correct pH. The more it’s easy to spot. It comes in a wide often it is refreshed, the healthier the variety of colors including black, blue, SCOBY hotel and its residents will be. green, and white, and is fuzzy and/or dry. If disturbed, it leaves a powdery THINK SAFETY residue on the finger. If you suspect The safest and most successful way mold, lightly touch the spot and then to make kombucha is by creating an check your fingers. If there is any dry environment tailored to its needs. residue, dispose of the kombucha Ideal brewing conditions include including the SCOBY(s), sanitize the

16 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved KOMBUCHA RECIPES This is Kombucha Kamp’s short-cut to taste your kombucha, gently insert INGREDIENTS method for brewing up delicious a straw beneath the SCOBY and take 15 oz. (440 mL) kombucha kombucha quickly and safely. Since the a sip. If too tart, then reduce your 1 tsp. ginger juice or yeast and bacteria are temperature- fermentation cycle next time. If too 1 Tbls. fresh ginger or 1 sensitive, the water should be body sweet, allow to ferment for a few more 1 ⁄2 tsp. dried ginger pieces temperature (about 100 °F/38 °C) days. Continue to taste every day or so 1 Tbls. fresh, frozen, or canned pear, or lower before adding the SCOBY. until you reach your optimum flavor diced. Alternatively, you could use 1 To shorten the wait time, brew a tea preference. Usual fermentation is 1 ⁄2 tsp. pear juice concentrate that is then diluted with between 7 and 21 days, depending on cool water to bring the temperature desired flavor. An optional next step is STEP BY STEP down quickly so you can immediately to decant and flavor if you would like. Combine the ingredients in a add the SCOBY and starter liquid. This Drink as desired! Start off with 16-oz. (470-mL) bottle and cap tightly. ensures the sweet tea is not left out and 4–8 oz. (120–240 mL) on an empty Allow it to sit at room temperature potentially exposed to contaminants. stomach in the morning, then with for 1 to 3 days and then move to the meals to help with digestion or as your fridge (if desired) to slow fermentation. body tells you it would like some more! If leaving the pieces in the bottle, KOMBUCHA Drink plenty of water to flush out any consume within a week or it may be (1 gallon/4 L) toxins released by the organic acids in strained and stored for longer. kombucha. Scale up or down depending on the size TIPS FOR SUCCESS: of your fermentation vessel TIPS FOR SUCCESS: Ginger comes in many formats and Small variations in tea or sugar used they are all delicious providing varying EQUIPMENT are not a concern. Increase or decrease levels of bite. For the most intense Tea kettle the amounts to find the flavor you ginger flavor, use ginger juice. For Fermenting vessel prefer, but never use less than ¾ cup a mellower flavor, cut up a thumb Cloth cover (150 g) sugar or 3 bags/tsp. of tea per of ginger and use chunks or pieces. Rubber band gallon (4 L). Since it’s more intense, less juice is To dechlorinate tap water, if you needed than the pieces, so adjust the INGREDIENTS prefer to use that vs. bottled or purified recipe according to your personal taste 1 cup (200 g) sugar water, allow to sit out overnight preference. The suggestions below are 4–6 loose leaf bags of tea uncovered or boil for 10 minutes and just that — use as a starting point and (1 bag of tea = 1 tsp then cool to needed temperature. then tweak as desired. SCOBY Your SCOBY is a living organism 1 cup starter liquid — treat it with care and it will be your 1 gallon (4 L) purified/bottled “booch buddy” for life! POMEGRANATE water BLUEBERRY KOMBUCHA (16 oz./470-mL) STEP BY STEP PEAR GINGER Boil 4 cups of purified water. Add Both of these fruits pack an antioxidant hot water and tea bags to pot or KOMBUCHA punch and provide a beautiful deep fermenting vessel. Steep 7–15 (16 oz./470-mL) hue thanks to the anthocyanins. We’d minutes, then remove tea bags. Add Hands down the MOST popular flavor recommend using pomegranate juice or sugar and stir to dissolve. Fill vessel of kombucha is ginger. Humans and mashing the arils (pomegranate seeds) most of the way with purified water, ginger have a love affair as the piquant for the best flavor. leaving just 1–2 inches (2.5–5 cm) flavor not only intrigues the tongue but from the top for breathing room with its digestive properties also settle the INGREDIENTS purified cold water. Add SCOBY and stomach. Before Prohibition, ginger beer 15 oz. (440 mL) kombucha starter liquid. Place the cloth over was the most popular beverage in the 1 Tbls. pomegranate juice the vessel to cover it and secure the United States and then became ginger 2 Tbls. fresh or frozen blue cloth with the rubber band. Place the ale once alcohol was outlawed. Enjoy the berries, lightly mashed container in a warm (75–85 °F/24–29 zippy zing of ginger by adding some to °C is the best range, 80 °F/27 °C is your kombucha! STEP BY STEP ideal), ventilated area out of direct Pears provide a sweet, floral and fall Combine the ingredients in a sunlight and do not disturb for seven flavor for the brew; of course any other 16-oz. (470-mL) bottle and cap tightly. days. type of fruit may be substituted in place Allow it to sit at room temperature After 7 days, or when you are ready of pears. for 1 to 3 days and then move to the

17 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved fridge (if desired) to slow fermentation. Allow it to sit at room temperature If leaving the pieces in the bottle, for 1 to 3 days and then move to the consume within a week or it may be fridge (if desired) to slow fermentation. strained and stored for longer. If leaving the pieces in the bottle, consume within a week or it may be APPLE PIE KOMBUCHA strained and stored for longer. (16 oz./470-mL)

Nothing says fall like apple pie, and with kombucha’s natural tang this is a match made in heaven. The additional cinnamon provides a deeper dimension to the flavor, but it may be omitted if preferred.

INGREDIENTS 15 oz. (440 mL) kombucha 1 ⁄4 cup diced apples or 1 Tbls. apple juice 1 ⁄2 teaspoon chai spice (blend of dried ginger, nutmeg, clove, and orange peel) 1 ⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon chips

STEP BY STEP Combine the ingredients in a 16-oz. (470-mL) bottle and cap tightly. Photo by Shutterstock.com by Photo

18 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved MAKING HARD BY ASHTON LEWIS SELTZER

he summer of 2019 may go down in the annals of North American beer history as The Summer of T Hard Seltzer, and not because hard seltzers over-took beer volume or converted bearded beer bros into hard seltzer sippin’ hipsters. The real significance of the popularity of these products in the market may be the mere fact that they exist in a sea of big flavor and that the category has done so well by appealing to a demographic that was largely ignored by so many of the arbiters of beer style. Hard seltzer’s popularity is a message from the market signaling demand for beverages that are lighter on the palate, skinnier on the calories, and less challenging to consume than big- bodied, highly-flavorful, calorically- rich beers.

THE NEW, OLD CRAZE Plus Parker/Images A. Charles by Photo Popular trends are interesting to brewery cannot produce wine or cannot help doing mental math when analyze when the “new thing,” be it distilled spirits without having noting that something as simple as food, music, or beverage, is looked a separate license. And when a a cup of coffee at the local café costs at without the bias of a name. Many producer does hold multiple licenses, about half as much as a pint of craft “new things” are simply “old things” special rules apply to how the facility beer. So the idea of adding a shot of that have been tweaked, repackaged, is operated to help ensure that the alcohol to these common and popular and given a new name. In the case of different tax rates levied on alcoholic drinks has crossed the mind of many hard seltzers, the new thing has more beverages are properly paid. What a brewer, but the taxation thing was to do with process and taxation than it does all of this have to do with hard an obstacle. does with the liquid itself. Strip away seltzer? Back to the old thing with a new the peripherals, and what is left is a The popularity of bottled water name topic. Zima was arguably the simple cocktail similar to something and coffee drinks has been hard to first malternative to make the big like a vodka tonic. ignore over the past decade. The price leagues when Coors introduced its There is one key difference, difference between something like clear concoction to the market in however, between a canned vodka a can of flavored seltzer and beer is 1993. Zima, like malt-based wine tonic and a canned hard seltzer; tax pretty staggering when the cost of coolers that were all the rage in the classification. In the United States, production is considered. To make 1980s, was taxed as beer but had alcohol taxation has much more to a common non-alcoholic seltzer, little else in common with other do with the source of the ethanol filtered water is flavored with a dash beverages in this tax class. Maybe it in a beverage than it does strength. of flavor essence, carbonated, and was the sweetness, the funky name, In fact, there is no difference in the put into a can. Not much different or the clear and cool package, but for federal excise tax levied on beer based than making soda, but the ingredient whatever reason Zima floundered in on beer strength, and only 16 states costs are lower because there is not the market and was officially retired collect higher tax rates on “strong” much of anything in these drinks. in 2008 . . . and then un-retired in beers, a distinction that varies by Beer, on the other hand, is much 2017. The key to producing a beverage state. Another nuance of US alcohol more expensive to produce in terms like Zima is removing malt color and taxation is the different licenses, and of equipment, ingredients, labor, flavor. The easiest way to begin this associated restrictions, required by energy inputs, effluent treatment, process is to start with as little color beverage makers to legally produce cleaning chemicals, inventory costs and flavor as possible by maximizing and pay tax on various alco-holic related to fermentation and aging the non-malt adjunct allowed for an beverages. For example, a licensed time, and taxation. Most brewers alcoholic beverage to be taxed as beer.

19 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved Flavorless beers have been the butt of many a joke about mainstream beers, but the truth is that producing very lightly flavored beer is not easy. And producing colorless beer requires special processes. There are numerous patents from the past related to color removal from beer using ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and activated carbon. Many of these processes were specifically developed to remove malt colors from wort or beer, not necessarily flavor, because the inventors wanted to produce beer without color. Today’s brewer may not quite get the point of this quest, but we can learn by reading patents from the past. One of the obvious takeaways from looking at these patents is that color removal requires special methods, and that an easier way to begin is to simply leave out the color compounds from the mix. If the objective is to reduce flavor and color, starting from a malt-free base seems logical, except for the pesky tax laws that require a certain amount of malt and hops in a “malt beverage.” It’s worth noting that these same rules do not apply Lewis Ashton by Photo to “beer” because malt substitutes “Accordingly, a fermented beverage seltzers, but when viewed for what are permitted and there is no hop that is brewed from a substitute for malt they are as opposed to how they are requirement. (such as rice or corn) but without any made, hard seltzers are basically Hold the phone! What is this malted barley may constitute a ‘beer’ garden-variety flavored seltzers thing about a malt substitute? We all under the IRC but does not fall within the plus about 5% ABV. The basic flavor know that beer must contain malt definition of a ‘malt beverage’ under the palate of most hard seltzers I have because, well, that’s just how beer FAA Act. Similarly, a fermented beverage tasted are mildly fruity, with little to is made. Don’t ask; this is about that is not brewed with hops may fall no sweetness, a little acid zip, and no taxation and not conformance to within the IRC definition of ‘beer’ but obvious hints of alcohol. brewing tradition. also falls outside of the definition of a A convincingly “authentic” hard So, what is a malt substitute? ‘malt beverage’ under the FAA Act.” seltzer at 5% ABV can be made by the According to the US Alcohol and Believe it or not, sugar (sucrose) following recipe: Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) “. as well as dextrose/glucose are . . the definition of a ‘beer’ under the IRC considered malt substitutes by • (4) 355 mL (12-ounce) cans of [Internal Revenue Code] differs from the the current TTB definition of malt carbonated water definition of a ‘malt beverage’ under the substitute. This has the fingerprints • 0.2 mL lime extract FAA Act in several significant respects. of a company with lobbying power • 0.2 mL lemon extract First, the IRC does not require beer to be written all over it, but I am more of • 30 mL pulp-free orange juice fermented from malted barley; instead, a science writer than investigative (single-strength, not from a beer may be brewed or produced from journalist. What I do know is that concentrate) malt or ‘from any substitute therefor breweries can produce hard seltzer, • 1 g citric acid (powder) [sic].’ Second, the IRC does not require pay tax as if seltzer were beer, and • 210 mL vodka the use of hops in the production of beer. sell these products without much ado Third, the definition of ‘beer’ in the IRC about mashing. Note: Some recipes are best-suited provides that the product must contain to metric-only units. Converting tenths one-half of one percent or more of A FOOD SCIENCE, of a mL or 1 gram into teaspoon or ounce alcohol by volume, whereas there is no HOME-APPROACH TO equivalents is not particularly practical. minimum alcohol content for a “malt HARD SELTZERS No conversions to English units are beverage” under the FAA Act. Not to take the pizazz away from hard used in this article. If you want to make

20 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved seltzers, you must suffer through metric a crude mixture of water and alcohol, Lysed yeast cells provide amino acids as penance! but the resulting flavor is not clean and micronutrients, and DAP is a and is not the sort of product that ready source of ammonia. This all This is a pretty basic beverage can be enjoyably consumed without becomes quite the science project and not the type of thing that can be further processing. Distillation is when brewers begin playing around improvised on before all variations the most common method to remove with different yeast strains and on them have been tried. Obvious impurities from these rough washes, nutrient combinations because of the permutations are the use of different but breweries are not distilleries, vast number of combinations that fruits, but we are still left with a so the old still in the back 40 is not can be used. Since the objective is to pretty basic beverage. This is the the answer. Perhaps this is one of produce a neutral finished product main critique of hard seltzers, but one the reasons that Herr Rein H. Gebot and because yeast and nutrient that may not be a major deal breaker penned his now-famous beer purity blends can be purchased that have in a beverage market filled with law back in 1516. been specifically developed to cleanly different brands of water, carbonated This is where yeast nutrients enter ferment sugar solutions, many water, and mildly flavored carbonated the picture as a crucial ingredient commercial producers of seltzers water. Just a reminder that creative required for the production of any turn to these ready-made blends marketing can always make up for the fermented beverage using a high and skip the R&D project. A final lack of real differentiation. Perhaps proportion of simple sugars. Wine- thing to note about yeast nutrients is the most tempting variation on the makers and meadmakers are much they will add a yellowish tinge to the basic seltzer theme is adding some more familiar with the practical uses sugar-fermented seltzer, which is sweetness. Definitely something of different nutrients than brew- one reason many brewers use carbon to consider if looking for a tasty ers and taking lessons from their fining or carbon filtering. beverage, but not so tempting if playbooks is a pretty handy start. The recipe and instructions keeping caloric content under 100 The term yeast assimilable nitrogen, provided to the right puts this calories per 12-ounce (355-mL) or YAN (where YAN = nitrogen from information to use to produce the serving. In the world of low-calorie ammonia + nitrogen from amino same basic hard seltzer described in marketing, the 100 calorie threshold acids), is used by winemakers and the previous section, but this time seems to be the barrier to not cross. meadmakers to quantify the amount the alcohol base will be produced It’s pretty easy to see how the basic of nitrogen compounds in must — by fermentation. Note the low vodka seltzer morphs into cocktails for example grape juice — that can starting gravity of the sugar solution. using different spirits, mixers, fruits, be metabolized by yeast. Brewers Sugar is completely fermentable garnishes, sweeteners, bitters, and use the term free amino nitrogen, or by yeast, so this means that fully all of the other stuff that is used to FAN, to describe amino compounds attenuated hard seltzer base will stock a bar. Funny how quickly beer whose “free-amino” group reacts have little to no fermentables left brewing pops into one’s mind when with ninhydrin stain (the same at the end of fermentation. If you considering all of the excitement of stain used in finger printing). YAN use brewing software or online apps the home-approach to hard seltzers. and FAN differ in the fact that not to approximate alcohol in beer, be Of course that means the addition of all FAN can be metabolized by yeast aware that these tools use regression vodka is out of the question. So, how because proteins and polypeptides models to predict alcohol based on would a commercial brewer go about (not assimilable by yeast) have one large data sets collected from normal making a hard seltzer that can legally free amino group. The takeaway beer; these calculators do not work for be sold using a brewer’s license? message is that by knowing the YAN sugar water mixtures. concentration of must, or sugar water HARD SELTZERS MADE in the case of hard seltzers, nutrient BEYOND THE BASICS AND IN BREWERIES adjustments can be made by referring INTO THE FUTURE While the logical approach described to tables relating nutrient addition The easiest way to flavor a neutral in the last section works great at scheme to YAN concentration. hard seltzer base is by adding un- home and in commercial facilities Must containing less than 50 ppm fermentable flavorings and organic licensed for cocktail production, of YAN is a high risk environment acids to the finished and carbonated breweries must use a variant on the for yeast and a combination of base produced from the method malternative theme. And thanks organic nitrogen (amino acids), described in the recipe on page 47. to the giant loophole in the legal inorganic nitrogen (ammonia), and Another simple way to make variants definition of beer, breweries can micronutrients, such as zinc, manga- from a single batch of neutral ferment sugar water into what the tax nese, and B-vitamins, is recom- base is to add flavored syrups, a la collector defines as beer. The problem mended for healthy fermentations. Berliner weisse, immediately before is that sugar water lacks the nutrients The most common nutrient blends serving. This is especially appealing that make wort an ideal solution to are proprietary and contain varying for commercial brewers (as well as ferment into beer. Sure, sugar water concentrations of lysed yeast cells homebrewers) who don’t want to tie can be fermented by yeast to produce and diammonium phosphate (DAP). up multiple taps for seltzer.

21 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved Neutral hard seltzer bases can be about 12 hours. The second nutrient HARD SELTZER addition is added once fermentation envisioned as the base of a cocktail 5.25 gallons/20 L where sweetness, fruitiness, color, OG = ~1.031 FG = ~1.000 has really kicked off and the gravity and body are layered onto the base. ABV = ~ 5% has dropped by about 0.008 OG; this The challenge becomes product should be about 36–48 hours after stability; brewers must consider NEUTRAL BASE INGREDIENTS yeast pitching. When fermentation is methods to prevent re-fermentation 21 L reverse osmosis (RO) or complete (5–7 days after yeast pitch — when hard seltzers are packaged. distilled water FG will depend on yeast and nutrients The best method, unavailable to 4.5 g gypsum (adjusts calcium but should be around 1.000), cool to homebrewers and most craft brewers, concentration to 50 ppm) 32 °F (0 °C) (or as cold as possible at is tunnel pasteurization following 1.65 kg cane sugar home) and hold cold to permit yeast packaging. The addition of potassium 11.5 g packet SafAle US-05 or other sedimentation. sorbate or potassium metabisulfite neutral yeast strain Commercially-produced seltzers and/or flash pasteurization prior to 2.5 g Yeastex 82 yeast nutrient added are clarified by filtration and/or packaging are alternates to tunnel with yeast pitch centrifugation, but most homebrewers pasteurizers. These last points are 2.5 g diammonium phosphate (DAP) do not have filters. Part of the seltzer being directed to any commercial added with yeast pitch appeal is clarity, therefore, filtration brewers who are reading this article. 2.5 g Yeastex 82 yeast nutrient added is recommended when going for a Whatever is decided, just make sure 36–48 hours after yeast pitch facsimile of the real McCoy. The good that unstable product is not packaged 2.5 g diammonium phosphate (DAP) news is that hard seltzer is easy to and sold. added 36–48 hours after yeast clarify using a cartridge filter. But The summer of 2019 may or may pitch you could also go the Cloudy Claw not go down in brewing history as route and skip this step. Whatever the summer of the one hit wonder FLAVORINGS you decide with respect to filtration, known as hard seltzer. In my opinion, 2.8 mL lime extract added after CO2 transfer the seltzer into a keg and I think this style is just getting started bubbling (if used) and carbonation carbonate to 2.8–3.0 volumes. Bottle and that creative brewers will find 2.8 mL lemon extract after CO2 or keg conditioning is not typical for interesting and exciting ways to push bubbling (if used) and carbonation hard seltzer. Taste the seltzer base to the envelope. Sugars with flavor, such 420 mL pulp-free orange juice (single- determine if aroma stripping is needed. as honey, agave nectar, brown sugar, strength, not from concentrate) Sulfur off-flavors are fairly

Belgian candi sugars, and fruit juices, after CO2 bubbling (if used) and common with hard seltzers. Carbon are the tip of the iceberg. Forrest carbonation dioxide bubbling can be used to strip

Gump is my inspiration for the future 14 g citric acid powder after CO2 these unpleasant rotten-egg and of seltzer with his monologue about bubbling (if used) and carbonation burnt-match aromas from hard seltzer. shrimp variants. There will surely be Just make sure to vent the keg during cloudy seltzer, kettle-soured seltzer, STEP BY STEP bubbling to allow these volatiles to barrel-aged seltzer, nitro coffee Add water and sugar to kettle, turn escape. Nutrient adjustments and/ seltzer, imperial seltzer, triple- on heat, and stir to dissolve sugar. or yeast strain selection on future double seltzer, PB&J seltzer, zero IBU Check solution strength and adjust as batches can be made to help dial seltzer, CBD seltzer, herbal seltzer, necessary; the pre-boil gravity should in the process. The trial and error herbed seltzer (TTB got nothin’ be ~1.031 OG (7.6 °Plato). Continue nature of this process is the primary on homebrewing), spiced seltzer, heating until solution is boiling and reason that many commercial seltzer high-calorie, gluten-unfriendly, boil for 20 minutes. Check solution producers select a yeast/nutrient pastry seltzer, and even peach-mint, strength and dilute as necessary with blend designed for these intentionally orange-hued seltzer. The sky is the RO or distilled water. Cool to 64 °F bland bases. limit and homebrewers will certainly (18 °C) and transfer to fermenter. Add The last step is to add the flavor be searching for the outer limits. yeast and first addition of nutrients. additions. Dissolve the citric acid Have fun with this style and don’t Aeration is not required for first use powder in the orange juice and add take things too seriously. of most dried yeast strains, including it along with the lemon and lime US-05, due to high glycogen content aromas. Slowly release the pressure Ashton Lewis has been the Technical related to propagation conditions on the keg, open the top while

Editor and “Mr. Wizard” author (https://fermentis.com/en/tips-n- flushing the headspace with CO2, and for BYO since its inception over 25 tricks/questions-and-answers/). add the flavorings. Quickly closing the years ago. He is the Technical Sales Feel free to aerate as normal if this lid and re-pressurizing the headspace Manager in the Central Midwest suggestion seems too unusual. Other will minimize loss of carbonation. The for BSG. Previously, Ashton was common yeasts that are popular for orange juice in this recipe is intended the Staff Master Brewer and the seltzer production are Champagne to provide a slight haze, so if you Brewing Group Sales Manager for yeast and distillers yeast. choose not to filter, the juice will the Paul Mueller Company. Fermentation should begin within complement the haze of the seltzer.

22 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved HARD ROOT BEER & BY GLENN BURNSILVER GINGER BEER

efore hard seltzers, the latest “adult” drink craze was hard root beer. There are quite a B few offerings out there these days, such as Sprechers “Not Your Grandfather’s Root Beer,” Old Town Brewery’s “Not Your Father’s Root Beer,” “Coney Island Hard Root Beer,” and Root Sellers Brewing Co. “Row Hard Root Beer,” to name a few. To a lesser degree, hard ginger beer is also popping up around the US on the shelves with the root beers. Of course, homebrewers don’t need to be told that what can be bought at the bottle store can probably be made at home, and hard root or ginger beer are no exceptions. Let’s explore how to make these “new” beverages in your own homebrewery.

HARD ROOT BEER Interestingly, three of the United States leading hard root beer manufacturers, when contacted by those alcohol levels high enough to be ginger root, licorice root, anise seed, Brew Your Own, declined to discuss noticeable. The two biggest factors in juniper berries, star anise, chirreta anything about these beverages. But doing this are selecting the type and (andrographis paniculata), cinnamon, one upstart, Root Sellers Brewing Co. amount of sugar for your recipe, and yerba mate, dog grass, wild cherry in Columbia, Missouri, was happy then a proper yeast strain. bark, roots of sarsaparilla, burdock, to help out — and perhaps it’s no Raise your hand if you haven’t yellow dock, dandelion, and spikenard surprise that Root Sellers started seen an old western movie where are but a few of the options. Although out as homebrewers who enjoyed someone is orderin’ up a sarsaparilla? utilizing natural ingredients is experimenting with different beer Sarsaparilla is just one of the many preferred, and many can be found styles and offbeat fermentations. flavorings that can go into root beer. in natural food stores, oils of many There is also plenty of Internet bab- You can pick up a bottle of extract at of these options are commercially ble, blog posts, and recipes concerning the homebrew supply shop promising available. the non-commercial production of “Old Time Flavor” and use that in hard root beer. I also picked the brains your homebrewed hard root beer, but A BRIEF HISTORY of the whiz kids at my local homebrew you wouldn’t skimp on your double Before going further, a brief look at shops, who, though desiring to IPA ingredients right? The results of root beer history — which seriously remain anonymous, were more than a from-scratch method are generally predates the Old West — is in order. happy to share some ideas on the better — especially if the highest It’s well-documented that beer’s subject of brewing hard root beer. quality ingredients are used. So if creation was an accident (as were you have the time and inclination, many fermented beverages). Beer ROOT BEER BASICS consider using real root beer came to be approximately 5,000 First, to be clear, if you’ve ever made flavorings: Roots, bark, and herbs. years ago in Mesopotamian times non-alcoholic root beer at home There are plenty of options, and it all when grains mixed with water in a you’ve made hard root beer — only comes down to personal preference. clay vessel warmed, causing natural the root beer wasn’t hard enough to A brewer can use all or some of these yeasts to commence fermenting. have an impact. Even the most basic choices in varying amounts, picking As mentioned, alcohol is the root beer recipes create trace amounts out the flavor elements that suit the fermentation by-product, and the of alcohol — generally less than 0.25– palate best. Wintergreen, clove, birch first to try this accidental brew 0.35% alcohol. The key here is to get bark, vanilla, sassafras, sarsaparilla, relished the effects and set out to

23 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved create more. maltose into the recipe. Besides for your beer is critical, the same Root beer, on the other hand, was the obvious sweetening aspects, can be said when brewing hard root developed specifically as the anti- the malt extract and dextrose and/ beer. The difference is not so much in beer, so to speak, so there would be or maltose can add some body. You flavor — a neutral profile is preferred something for children and other can also use beet sugar, candi sugar, so as not to diminish the flavors of non-alcohol drinkers to consume. It is corn sugar, molasses, brown sugar, the roots and herbs — but in the a decidedly North American beverage, maple syrup, honey, agave, etc., levels of fermentation that can take and scholastic research targets the but keep in mind that they are all place. Again, the idea is to choose a American colonies in the 1600s as the fermentable sugars. If your root beer robust strain that can consume large birthplace of root beer due to a lack of is fermented to dryness these sugars amounts of sugar, thus creating traditional beer-making ingredients. will not add much to the sweetness of higher alcohol levels. There are Brewers during this era experimented the finished root beer. The difference several beer and wine yeast strains with many combinations of tree saps, between homebrewed hard root beer that are suitable. honey sweeteners, flowers, herbs and and commercial stuff at this point Those opting for the base beer bark. is that most commercial examples method would do best to use a clean are pasteurized before fermenting ale yeast, while many traditional CHOICES to dryness, which kills the active root beer makers opt for Champagne There are two prevalent schools of yeast and retains the sweetness of yeast. In fact, the instructions for the thought when is comes to making the beverage. At home you’ll need Old Time Flavor extract recommend hard root beer. One is to begin with to inhibit fermentation before it is a Champagne yeast. This yeast a base beer — a clean California ale, complete to retain sweetness, or ferments cleanly and won’t change or a dark lager — and then add the back sweeten your root beer with an the root beer’s potent flavors, and it is flavoring in the secondary. Typically, unfermentable sugar such as lactose. excellent for consuming most, if not extracts yield the best results here, This is something that mead- all the present sugars, thus boosting and Internet forums seem to back this makers and cider makers work with alcohol content. The risk is that “it up. And while it might be possible to all the time, and their examples can is a monster” capable of fermenting create a strong enough “herb/bark/ guide you. Bob Peak wrote a great at colder temperatures — as low as root tea” to add to the secondary, the story in the October 2015 issue of 45 °F (7 °C). Conventional wisdom flavors may not be as pronounced. Brew Your Own about back sweetening says put the finished product in the That leaves a second option, which hard cider, which you can read refrigerator to stop the carbonation also follows brewing protocol, but is online: https://byo.com/article/back- process, but here’s the rub and less about making a “flavored beer” sweetening-hard-cider/. risk with Champagne yeast: Even and more inline with a true root beer And for those wondering, yes you when storing the root beer in the process. Instead, malt extracts and can make hard root beer starting with fridge, some fermentation can take various sugar sources are combined an all-grain beer base if you’d like, place increasing the explosive risk. with steeped herbs/roots/etc./ and you’d just need to brew something Similarly, lager yeast, while having then fermented. that would be akin to making a very a dry, often neutral flavor, also can light, unhopped malt extract. Keep in ferment at low temperatures and is SWEETENING THE POT mind that this will add hours to your not recommended. Both points are If you look at the instructions on hard root beer making experiment, as moot, however, if the root beer is to that “Old Time Flavor” root beer all-grain days are longer than extract be kegged, but if bottling one could extract package you will see that brew days. end up with cases of root beer bombs. cane sugar is recommended. Cane Those wishing to use beer yeast, sugar is fine for making root beer HOPS Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White — and some commercial root beer Some online recipes call for hops, Labs WLP001 (California Ale), or manufacturers swear by it — but others don’t. Though on the surface Safale US-05 Ale Yeast are generally hard root beer benefits from more it seems like hops could balance recommended as strong strains “complex” sugars. My local sources sweetness as they do in beer. In the capable of driving up alcohol levels told me one could use pure cane case of making root beer, hops are without imparting unwanted flavors. sugar alone, but so much would more likely a detriment to the flavor Another, perhaps better, option is be needed that the resulting drink profile, masking or taking away from Lalvin ICV D-47, a lively white wine would be thin, lacking mouthfeel and subtler ingredients. Really, it’s a yeast often used in Chardonnay and head retention, not to mention high matter of personal preference and rosé, that has a warmer fermentation in alcohol without much sweetness you are welcome to experiment. After temperature range of 59–68 °F (15–20 left behind to balance if fermented all, cider makers have found a way to °C). Like the Champagne yeast, D-47 dry. My sources’ recommendations: do it, so you never know. ferments clean and will eat up all the Use a light liquid or dried malt sugars present so a higher alcohol extract as the main sugar source, YEAST finish (this yeast is capable up to 14 and incorporate dextrose and/or Just as selecting the right yeast strain percent ABV) can be obtained.

24 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved ROOT BEER FLAVORING first brewed in Yorkshire, England And be careful processing it! Maxfield It’s not a bad idea to experiment with in the mid-18oos. Ginger itself has said, “On our first batch of Pedal Hard different root, herb and bark ratios been used for medicinal and culinary Ginger Beer, we juiced over 900 lbs. before going into full production. The purposes since 500 BC. (408 kg) of ginger by hand with two easiest way to do this is to create small To be clear, how the beverage is home kitchen juicers — we had to sample batches on the stovetop. Be made is what sets hard ginger beer cut each piece of ginger into 1-inch sure to record all addition amounts apart from ginger ale for the most part (2.5-cm) pieces in order to feed them so that once the proper flavor profile (although not always). Non-alcoholic into the counter top juicers. It took is achieved, it can be scaled up for a ginger beverages (ginger ales) are nine hours and almost cost Greg a 5-gallon (19-L) batch. most often force carbonated like soda, fingertip.” The usual procedure is to boil (or while hard ginger beer is fermented, Many commercial hard ginger beer simmer) the roots, herbs, etc. to like any beer, to obtain both alcohol brewers — particularly those that extract their flavor. If using whole and carbonation (however there have been operating for decades or roots, barks and herbs, these can are artisanal/craft ginger ales that more — use a starter called the Ginger be boiled separately and then added are fermented — just like hard root Root Plant (GRP). This is not a plant to the sugar wort, or can be boiled beer — they are just not as common, in the conventional sense, but is more at the same time. To make a flavor commercially, here in the US). like a sourdough starter, that is, a live concentrate, boil them in less water, Like hard root beer, there are culture that’s con-stantly replenished adding this near the end of the main many recipes floating around the to stay “alive” and active. Discovered boil. It’s important to note, herb/root Internet for making hard ginger beer in the late-1880s, GRP is listed in boil times vary from a few minutes at home that range from simple to scientific terms as “a symbiotic to several hours. A 30-minute boil/ complicated. Typical alcohol content colony of yeast and Lactobacillus” simmer is typical for many roots and ranges between 5 and 9% ABV, bacteria. This plant is somewhat gel- herbs. In either case, using a grain bag making this an easy beverage for like (almost like a bread dough) and will prevent sediment build up and homebrewers to make. The key, as in is used to activate the fermentation make racking easier. making any hard soda-like product, process in the basic brew of water, For the main boil, bring 5 gallons is providing the proper sugar source sugar and ginger. It is virtually (19 L) of water to 160 °F (71 °C), turn off for the yeast to fully consume. This impossible to find a “home” version and add the malt extracts and sugars, ensures that as the yeast feeds on of this carefully guarded ingredient, stirring to dissolve. Bring the mixture the sugar source, enough alcohol is though you can try ordering some to a vigorous boil for 10-15 minutes produced. online from gingerbeerplant.net. (longer if including the roots/herbs). A note of caution: Using too much If using a flavor concentrate, add in GINGER BEER INGREDIENTS ginger can provide a big “burn.” last five minutes. Cool the wort to Most recipes call for basic cane sugar, Typical recipes call for as much as 2 yeast pitching temperature and rack though most unhopped light liquid ounces for 5 gallons (56 g for 19 L). For to a 6-gallon (23-L) glass carboy. malt extracts (or equivalent light dried less heat, lower the amount of ginger. Aerate well by shaking, and monitor malt extracts) will provide sufficient For a more assertive drink, add more. fermentation (much as you would sugars to boost alcohol levels, along A teaspoon of vanilla or cream of tartar with beer) at temperature suggested with some body and character (as in a 5-gallon (19-L) batch can help cut on yeast packet. Fermentation should if the ginger kick wasn’t enough!). the heat without sacrificing flavor. be completed within a few days, Other good sweetener options include Start small with ginger and build up. however residual yeast will remain honey, agave syrup, and corn syrup — It’s all about personal preference. active. or a combination of all of the above. Lemons are also an important As in any brewing endeavor, Using fresh ginger, which takes addition for the citric acid used as a there’s no one single way to go about a little more work, provides the best counterpoint to the ginger. Again, it. There are plenty of varied recipes flavor. The ginger can be grated or the amount of lemon juice (fresh, of to be found online that range from sliced thin, with or without the skin. course, is best) varies so experiment simple to extremely complicated. Powdered ginger is a reasonable to taste. Lime juice can also be used, Start with a simple recipe with extract substitute and can be found in health or a combination of the two. Mix and on the next page, shared by Kit food stores, though frequently dried match! Maxfield of Root Sellers Brewing Co. spices aren’t as fresh or potent, and Most recipes call for a basic, clean more will be needed to get the proper yeast — some as basic as Red Star HARD GINGER BEER “kick.” The grated ginger found baking yeast — but since baking yeast Ginger beer, alcoholic or not, while in jars at grocery stores and Asian is specifically grown to be packed full available in the United States, has specialty markets is typically not of glycogen to rapidly produce CO2 never found a welcoming market recommended. This product usually for baking, it is not well suited for comparable with England. Naturally, has preservatives, but read the label alcoholic fermentation. A better bet this makes sense given that historians to confirm. If it’s possible to find is a clean ale yeast, such as Wyeast have documented the beverage was pure, unadulterated ginger, go for it. 1056 (American Ale), Safale US-05

25 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved Ale Yeast, or White Labs WLP001 temperatures and rack to your carboy hard ginger beer, again generously (California Ale). Champagne yeast is for fermenting, which should last shared by Kit Maxfield of Root Sellers also a popular choice that can boost about five to seven days. Like hard Brewing Co. both ABV and carbonation levels. root beer, ginger beer should be very The basic brewing process is simple dry if you don’t stop the fermentation Glenn BurnSilver is an award- for hard ginger beer: Bring 5 gallons before it is complete, so you will likely winning journalist who has written (19 L) of water to a boil, dissolve the want to back sweeten it (see the link numerous features covering various sugars and add the ginger. Let that earlier for more information on back beer and alternative fermentations steep for one hour, then add lemon or sweetening) before packaging. for BYO over the years. lime juice. Cool to appropriate pitching Check out the recipe for a basic HARD ROOT BEER & GINGER BEER RECIPES

to backsweeten. Mix all this very well and fast ferment. After 10 days or HARD ROOT BEER or the dense sugar syrup will drop to so, cool to near freezing to drop out (5 gallons/19 L) the bottom and make for an awkward as much yeast you can. Transfer the OG = 1.038 FG = 0.995 first pint.This beer likes to be well clear finished ginger beer into an ABV = 5.5% carbonated — try 2.4-2.7 volumes — empty Corny keg and add the ginger and will stay good for quite a while in juice, lemon (or lime) juice, and sugar Kit Harrington of Root Sellers’ advises, a kegerator. (dissolved in 2 cups/500 mL boiling “Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), is water) to backsweeten. Mix all this great for knocking the acidity down and very well or the dense sugar syrup will a little goes a long way! You will need to HARD GINGER BEER drop to the bottom. Follow the same add it 1 tsp. at a time to dial in the right (5 gallons/19 L) carbonation advice as the hard root amount of pH.” OG = 1.038 FG = 0.995 beer recipe. ABV = 5.5% INGREDIENTS PACKAGING HARD ROOT 4 lbs. (1.8 kg) pure cane sugar Kit Harrington of Root Sellers’ advises, AND GINGER BEERS: 1 tablespoon (15 mL) molasses “Start with the freshest ingredients Once the hard root beer or hard ginger ½ tsp. yeast nutrient possible, they really show when you make beer fermentation has run its course, Root beer extract (quantities vary ginger beer. I recommend getting a cold the next step is back sweetening and based on extract) press masticating juicer and juice the then bottling or kegging. If kegging, 2-4 tsp. baking soda (added to taste) ginger yourself.” which is recommended for both brews Clean fermenting ale yeast over bottling, the root or ginger beer (Champagne works well also) INGREDIENTS will be force carbonated. If you’re 2 lbs. (0.91 kg) sugar to backsweeten 4 lbs. (1.8 kg) pure cane sugar priming with corn sugar and bottling, (added to cold keg) 1 tablespoon (15 mL) molasses do not use regular beer bottles as ½ tsp. yeast nutrient there will be more residual sugar than STEP BY STEP 8 oz. (226 mL) lemon or lime (juiced) a normal beer, plus refermentation in Bring sugar, molasses, and water to a 8 oz. (226 mL) ginger root (juiced) the bottle, and this will likely result boil for 15 minutes. At flame out add Clean fermenting ale yeast in exploding glass bottles, which are yeast nutrient. Once cooled to yeast (Champagne works well also) very dangerous and unpredictable. pitching temperature, add the yeast 1 lb. (0.45 kg) sugar to backsweeten Instead, use bottles with thick, and allow the temperature to rise (added to cold keg) reinforced glass such as 750-mL naturally to the upper limit of the bottles that are corked with a cage. yeast’s range; you want a good and fast STEP BY STEP Better still, use Champagne bottles. ferment. After 10 days, cool to near- Bring sugar, molasses and water to Store in refrigeration. freezing to drop out as much yeast a boil for 15 minutes. At flame out you can. Transfer the clear finished add yeast nutrient. Once cooled to beer into an empty corny keg and add yeast pitching temperature, add the in the root beer extract and baking yeast and allow the temperature to soda to taste. Finally, add the sugar rise naturally to the upper limit of (dissolved in 1 qt./1 L boiling water) the yeast’s range; you want a good

26 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved MAKING SAKE BY BOB TAYLOR

hen making sake, the first ingredient to consider is water, which is something W we’re all familiar with. The water used for making sake should meet the same requirements that hold for beer: clean, good tasting and chlorine-free. If the water used for sake meets those requirements, minimal mineral adjustment will be necessary (more on that later). Rice, of course, is the staple food grain for all of Asia. Japan does not, under any circumstances, export their rice, so getting genuine Yamada Nishiki sake rice is out of the question for even the largest of North America’s sake producers. Fortunately, the US grows some excellent quality, hybrid, medium-grain rice. My personal favorite is Kokuho Rose sushi rice, which is grown in California, but any medium-short grain rice you can get your hands on will produce very respectable homemade sake. Photo by Wikipedia Photo by Rice for making sake must be milled (polished) in order to remove polished rice is very poor in the surprisingly short, and most of it the husk, germ and bran material. nutrients that yeast need for a is probably already in the average This causes a couple of problems healthy fermentation — particularly homebrewer’s equipment kit. You when it comes to making a fermented magnesium and potassium. For this will need a racking cane, vinyl tubing, beverage out of the grain. First, reason, the recipe at the bottom of airlocks, one-hole stoppers and a without these parts rice can’t be this article calls for some salts and plastic bucket fermenter, which are malted, so how can the yeast get the brewer’s yeast nutrient, which are probably already in your inventory. simple sugars they need to ferment available at your local homebrew Besides basic homebrewing our sake? supply store or your local grocery equipment, you’ll also need a few The answer is koji. A small store. These ingredients aren’t pieces of very inexpensive specialized portion of the rice used to make required — you can make sake equipment: sake is incubated with the spores of without them — but they’re not a very specific strain of mold called expensive and omitting them will • A steamer. Multi-tier bamboo Aspergillus oryzae. This mold is slow your fermentation down and steamer baskets are commonly known for its ability to create a lot of alter the flavor of the finished sake. available and dirt cheap. They need amylase enzymes — the very enzymes Then there is the final ingredient: to be lined with a layer of cheesecloth we need to break down our rice yeast. Wyeast 4134 (Saké) is my to steam rice with them. For even starches and make them available for choice. In fact, it’s the second most cooking, don’t try to steam more than the yeast. Koji will very likely prove to commonly used yeast strain by two tiers of rice at a time. be the most difficult product to find. professional sake brewers worldwide. Asian grocery stores in your area may White Labs also produces WLP705 • One-gallon glass jugs. These will stock Cold Mountain Rice Koji next to (Sake #7), which is available each serve as secondary fermenters and the miso in their refrigerator. If you year in September and October. Any clarifying vessels. I suggest having at can’t find that product, you can order neutral white wine yeast is also an least four of them to make rotating koji-kin (koji spores) from Vision acceptable substitute. through them easier. Brewing (http://www.visionbrewing. com/) and produce your own koji. GEAR GOOD TO GO? • A small fruit press. This device, The second problem is that The list of required equipment is while not required, will make pressing

27 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved sake from the rice lees later on much homebrewer on a budget it can help. time and add water as required. easier. If you own one, use it. If you Making sake requires frequent don’t own one, you can get away with stirring, which means an open STEP-BY-STEP: using your hands to press the lees in a fermenter, so keeping the fermen- HOW TO MAKE SAKE nylon paint straining bag. tation temperature as close to 50 ºF Starting with the moto, a basic batch (10 °C) as you can get it during primary of sake takes about six weeks to HOW SAKE IS MADE fermentation is necessary to keep the complete. There are many steps in the The process itself is where sake from becoming too sour from process, so it helps to keep a checklist homebrewers are tempted to take runaway Lactobacillus activity. and a calendar. Here are the basic shortcuts. At first glance it appears steps, broken down, for making sake very complex, labor intensive, and STEAMED RICE according to the recipe at the end of intimidating. It’s really not that bad! Rice needs to be cooked to gelatinize this story. It helps to think of it as all-grain its starch before it can be used to brewing, but with the mash and make sake. When dealing with large MOTO fermentation happening at the same volumes of rice, steaming is the 1. Prepare 2.5 cups (591 mL) of cold time over a longer period of time. preferred method of cooking. There water by adding 0.75 teaspoon of Like any other complex task, it helps are a few reasons for this, but it all yeast nutrient and a pinch of epsom to break things down into steps, and boils down to ease of handling. It’s salt. Stir until dissolved, then add 0.5 sake has three main steps with only a lot easier to steam a large volume cup of koji. Cover the container and one having a series of sub-steps: of rice than to simmer it, and the store it in the refrigerator overnight. resulting cooked rice kernel is much 1. Moto. This is a yeast starter. The firmer and less sticky than simmered 2. Meanwhile, rinse 1.5 cups of traditional yamahai moto technique rice, resulting in clumps that are rice and cover with 2 to 3 inches of relies on using Lactobacillus bacteria to much easier to break up. Steaming water. Place this next to the koji in acidify the mash at this point, which also volatizes and removes a lot of your refrigerator and allow to soak is why pasteurization is important the fats that are still present on the overnight as well. later on. The low pH helps to protect outside of the rice kernel, resulting in the fermenting sake from spoilage. a more delicately flavored sake. 3. The following morning, drain and The process for steaming rice is steam the soaked rice. After steaming, 2. Moromi The primary fermentation, fairly straightforward. de-pan and mix the hot rice with the but to get a complete fermentation chilled koji and water mixture in your the mash needs to be built up in 1. Wash the rice thoroughly in cold sanitized fermenter, using your clean stages, with each stage doubling the water until the runoff is no longer hands (yes, your hands are the best total amount of the mash: cloudy. tool for the job here) to mix and make sure all the rice clumps are broken a. Hatsuzoe. First addition of koji, 2. Place the rinsed rice in a large bowl up. The temperature of the mixture water, and rice. and add enough cold water to cover by will fall to the 75–80 ºF (24–27 °C) b. Nakazoe. Second addition. about three inches. Place this in the range. Allow this mixture to remain c. Tomezoe. Final addition. refrigerator to soak for 8 to 12 hours, at an ambient room temperature overnight is fine. During this time the of around 70 ºF (21 °C) for two days, 3. Yodan The stabilization step rice will soak up the water that will stirring twice a day with a sanitized where the nigorizake (cloudy sake) is actually cook it during steaming, so spoon. Over the next 48 hours the koji separated from what’s left of the rice it’s important to get the right amount will work its magic and the rice will after fermentation is nearly complete. of water into the grain. Properly almost completely liquefy. Water can be added to dilute the soaked rice is just slightly less than alcohol content, and the sake can be crunchy and breaks up easily, but is 4. After the two days have gone by, fined or filtered to clarify. not squishy. cool the rice and koji mash down to as close to 50 ºF (10 °C) as you can get One final point of sake brewing 3. After soaking, allow the rice to it, then pitch the sake yeast. Hold the that needs to be addressed is drain in a colander for half an hour mash at this cool temperature for the temperature control. The Japanese while you prepare the rest of your next 12 hours. have a long tradition of only brewing steaming equipment. sake in the winter months, much 5. Once the 12 hours have gone by, it’s the same way German brewers used 4. Place the drained rice in a bamboo time to allow the temperature to come to brew. This is the “kan-zukuri” steamer lined with cheesecloth (or back up to the 70 ºF (21 °C) range so or “cold brewing” method. With whatever kind of steamer you own), the starter’s fermentation can carry modern refrigeration equipment, cover, and steam for 45 minutes. out as quickly as possible. Stir the keeping to that traditional timetable Keep an eye on the water level in the mash with a sanitized spoon twice a isn’t strictly necessary, but for the steamer during this long steaming day for the next three days, then once

28 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved a day for three days after that. moromi mash. concern here because there is still a little bit of active fermentation going 6. The basic fermentation of the 2. Steam the rice the next morning as on to help clean things up, but do try moto is completed after nine days. usual, then de-pan and add 8.75 cups to keep things sanitary and splashing The temperature should again be of well-chilled water. Mix well and, as to a minimum. lowered to 50 ºF (10 °C) and the moto before, add it to the moromi when the allowed to rest for another five days. rice is sufficiently cool. SECONDARY, CLARIFYING, After those five days pass, the moto MATURING & PACKAGING becomes ready for the moromi build TOMEZOE You should now have about three up. 1. Immediately following step two of gallons of milky white nigorizake nakazoe, allow the moromi to rest at with an alcohol content somewhere MOROMI room temperture for twelve hours, between 18% and 22% by volume. In order to ensure a complete then stir in all of the remaining koji Put stoppers and airlocks on the fermentation, it’s best not to add all (20 ounces). Afterward, wash and secondary fermenters and keep them of the rice and koji at once. Just like soak all of the remaining 5 pounds of at 50 °F (10 °C) so they can finish syruping a wine, gradually adding the rice for the final addition. fermenting. In a couple weeks the fermentables coaxes the yeast into cloudy rice particles will settle into a going above and beyond their usual 2. The following morning, drain fluffy white layer of sediment on the alcohol tolerance. Rice, koji, and and steam the soaked rice. Work in bottom of each jug and you can just water are added three times over a batches if necessary, this is a lot of siphon the clear sake off into another period of four days. rice for even the most ambitious of sanitized vessel. steamers. The freshly steamed rice At this point in the process, you HATSUZOE will need to be mixed with 1 gallon will have pale yellow sake that is no 1. The first addition of rice will be 2.5 plus 1 cup (237 mL) of cold water longer milky, but can’t quite be called cups, which needs to be rinsed and before being added into the moromi. clear. To render it brilliantly clear covered with water to soak twelve (and largely colorless), commercial hours before you plan to steam it. 3. Let the moromi, now at nearly 4 sake producers use activated charcoal While you’re rinsing the rice, stir 1 gallons (15 L) volume, rest overnight filters. For homebrewers, take a page cup of koji into the moto. at room temperature. You can observe from the winemaking book instead: the odori or “dancing ferment,” which bentonite. Used in a ratio of 1⁄2 2. The next morning, steam the rice is sake’s version of the high kräusen teaspoon per gallon (3.8 L), bentonite for this addition. While steaming, that homebrewers are familiar with. finings will remove most of the haze dissolve 1.25 teaspoon of Morton salt from homebrewed sake in a matter of substitute in a little warm water (this Now that the moromi is built up and days. is the only time you will need to do fermentation is well underway, it’s To use bentonite, start with 8 fluid this), then add enough cold water to time to get the temperature down. ounces (237 mL) of very hot water make a total of 2.75 cups (651 mL). Move the fermenter to a location that and slowly whisk in 1.5 teaspoons Place this in the refrigerator to chill will maintain it at as close to 50 ºF (10 of granular bentonite. Once it has until the rice is done. °C) as possible and allow it to ferment become a smooth slurry, divide it undisturbed for the next three weeks. evenly between your containers of 3. After the rice is finished steaming, hazy sake, cap, and gently shake to de-pan it and mix with the chilled YODAN distribute. In about three days, all of water from step two. Use your clean As the fermentation nears its close, the bentonite will have settled out, hands to break up all the clumps and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep an taking almost all of the haze particles then, when the temperature of the eye on the specific gravity. Once the with it. rice drops below 85 ºF (29 °C), mix gravity has dropped below 1.000, it While you’re at it, there’s no it into the moto. The temperature is time to separate the sake from the reason why you can’t stabilize the of the moromi mash should settle rice lees (called kasu). Use a racking sake by pasteurizing it immediately somewhere in the 70–74 ºF (21–23 cane to siphon the cloudy nigorizake after adding the finings. It’s very easy °C) range. Keep the mash at room out from under the floating cap of to do. Place your jug of sake in a pot temperature and stir every 2 hours for kasu and into sanitized one gallon large enough to hold it plus a water the next 12 hours, then twice a day for glass jugs until you can’t draw off bath, then add enough tepid (to avoid the next 36 hours. any more liquid. Things will tend to shocking the glass) water to come up clog up here, and that’s okay, you can to the shoulder of the jug (or the pot NAKAZOE just pour the remaining liquid and if the jug is much taller than the pot). 1. On the evening of the day after you kasu into a nylon straining bag and Place a thermometer down the neck started the hatsuzoe step, prepare 6 use either your hands or a small fruit of the vessel and apply heat. Watch cups of rice for steaming. At the same press to extract as much sake from the thermometer carefully, and when time, stir 1.5 cups of koji into the it as you can. Aeration isn’t a huge it reaches 140 ºF (60 °C), remove the

29 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved sake from the water bath, take out the thermometer, and cap the sake tightly. Allow the pasteurized sake to cool completely before refrigerating. Once pasteurized, you can bulk age sake like this for up to six months before siphoning into smaller bottles and re-pasteurizing. Clarified, double-pasteurized sake has a shelf life of up to a year at room temperature, and considerably longer if kept refrigerated and away from light.

CONCLUSION Once you know the technique, where to find the ingredients and have a few pieces of inexpensive equipment, making a batch of sake can be rewarding.

SAKE RECIPE INGREDIENTS 10 lbs. (4.5 kg) short grain white rice 40 oz. (1.13 kg) Cold Mountain Rice Koji (2x 20 oz. tubs) 2 gal. (7.6 L) cold water 0.75 tsp. brewer’s yeast nutrient 1 pinch Epsom salt (magnesium

sulfate — MgSO4) 1.25 tsp. Morton Salt Substitute (containing potassium chloride — KCl) 1 pack Wyeast Sake #9 Yeast

Bob Taylor is a sake enthusiast, whose guide Taylor-MadeAK- Brewing Sake taught many amateurs aroud the world to make their own sake.

30 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved FERMENTED FOODS BY MICHAEL TONSMEIRE

t may come as a shock to some of making something for yourself that homebrewers, but beer isn’t most people think only comes from the only delicious thing that a supermarket. This article gives an I fermentation is responsible for overview of four fermentations: Malt creating. If you already know how vinegar, sourdough bread, sauerkraut, to brew beer, it is an easy leap to and yogurt. The recipe section below other alcoholic beverages such as includes a recipe for each. hard cider, wine and mead. In fact, starting a batch of one of these is MALT VINEGAR as easy as making a no-boil extract In the absence of oxygen, yeast cells beer because fruit and honey are generate energy by fermenting sugar loaded with fermentable sugars into alcohol. Once the yeast ferments (unlike starchy grains). There are all of the chains of carbohydrates nuances to the ingredient selection short enough for its enzymes to and processes for these beverages to disassemble, its work is finished. This be sure, but their fermentations are doesn’t mean that all of the stored nearly identical to beer. On the other chemical energy has been expended, hand, as an alternative to making however; with the availability of another alcoholic libation, consider oxygen, other microbes can generate fermenting some food to eat alongside energy by converting alcohol into a pint of homebrew. acetic acid. Acetic acid is the primary Most of the microbes responsible acid in all types of vinegar. It is the Acetobacter (the primary bacteria for fermented foods are also found alcoholic base that determines the responsible for acetic acid production) in certain beer styles. Saccharomyces type of vinegar. Beer is converted is commonly airborne, so making cerevisiae, the same species of yeast to malt vinegar, sake to rice wine vinegar can be as simple as leaving used to ferment ales, also raises loaves vinegar, hard cider to cider vinegar, a three-quarters-full growler of the of crusty bread. The Lactobacillus that red wine to red wine vinegar, etc. beer of your choice sitting open in gives Berliner weisse its refreshing Most of us occasionally brew a warm spot for several months. lactic acidity is also responsible for a batch of beer that isn’t terrible, You can speed up the conversion of creating the tartness and firm texture but isn’t good enough to drink alcohol to acetic acid by pitching a in a bowl of yogurt. The Pediococcus proudly. Rather than dumping the vinegar “mother.” This gelatinous that dominates lactic acid production beer, convert it into this traditional disc is a colony of Acetobacter cells in lambics, also lowers the pH of condiment with fish and chips. that have clumped together by traditional salami. The Acetobacter secreting cellulose. A mother can that adds sharpness to Flemish reds, be obtained either from a bottle of given enough time and oxygen, creates MALT VINEGAR unpasteurized vinegar or as a culture the acidity of vinegar. The specific INGREDIENTS sold by some homebrewing stores. strains of microbes involved in the 1.5 qts. (1.4 L) of 5% ABV beer Cover the mouth of the growler with production of these foods are even cheesecloth secured with a rubber- added to sour beers by some brewers. Not all beer styles work well as a vinegar band to prevent insects from being In the same way that homebrewing base. The flavor of highly bitter beers, like lured into the aromatic liquid. (Despite allows us to brew beers that suit our IPA, can clash with acetic acid. English the old saying, you can catch quite a palates and use the ingredients of our brown ale results in vinegar closest to few flies with vinegar). Acetobacter choice, home-fermented foods have the most common malt vinegars on the produces acetic acid rapidly at warm similar benefits. After you succeed market, but that is not the only option. temperatures (85–90 °F, 29–32 °C), with a basic recipe, consider adding Any moderately hopped blonde to dark but low humidity combined with heat optional ingredients, or developing a brown beer will work quite satisfactorily. will also lead to faster evaporation. house microbial culture. Want to use As a caution if you use a strong beer, This same evaporation concentrates organic heirloom cabbages in your water it down to about 5% ABV to avoid residual sugars in the alcoholic base sauerkraut? Go ahead! You might having an overly acidic or boozy result. and is responsible for the sweetness save a few dollars making yogurt or of traditional Balsamic vinegar. vinegar at home, but the best reason STEP BY STEP When the malt vinegar is acidic to ferment at home is the satisfaction Pour your beer into a clean growler. enough for your tastes (usually after

31 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved several months), move it to a bottle it every day. When you remove some INGREDIENTS and spritz onto fish and chips, flavor of the starter to bake with, simply 15 oz. (425 g) bread flour (about 3 cups sauerbraten, make mustard, or mix replace that amount with equal parts measured with the scoop and sweep with oil for a vinaigrette. When you (by weight) flour and carbon-filtered method) harvest the vinegar, you can either water (the chlorine or chloramines in 1.5 tsp. (7 mL) kosher salt top-off with more beer or transfer the unfiltered municipal water are added 11 oz. (0.325 L) filtered/bottled water mother to another alcoholic beverage to kill microbes). If you have enough at 95 °F (35 °C) to create a different type of vinegar. initiative to weigh ingredients when 4 oz. (113 g) sourdough starter brewing, you should be doing the same SOURDOUGH BREAD for baking (flour is notoriously hard to STEP BY STEP While most breads (like most measure accurately by volume). If you Mix the salt with the flour in one bowl beers) are fermented by a single go more than a week or two between and the sourdough starter with the species of yeast, sourdough is using your starter, discard half of it warm water in another. Combine the the bread equivalent of Belgian and then feed with flour and water. contents of the two bowls and mix lambic. Sourdough is fermented by If you go too long between feedings, a vigorously for 20 seconds or until all a combination of wild yeasts and grayish layer of alcoholic liquid called of the flour is moistened. The longer bacteria and consequently requires a hooch will pool on the surface of the you work the dough at this stage, the longer fermentation, but the result starter and this should be poured off more even the crumb structure of the has a more interesting flavor which before using or feeding. Even with finished loaf will be. If you want a includes lactic acid tartness. All bread such a low-effort recipe you may not rustic loaf with some big air pockets was made using such a process before want to bake a loaf of bread every (like I do), work it as little as possible. bakeries started buying their yeast week. The major advantage of using Cover your bowl first with plastic from breweries. The fermentationist an even ratio of water to flour in the wrap and then a clean kitchen hand can either start their own sourdough starter is that it makes it simple to towel, then leave the dough to rise culture, or buy one (although as you swap the starter into other recipes in at cool room temperature overnight propagate and reuse a culture, the place of packaged yeast. Have a bagel (about 18 hours). The expanding microbes from your flour, water, recipe that calls for one pound (450 g) bubbles of carbon dioxide will do the and air will overtake the original of flour and 12 ounces (340 g) of water? work of kneading for you. The long microbes). There are enough ways to Add two ounces (60 g) of starter rise also allows the acid-producing create your own sourdough starter to and subtract one ounce (30 g) from bacteria time to create the sourness fill an entire article. I began my first both the water and flour. How about that defines sourdough. starter by combining varied sources sourdough pancakes or pretzels? Just The next day, dust the dough of yeast and bacteria (kombucha, extend the fermentation to get the with a bit more flour and fold the sour beer, bread yeast, etc.) with desired amount of rise, but otherwise sides into the middle to form a equal parts of flour and water by treat the recipe as you would when round loaf. At this point the dough weight. Leaving the starter at room using dried baker’s yeast. should be soft and slightly sticky, temperature and feeding it with more but it should hold its shape without flour and water each day for a week sagging. Sprinkle half of a clean tea brings the microbes to equilibrium NO-KNEAD TO WORRY towel with stone ground cornmeal and allows you to assess their flavor SOURDOUGH (other options include wheat bran, and carbon dioxide production. My starter produced a good tart flavor, but did not create enough carbon dioxide to inflate the dough in a reasonable amount of time. I threw my starter out and purchased San Francisco sourdough starter from Fermented Treasures (now defunct). I managed to keep that starter alive for several years before eventually letting it die from neglect during a particularly hot DC summer. The mixed sourdough culture does not need to be protected from invading microbes like a beer, so no special sanitation procedures are required. Once your starter is ready to use, keep it in the fridge at all times unless you are willing to feed Photo by Shutterstock.com by Photo

32 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved seeds and coarse salt) and place the is one of the only fermentations mm). Using a v-slicer, mandolin or loaf onto the towel seam-side-down. that has a history in my family. My food processor slicing blade makes Dust more cornmeal on top of the loaf mother remembers there always quick work of the task and ensures before folding the towel to cover. The being a barrel of fermenting cabbage a consistent texture compared to cornmeal prevents the dough from in the basement of her German chopping with a knife. Two medium sticking to the towel and helps to grandfather’s house. Much like heads of green cabbage yield three to enhance the flavor and appearance sourdough, sauerkraut is fermented four pounds once shredded. Mix the of the crust. Let the loaf rise until with a mix of microbes which do not cabbage with 2.5% of its own weight doubled in size again (about three need to be cultured or purchased. in kosher salt (measuring by weight hours for my culture). When your Salt, in the right ratio, draws moisture removes inaccuracies associated target size is about a half hour away, out of the cabbage creating brine with volumetric measures). Press put a cast iron Dutch oven with its lid that protects the desirable lactic the salted cabbage into a large non- into your cold oven and set for 425 acid bacteria (including our friends reactive (plastic, glass, stainless steel, °F (218 °C). An enamel coated Dutch Lactobacillus and Pediococcus, in or ceramic) container. oven will transfer heat more slowly, addition to Leuconostoc) from other Earthenware crocks are tradi- so set the oven to 450 °F (232 °C) if microbes that make unpleasant tional, but not necessary. Initially, you are using one. When the Dutch flavors. As a result, it is not advisable the vessel can be filled to the brim oven is rocket hot, place (or toss as to reduce the amount of salt in the with cabbage, which will compact as gently as possible) the dough, seam- recipe. If the finished sauerkraut it releases water. side-up, into the Dutch oven and is too salty for your tastes, rinse it Over the next few hours the salt replace the lid. Bake for 25 minutes. before eating or cooking. will draw out moisture. When the During this time, the lid will trap cabbage looks wilted, press on it and steam evaporating from the dough. place a lid from another container The increased humidity allows the SAUERKRAUT that is small enough to sit on the crust to stay pliable as the heat causes INGREDIENTS surface of the cabbage. Position a trapped gas bubbles to expand and 4 lbs. (1.8 kg) sliced green cabbage one pound (0.45 kg) weight, such as the yeast to go hyper (“oven spring”). 1.6 oz. (45 g) kosher salt a water-filled mason jar, on the lid After this initial period, remove the to press the cabbage. Alternatively, lid and increase the oven temperature Sauerkraut was produced successfully fill a sturdy, sanitized Ziploc bag with by 50 °F (10 °C). Take the loaf out of for centuries before there was an water to use in place of both the lid the oven once it is brown and crusty, understanding of sanitary procedures. and weight. Leave your souring kraut usually 15 to 20 minutes (or until the However, it is safest to limit the microbes at cellar temperature, around 60 °F internal temperature reaches 206– to those living on the cabbage itself. (16 °C), to ferment. After 24 hours 210 °F/97–99 °C). Don’t worry if your I use Star-San to sanitize anything the liquid coaxed out by the salt and bread doesn’t get incredibly brown; that touches the cabbage, including weight should be enough to cover the the lower pH of sourdough slows the knife, v-slicer, container, cutting surface of the cabbage. Drier cabbage the Maillard reactions responsible board, and weight. or an inadequate weight may prevent for color development. Place the enough liquid from being exuded. If loaf on a cooling rack for at least 30 the liquid does not cover the cabbage, minutes before cutting into it. The top-off with brine made by mixing crust on this bread is better than on chlorine-free water with 2.5% salt by any other bread I have baked, crunchy weight. and flavorful. The acid in the dough By 72 hours the cabbage should helps the interior of the loaf to stay start emitting gas bubbles and a light relatively soft for 48 hours or longer sulfur aroma, which is why many if wrapped tightly. Sadly, wrapping people store their fermenting kraut tightly also causes the crust to lose its in a basement or spare bathroom. I crunch after a day. actually enjoy young salted cabbage that has just started to ferment as SAUERKRAUT a side-dish for grilled meat and on Sauerkraut is one of the easiest sausage sandwiches. Photo by Michael Tonsmeire Michael by Photo fermented foods to make at home. As the fermentation continues, A basic recipe requires only two STEP BY STEP you may notice colonies of (non- ingredients, both of which are cheap Discard any ugly/dirty outer leaves dangerous) mold floating on the and available at every supermarket: and then quarter the cabbage surface of the brine. If you do, scoop salt and cabbage. Starting a batch through the root end. Slice each them off, clean and sanitize the lid takes less than 20 minutes, and quarter into whatever thickness and weight before returning. After the finished kraut will be ready to you desire, usually between an two to three weeks, the distinct eat in just a few weeks. Sauerkraut eighth and a quarter of an inch (3–6 tart smell of sauerkraut should be

33 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved apparent. Taste the sauerkraut once a week until the flavor and texture are at your desired level. At this point, move the sauerkraut and brine to a mason jar or other airtight container and refrigerate until consumed. Spices (juniper, caraway), fruits (apples), or vegetables (onions) can be mixed into the cabbage along with the salt for added flavor or texture.

YOGURT Dairy products are the most diverse areas of fermentation. They include such standards as sour cream and buttermilk; gourmet items like crème fraîche, cultured butter, and kefir; not to mention countless varieties of cheese. Out of all of these the most common and easiest to make is yogurt. Starting a yogurt fermen- tation requires the introduction of the right bacteria, but luckily they are available at your supermarket in any commercial yogurt that indicates it “contains live cultures.” For subsequent batches you can STEP BY STEP lined with cheesecloth to drain some use homemade yogurt, instead of Stirring constantly, heat the milk of the whey. commercial, to provide the microbes. to 185 °F (85 °C). The longer you hold Lactobacillus is responsible for both the milk at this temperature (up to 30 FERMENTED FINISH the tart flavor, and the thick texture minutes), the firmer the texture will Many beer nerds are foodies, and of yogurt. The thickening is a result be. Allow the milk to cool to 115 °F (46 most of the homebrewers I know are of protein coagulation brought on by °C); a cold water bath will speed up the also passionate home cooks. Once the lactic acid-lowered pH.Before process. Pour all of the milk, except you get started with these simple making your first batch, you will about a cup (250 mL), into clean non- recipes, there are a multitude of need to find a method to keep the reactive containers (old quart/liter fermented foods out there that take fermentation between 110 and 115 yogurt containers are perfect). Stir more time, effort, and precision. °F (43–46 °C). Purpose-built yogurt the reserved cup of warm milk with Homemade yogurt may lead you to makers are available, often for a few the room temperature store bought cheesemaking. Cured and fermented dollars at thrift shops. I use a cooler yogurt. Mix the thinned yogurt into meats can be marvelous, but also and an old heating pad that does the rest of the warm milk, and then require precise temperature and not have an automatic shut-off. If adjust the thermostat to the required humidity controls. There are also you MacGyver your own rig, test it setting. Fermentation by Lactobacillus many things that can be made by with water first to determine the in their ideal temperature range is fermenting soy beans (e.g., soy sauce, ideal temperature setting. At warm rapid. About eight hours will usually and tofu). Also worth investigating temperatures the fermentation is so result in a mostly firm, thick, tangy are low-alcohol fermented beverages quick that you do not need to worry yogurt. The longer you leave the yogurt like ginger beer plant, kombucha, and about the milk spoiling, so clean before putting it into the refrigerator kvass. Whatever you ferment, take your equipment, but sanitation is not the more acid will be produced, and good notes, and learn from both your necessary. the firmer the resulting yogurt will mistakes and your successes. be. Commercial yogurts often contain stabilizers (such as pectin) which Before opening Sapwood Cellars in YOGURT firm the texture and preserve the Columbia, MD, Michael Tonsmeire INGREDIENTS consistency when stirred. If you like was known primarily as The ½ gallon (2 L) milk firm yogurt, add a few tablespoons Mad Fermentationist and author 1 oz. (16 mL) yogurt (with live cultures) of powdered milk before heating to of American Sour Beers. He increase the protein content. If you continues to chronical his home You can use milk from any animal and prefer Greek-style yogurt, then place fermentations at his blog www. with any percentage of fat you want. your fermented yogurt in a strainer themadfermentationist.com.

34 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved MAKING KIMCHI BY ASHTON LEWIS

he year 2020 was surely the most unusual year for nearly everyone. That basic statement T needs no further elaboration as we all had our fair share of strife in 2020. But with bad comes good, and the silver lining of the dark cloud that has lingered over this year has been a renewed interest in great homemade foods, especially fermented foods. And within the niche of fermented food, wild fermentations have popped up in homes across the country. Two umbrellas capturing much of the buzz about this topic are sourdough breads and kimchi. The sourdough bug bit me and I have been pretty impressed with the quality of bread that has come out of my oven, as well as the terrific amount of information that is available to home bakers. Therefore, Mr. Wizard’s first food article is going to be about kimchi! Lewis Ashton by Photos

WHAT IS KIMCHI? to explain why so many traditional GETTING INTO KIMCHI Kimchi is a term used in Korea to foods, especially those from hotter In today’s world of food journalism, describe a wide array of fermented climates, are hot and spicy. picking a popular topic and running vegetables and fruits, and is the A quick search about kimchi writ- into the assignment with teen vigor is national dish of South Korea. Over ten by westerners often equates not all that uncommon, but the truth the past several years, Korean food kim-chi to spicy sauerkraut. This is my love of kimchi has nothing to do in the U.S. has experienced a rise description is far from useful and with 2020 or tinkering in the kitchen in popularity and more Americans does not do justice to kimchi or because of the COVID-19 blues. I love are familiar with some of the dishes sauerkraut! The two kimchi types kimchi because I love Korean food, and condiments popular in Korean mentioned in this article, tongbaechu especially the spectacular dishes restaurants. Bibimbap, bulgogi, (whole cabbage) kimchi and mak deftly crafted by my late mother-in- japchae, gochujang, and gochugaru kimchi (cut kimchi), traditionally law, Sun. I had eaten some Korean are examples of popular Korean foods include fish sauce, salted shrimp, foods before I met the young lady who and condiments. And this list would sometimes oysters or fish, and lots of would later become my wife, but had be totally incomplete without kimchi. gochugaru. All of these ingredients, not been exposed to much variety. The most common kimchi is made including the napa cabbage (nappa in That all changed in 1989. And one from cabbage, with cucumber kimchi Japanese refers to vegetable leaves, of my favorite types of Korean food being a solid number 2 in the U.S. so “napa cabbage” loosely translates quickly became the amazing range of Although all kimchi is not spicy, to leaf cabbage and has nothing to do fermented vegetables that fall under the most popular types are easy with the Napa Valley), contain above the large umbrella of kimchi. It just to spot because of their red color average levels of free glutamic acid, so happened that Sun’s kimchis were highlights coming from the generous along with other amines and so- truly exceptional. I became spoiled, use of gochugaru or dried, ground, red called 5’ (five prime) ribonucleotides and unfortunately never learned pepper flakes. In basic food science that collectively contribute umami to the art of kimchi making from a real terms, kimchi is a food preserved food. The fact that tongbaechu and master. My wife was also spoiled with a combination of acid and salt mak kimchi have a big depth of fla- by her mom’s cooking and did not and flavored with pungent spices that vor from these umami ingredients receive the secrets to Korean cooking. may have originally been used to cover helps explain why these kimchis Such is life! up unpleasant tastes and aromas. work so well as ingredients in other Over the past 25 years, I dabbled This latter postulate has been used dishes. with kimchi making and would give

35 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved up in frustration before forgetting about the frustration and trying again. This cycle waxed and waned KIMCHI FERMENTRERSKIMCHI FERMENTERS for too long until I found a Korean cooking website called Maangchi and was finally able to produce several Kimchi is traditionally fermented and stored in earthenware crocks called good batches of kimchi. This gave onggi. Still popular today, fermentation crocks allow for easy access from a me the positivity previously denied, large mouth at the top and are sometimes equipped with heavy half-moons and I started applying an analytical to keep the contents submerged under liquid, although this style of weight approach to kimchi in an effort to seems to be a feature of German crocks used for sauerkraut, as is the make something that both my wife airlock/water seal that the latter have designed into the top of the crock. and I liked. Two real challenges with Korean kimchi onggi were traditionally buried in the ground to provide for kimchi making is the space required steady temperatures. in the refrigerator and the strong Onggi permit slow aroma that kimchi gives off inside diffusion of gas across the of the refrigerator. Many Korean wall and likely result in a households in the U.S. have separate different fermentation profile refrigerators just for kimchi to compared to glass containers address these challenges. that block gas diffusion. This got me thinking; there must Plastics do permit gas be products on the market specific transfer and may have some to kimchi storage, and sure enough benefits to fermentation I was able to find a line of plastic in comparison to glass fermenters/storage containers that containers. The E-Jen reportedly prevent kimchi from fermenter that I use markets making the entire refrigerator smell gas-permeability as a feature like kimchi. A clever and useful that improves performance; feature of the design is a floating the moveable inner lid also inner lid that keeps air away from reportedly minimizes the the surface of what is beneath the lid. growth of aerobes on the Maybe it was just the culmination of surface. My normal batch fine-tuning my recipe and technique, size uses 8.8 lbs. (4 kg) of and using my new fermenter, but cabbage, and I also end my kimchi went from pretty good to up with a small amount excellent. Without further ado, let’s of kimchi that I ferment in get busy! glass, which does result in The most common type of a different flavor. My wife kimchi, tongbaechu kimchi, is made and I both prefer the kimchi from whole napa cabbages that are fermented in our plastic quartered, brined, and coated, one fermenter with floating lid. leaf at a time, in a kimchi paste My plastic E-Jen fermenter. before packing into a fermenter. This type of kimchi is removed from the fermenter (which also acts as the storage container) and cut before serving. A variation on this type of UNITS kimchi is called mak kimchi and is easier to prepare and serve. Mak I unapologetically use the metric system in my own brewing and cooking kimchi is what I will be describing ingredient lists because it’s easier to use, especially when ingredient how to make. I encourage folks additions fall between 5 and 100 grams because this range of weights interested in crafting kimchi at home expressed in ounces requires the use of decimals and I like whole numbers. to follow the procedure in this story End of explanation. But, for those who prefer it, I did still include U.S. to help get the basics down and to measurement equivalents for this article. become familiar with the flavor and I view units as units and also refer to quarts and gallons when textural changes that occur during describing the size of pots and buckets because those units are used by the fermentation. Just like with brewing, manufacturers; if you head to the hardware store looking for 8-liter buckets variations are easier to execute after you will not find what you are looking to buy, so I have to refer to 2-gallon multiple wins with an established buckets and 2-quart saucepans. method.

36 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved SHOPPING the store. I usually double this recipe the base. Using a large, sharp, chef’s The best place to gather specialty because it doesn’t add much work knife makes this job relatively easy kimchi ingredients is at a Korean or time, and also because my 5-liter and safe, assuming the person doing market, but some larger grocery stores kimchi fermenter is totally filled, the cutting has decent knife skills. with a good selection will have most with a bit of extra, when starting with I constantly move cut cabbage of the ingredients required for mak about 4 kg (9.7 lbs.) of cabbage. from my cutting board into a 2-gallon kimchi. Napa cabbage is often priced Rinse the cabbage, cut lengthwise bucket (2.5 kg max/bucket) during significantly lower in Asian markets, into eighths, and then cut these prep. After moving ~500 grams of and you will often find it easier to buy wedges into pieces that are about cabbage (a quarter of it) into the large heads of napa cabbage there 1.5 inches (4 cm) wide. I cut the bucket, sprinkle 30 grams (1 oz.) of than in regular grocery stores. wedges from the end opposite the kosher salt on top of the cabbage, Although very good kimchi can base because the base of the cabbage and repeat this layering process until be made from less-than-perfect head holds the leaves together when the bucket is filled. Allow this to rest cabbage, you really want to buy the cutting. Almost all of the cabbage for 30 minutes, give it a gentle stir to best looking heads available. This is used except for the solid bit near move the cabbage pieces around in is also true of all of the other fresh vegetables that are used in the kimchi paste. EQUIPMENT Large cutting board Vegetable peeler Sharp chef’s knife Kimchi fermenter (this recipe will KIMCHI MAKING Colander or homemade yield about 2.5 liters of volume This process takes about three hours double-bucket set-up and require at least 3 liters of total from start to finish, and you will not Mandolin (optional) vessel volume) have much downtime between steps. 2-quart saucepan Blender It’s important to set aside enough Whisk 2–3 mixing bowls time to completely finish the process Kitchen scale Spatula and have your kimchi in the fermenter before settling down for a cool brew, so be prepared to be busy. This is a great team project if you can recruit INGREDIENTS some help. Cabbage and Salt Kimchi Paste Components 2 kg (4.4 lbs.) napa cabbage 120 g (4.2 oz.) Korean radish* CABBAGE PREP (optionally, you can substitute 90 g (3.2 oz.) minced garlic up to 200 grams (7 oz.) of This is the rate limiting part of the 80 g (32.8 oz.) minced white onion napa cabbage with baby bok 60 g (2.1 oz.) matchstick carrots process, so get the cabbage prep choi) 55 g (1.9 oz.) Korean coarse red pepper completed before doing other work. 120 g (4.2 oz.) coarse kosher salt flakes (gochugaru)* Start by removing any wilted outer 35 g (1.2 oz.) Three Crabs Brand leaves and weigh your cabbage. I am a Porridge Fish Sauce (Vietnamese nuoc mam nhi)* spreadsheet fiend and have developed 130 g (4.6 oz.) water 15 g (0.5 oz.) salted fermented shrimp* a calculator to drive my entire 20 g (0.7 oz.) sugar 10 g (0.4 oz.) whole green onions ingredient list proportionally to 15 g (0.5 oz. ) sweet rice flour* 5 g (0.2 oz.) minced ginger cabbage weight, as well as giving me a few levers for tweaking the spice level * These ingredients are carried in most Korean markets. and wetness of the finished product. This recipe is based on a single cabbage and you should be able to find one that weighs about 2 kg (4.4 lbs.) t

Allow the cabbage to brine for two hours.

37 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved the developing brine, and let it rest for another 30 minutes. Repeat process for a total brining time of two hours. The purpose of the brining step is to pull water out of the cabbage tissue and to prepare it for fermentation. Don’t worry about the large amount of salt being used in this step (yes, it’s a lot!) because the cabbage will be rinsed before the prep is over.

PORRIDGE PREP (DONE WHILE CUT CABBAGE IS BRINING) Combine cool water, rice flour, and sugar in a 2-quart (2-L) saucepan. Gently whisk to make a solution, then heat while constantly stirring until starch gelatinizes (solution becomes a translucent gel and the texture Mix kimchi paste with vegetables until uniform. turns silky). This step is pretty cool from a brewing perspective because aromas, so be careful not to blow like a borrowed design from Charlie it reinforces starch chemistry and it the top off the blender and paint the Papazian’s Zapap mash tun, it is! The gives time to think about brewing while ceiling. Leave this mixture in the cabbage volume is approximately constantly stirring! The transition blender until needed. halved during the 2-hour brining from starch solution to a gelatinized Wash the green onions, carrots, process, so even if you are starting paste happens very quickly and the and radish, and allow to drain in a out with 4 kg (8.8 lbs.) of cabbage, feel of the whisk movement will be colander before cutting. Cut the green you can use one 2-gallon (8-L) bucket 3 obvious. Once the starch gelatinizes, onions on a bias into ⁄4-inch (2 cm) without holes and the one 2-gallon turn the heat off and allow the porridge pieces. Peel carrots and cut into match (8-L) bucket-colander for the rinsing to cool to room temperature before sticks (julienne cut). Peel radish (or step. making kimchi paste. Occasional stirs part of the radish depending on the Transfer all salted cabbage into the after cooking help speed the cooling size) and julienne into 2–3 inch (5–7 bucket-colander (with the colander process. cm) strips; this is easiest to do using placed in a sink), rinse out the brining a mandolin if you have one as the bucket(s), and insert the bucket- KIMCHI PASTE PREP texture and size of this vegetable is colander into a bucket without holes. (DONE AFTER PORRIDGE PREP) perfect for slicing with a mandolin. I Fill with cold tap water, stir, and allow only use my mandolin for the radish to rest for about two minutes. To prep because carrots and mandolins drain, simply lift the bucket-colander spell sliced fingers. Please be careful! out of the solid bucket and put in sink Transfer cut green onions, radish to drain. Empty the rinse water in strips, and carrots to a large mixing preparation for the next rinse cycle. bowl, add the gochugaru, puree A minimum of four rinses is from blender, and cooled rice starch recommended to prevent kimchi from porridge. Gently mix with a large being too salty. I like to taste pieces of spoon or spatula until uniform. This cabbage after the fourth rinse to check mixture is your kimchi paste; set aside the saltiness. If the cabbage seems too until cabbage is rinsed and ready to be salty for your preference, rinse more. Whisk the porridge until the starch gelatinizes. mixed with the paste. Remember, kimchi is a preserved food and the salt does play into that Mince the garlic, onion, ginger (a trick RINSE THE BRINED CABBAGE equation, so don’t rinse the cabbage to mincing ginger is to peel the ginger Unless you have a very large colander, too much. Gently press after the using a vegetable peeler to easily a bit of homebrewing ingenuity makes last drain step to remove free water. strip the outer peel while minimizing cabbage rinsing easy and manageable. waste), then combine in a blender I have two 2-gallon (8-L) buckets BRINGING THE PARTS with the fish sauce and fermented that I use for brining and a third TOGETHER 1 shrimp. Blend on a low-to-medium 2-gallon (8-L) bucket with a bunch Transfer about ⁄4 of the cabbage to one 1 speed until all solids are pureed. The of holes drilled in the bottom that is of your kimchi buckets, add about ⁄4 fish sauce and shrimp have pungent my kimchi colander. If this sounds of the kimchi paste, then gently mix

38 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved (this type is sometimes hit with a dash of soy sauce and topped with sesame seeds), others like kimchi a couple of days into fermentation, and most folks who eat kimchi on a regular basis like it best somewhere between weeks 1–3. The way I perceive the range of flavors is that young kimchi has not come into its own, the peak flavor and texture is between weeks 1 and 3, and beyond that time frame, as the cabbage tissue becomes very soft and the acidity becomes pretty intense, kimchi is best used for Korean soups, stews, and stir fries. Koreans eat some sort of kimchi as an accompaniment to almost every meal, and you will always find kimchi served with any dish you eat in a Korean restaurant. So, serving with Korean food is a pretty obvious choice. A bowl of good rice served with a little dried squid or grilled meat and a healthy portion of kimchi makes for a great simple lunch or snack. Thinly sliced kimchi can also be used to add a dimension to hamburgers, fish tacos, omelets, pizza, or whatever else suits Fermenter full of fermenting kimchi. your fancy. Since kimchi is the product of lactic until uniform. Repeat this process be pushed out during fermentation. acid fermentation, it is considered three more times until all cabbage Kimchi fermentation is nothing like a probiotic food and a rich source of and kimchi paste is in bucket. fermenting beer and you will not see bugs for your gut’s microflora. I don’t Transfer the fresh kimchi to your foam or the equivalent of kräusen do health advice, so be sure to read up fermenter and pack the mixture forming at the top. You may, however, on this topic if you are interested in so there are no air bubbles. This is see gas bubbles and changes in the learning more. fairly simple with mak kimchi. I have appearance of the kimchi paste. The And, like other crunchy, sour, salty made the best batches of kimchi in first couple of days of fermentation and spicy foods, kimchi definitely my E-Jen fermenter and know this builds the bacterial population and sets pairs well with beer! container results in a different product the stage for continued fermentation compared to a glass bowl with a water in the refrigerator. After 2–3 days, Ashton Lewis has been the Technical lock covering the top. In the past I move your fermenters to a 39 ˚F (4 Editor and “Mr. Wizard” author used wide-mouth canning jars and ˚C) refrigerator and allow to continue for BYO since its inception over 25 never made great kimchi. Whatever fermenting for about five days. years ago. He is the Technical Sales you choose as your fermenter, the next Although some commercial kimchi Manager in the Central Midwest couple of days are very important. producers reportedly only use cold for BSG. Previously, Ashton was One thing to note here is that no fermentation, I have had very poor the Staff Master Brewer and the starter culture is needed because there results with this method. Although Brewing Group Sales Manager for are plenty of lactic acid bacteria from the kimchi texture and appearance the Paul Mueller Company. He also the cabbage and other vegetables. are very nice and acid is produced, the makes really good kimchi, which his There are also plenty of nutrients flavor is one-dimensional and lacks wife approves of. for these bacteria to consume during the breadth of warm-started kimchi fermentation. This is why kimchi is fermentations, in my opinion. considered a wild fermentation. Leave your fermenter(s) at room- ENJOYING KIMCHI temperature (~68 ˚F/20 ˚C) for 2–3 You can eat your kimchi any time days. If you are using glass bowls or after the brined cabbage is rinsed jars, it’s best to place these on plates and mixed with the paste. Some folks or a sheet pan because some liquid may really like fresh, unfermented kimchi

39 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine Alternative Fermentations © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved