Fruit spirits are sooo last year

[Macaroon]

I've never brewed, but family and friends do: One of the nicest beers I've ever had is one my sister-in-law brews from rhubarb, goosegogs and a little ginger................each year when it's ready we all gather there for a huge dinner consisting of many dishes of Mackerel and Herring and the combination of the beer and these fish dishes is an absolute delight - they compliment each other perfectly.

I need to call her right now, come to think of it!.......................atb mac

 

[British Red]

Ginger is an idea in the rhubarb beer....thanks Mac!

 

[Goatboy]

Currents (red/black or white) could be nice too!

 

[British Red]

Okay, attempt number one is going to be rhubarb and root ginger. Primary ferment is finishing on a basic medium bitter made with a little less water than needed. I'm preparing an infusion of 3 litres of water, 2 kilos of rhubarb, a goodly lump of root ginger and 500g of muscovado sugar. This will be cooled, strained and added for the secondary ferment.

This one is a real shot in the dark - no idea how it will taste

 

[g4ghb]

Hugh, Rhubarb and ginger beer sounds wonderful! - now if you can only create a non alcoholic version I would be first in the que

I love ginger beer and rhubarb is one of my favorite 'fruits'

 

[Elen Sentier]

Go for it ... and if your larder runneth over I will buy some off you (just to make space and help out, you understand ) specially sloe gin/vodka as I couldn't make any last year cos of my feet. Oh and do you have any birch wine ???

 

[British Red]

Graham,

If you are passing, I'll overload you with rhubarb mate - and give you plants to take home too.

I have a well established bed, the new bed with twenty more crowns - and fifty first year plants in the greenhouses growing on . You would probably enjoy the syrup I made to add to the beer after primary ferment - it would be lovely mixed with sparkling water or something similar - just rhubarb, mucovado sugar and root ginger stewed to death and then filtered. Sharp and a little sweet with a ginger "kick".

Elen.

My birch trees are babies, but I do have plans for my bullace trees this year - I reckon to harvest a good 25 pounds of fruit . Bullace vodka made with molasses sugar beats sloe vodka hands down (although I do sloe as well!)

 

[British Red]

Here we go then - rhubarb and ginger beer

Pick a couple of kilos of rhubarb from the handy dandy rhubarb patch


2kg rhubarb by British Red, on Flickr

Put two litres of water in a large pan


3 litres water by British Red, on Flickr

Add 500g of Muscovado sugar, heat and stir


500g Muscovado by British Red, on Flickr


Stir to dissolve by British Red, on Flickr

Chop the rhubarb and add to the pan


Chopped Rhubarb by British Red, on Flickr

Take a good sized lump of root ginger


Root Ginger by British Red, on Flickr

Peel and finely slice (don't grate because we want to remove it from the syrup later)


Peel and slice finely by British Red, on Flickr

Add to the pan


Add ginger to pan by British Red, on Flickr

Bring the pan to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes


Bring to boil by British Red, on Flickr

Sieve out the pulp


Sieve pulp by British Red, on Flickr

You should get 3 litres of syrup


Sieved syrup by British Red, on Flickr

Run the syrup through a fine jelly bag to remove any small stuff (or a sieve lined with cloth)


Jelly Bag by British Red, on Flickr

Open your fermenter


Fermented Beer by British Red, on Flickr

Pour in the syrup and stir


Syrup in beer by British Red, on Flickr

No idea how this will taste as the secondary ferment will alter the taste - its quite sharp and striking at the moment.....

 

[resnikov]

I can almost smell that from here. Looking forward to hearing how it goes.

 

[British Red]

Its certainly kicked the ferment off again - huge head of bubbles on it now . Clearly that will work on the sugar I added but also the fruit sugars which will alter the taste even more

I think we are at the spot on the map that says "here be dragons"

 

[British Red]

Its all gone a bit Pete Tong

This was the head half an hour after I added the syrup


Secondary Ferment by British Red, on Flickr

This morning it was....over the top, down the side and making a break for the airing cupboard

Not too bad only half a cup or so actually escaped, but the secondary ferment was violent! Its calming down now thankfully. A sip of the wort says its very pungent in a "rhubarb and custard" scent, but quite acid on first taste. My wife thinks it will be fine...I'm less convinced!

 

[bilmo-p5]

BB +1,

Sounds lovely!

 

[BILLy]

Have you tried making anything with Rosebay Willow Herb, red?
If so what?
I am just a beginner at making wines and would love an hour with you talking brewing ( Oo err)
Cheers
Bill

 

[santaman2000]

Its all gone a bit Pete Tong

This was the head half an hour after I added the syrup


Secondary Ferment by British Red, on Flickr

This morning it was....over the top, down the side and making a break for the airing cupboard

Not too bad only half a cup or so actually escaped, but the secondary ferment was violent! Its calming down now thankfully. A sip of the wort says its very pungent in a "rhubarb and custard" scent, but quite acid on first taste. My wife thinks it will be fine...I'm less convinced!

You don't use a covered vat with an overflow siphon then?

 

[Elen Sentier]

Graham,

If you are passing, I'll overload you with rhubarb mate - and give you plants to take home too.

I have a well established bed, the new bed with twenty more crowns - and fifty first year plants in the greenhouses growing on . You would probably enjoy the syrup I made to add to the beer after primary ferment - it would be lovely mixed with sparkling water or something similar - just rhubarb, mucovado sugar and root ginger stewed to death and then filtered. Sharp and a little sweet with a ginger "kick".

Elen.

My birch trees are babies, but I do have plans for my bullace trees this year - I reckon to harvest a good 25 pounds of fruit . Bullace vodka made with molasses sugar beats sloe vodka hands down (although I do sloe as well!)

Yeah, my birch is a baby still too. I've never had Bullace vodka, sounds good . Which variety are yours? I do damson vodka from our tree ...

 

[British Red]

Elen - our bullace are "wild mad ones in the hedge" They look like this


August Bullace by British Red, on Flickr

Santaman - there's an airlock in the lid but the CO2 blew the lid seal it was coming off so fast No harm done though. My brewing neighbour has tried it and reckons it has promise which is good

Billy - not tried Rosebay Willowherb....what does it taste of?

 

[Elen Sentier]

Elen - our bullace are "wild mad ones in the hedge" They look like this


August Bullace by British Red, on Flickr

Santaman - there's an airlock in the lid but the CO2 blew the lid seal it was coming off so fast No harm done though. My brewing neighbour has tried it and reckons it has promise which is good

Billy - not tried Rosebay Willowherb....what does it taste of?

Thought they would be the wild ones ... must see if we have some round here

 

[British Red]

Bottled the rhubarb beer this morning in one litre bottles. Got an orangey colour to it and a nice scent...need to let it charge and clear now for a couple of months...pictures to follow

 

[Macaroon]

Great to see someone doing something with wild (real) bullace; they're getting very difficult to find in the wild hereabouts, if I hadn't been picking the same places for many years I'm not sure I'd find them now.
And the bullace gin is head and shoulders above sloe gin, althogh like BR I make both! It'd be rude not too, eh?........................atb mac

 

[British Red]

Here we have it then

The Brewed out beer - somewhat cloudier than normal - I'm hoping that will settle out during bottle conditioning


Brewed out rhubarb beer by British Red, on Flickr

The 1 litre bottles - sanitised and charged with 1 level tsp of sugar


Beer Bottles by British Red, on Flickr

and the bottled beer


Bottled rhubarb beer by British Red, on Flickr

I'll leave the bottles in a warm spot for a week to ferment out the charging sugar - this will give the gas to create a "head" when the beer is poured, then put them in a dark cool spot to clear for a few weeks until sparkling clear.....then we can tell if I have been wasting my time!