I've got it matie i was lookin for out of the ordinary stuff (like banana wine!!)and your right its a good book, his mushroom book is pukka too..Neil1 said:
Bushcraft Booze
- Thread starter Paganwolf
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Seeing as everyone is talking about elderberry wine, I thought I'd post my Spiced Elderberry wine recipe - its extremely good, but as with all elderberry wines needs at least a year to age before it loses its harshness. Its half-way between a port and a very fruity wine, and is very good at Christmas/New Year festivities!
Spiced Elderberry Wine
---------------------------------
2 pounds elderberries, stripped from the stalks
2 1/2 pounds sugar
1.25 gallons water
1 lemon
1 orange
1-inch lump root ginger
2-inch cinnamon stick
5 cloves
yeast, demijohns, brewing stuff etc etc
Boil the berries, water, spices and chopped cirtus fruit together for 20-30 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the sugar, stirring well. When all the sugar is dissolved, strain off the liquid and leave to cool to body heat.
Proceed as for any wine recipe. (i.e Add yeast, put in demijohns, wait until fermentation finishes, rack into new demijohns, leave to settle for 1-2 weeks, add campden etc etc, then bottle). Leave to mature in bottles for at least 1 year! Best after 2-3 years...
Further recipes etc if anyone wants...
Spiced Elderberry Wine
---------------------------------
2 pounds elderberries, stripped from the stalks
2 1/2 pounds sugar
1.25 gallons water
1 lemon
1 orange
1-inch lump root ginger
2-inch cinnamon stick
5 cloves
yeast, demijohns, brewing stuff etc etc
Boil the berries, water, spices and chopped cirtus fruit together for 20-30 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the sugar, stirring well. When all the sugar is dissolved, strain off the liquid and leave to cool to body heat.
Proceed as for any wine recipe. (i.e Add yeast, put in demijohns, wait until fermentation finishes, rack into new demijohns, leave to settle for 1-2 weeks, add campden etc etc, then bottle). Leave to mature in bottles for at least 1 year! Best after 2-3 years...
Further recipes etc if anyone wants...
Ed - you're right it me losing it.
The post I was looking for is the "beer from the woods" one in the general topics.
similar vein to this one -
The post I was looking for is the "beer from the woods" one in the general topics.
similar vein to this one -
Paganwolf said:
Very tasty; golden colour; lovely plumage.
But it seems to be a quite potent soporific; one friend in particular would nod off after little more than a glass and a half. And I'm quite certain that it wasn't the 14% alcohol that was doing for him.
KKK
Just bottled my first batch of Noyau .
For those who don't know it's a beech leaf liquor. I've been meaning to do it for years but always get caught up in other things and miss the young beech leaves. This year I was ready with my two bottles of gin. The beech leaves have been steeping in the booze for three weeks and I strained them off and added the sugar syrup this morning. I was following Roger Philips' recipe (I think it's Richard Mabey's really) but I didn't have any brandy so I used spiced rum
. It's a little early in the day to test it but I dipped my finger in and it tastes lovely 
.
.For those who don't know it's a beech leaf liquor. I've been meaning to do it for years but always get caught up in other things and miss the young beech leaves. This year I was ready with my two bottles of gin. The beech leaves have been steeping in the booze for three weeks and I strained them off and added the sugar syrup this morning. I was following Roger Philips' recipe (I think it's Richard Mabey's really) but I didn't have any brandy so I used spiced rum
. It's a little early in the day to test it but I dipped my finger in and it tastes lovely .
Snufkin said:Just bottled my first batch of Noyau
For those who don't know it's a beech leaf liquor. I've been meaning to do it for years but always get caught up in other things and miss the young beech leaves. This year I was ready with my two bottles of gin. The beech leaves have been steeping in the booze for three weeks and I strained them off and added the sugar syrup this morning. I was following Roger Philips' recipe (I think it's Richard Mabey's really) but I didn't have any brandy so I used spiced rum
I made some Noyau a few years back using brandy
its incredibly sweet, but very very potent 
Not all growing wild in the UK but when I was a nipper my mother used to make wine from:
Elderberries
Elderflowers
Rowanberries
Damsons
Gooseberries
Raspberries
Blackcurrants
Gorse flowers
Most of which grew in the garden or on our land
Elderberries
Elderflowers
Rowanberries
Damsons
Gooseberries
Raspberries
Blackcurrants
Gorse flowers
Most of which grew in the garden or on our land
Just sipping some of last years sloe and damson (with a few elderberrys as well) vodka, the bit left over then we filled the bottels. Very tasty, and it'll keep getting better for at least another year!
All hail to beech leaf noyau! It's great stuff. Must try to make more than 4 bottles next year though as once it's opened, that's it. It's great to give friends a gift of your home made liquor. Just made some elderflower wine at the weekend, never made it before so hope it turns out ok. I've already got dandilion flower wine on the clear so by christmas it should be near to drinkable. Busy, busy, busy! So much to forage and so little time.
Yep - been drinking this year's batch of beech leaf gin, along with finishing off last years blackberry vodka!
My current creation is absinthe, which I make occasionally when I get enough pressure from my friends (who then don't ask again for a few years until the memories of the embarrasments and hangovers have faded
) Only really viable if you have access to very strong alcohol (80%+) to get the active ingredients out of the wormwood - easy enough to obtain in a lot of French/Belgian/German supermarkets at 95%+ though!
Will be making all sorts of elderflower products soon (flowers are nearly ready up here in Edinburgh) - I tend to pick a lot of flowers and dry them when its sunny, as they store and retain their flavour for up to a year - and a tbsp of flowers in a litre of water with some sugar added makes an instant cordial. Elderflower champagne is always quick and tasty to make though!
My current creation is absinthe, which I make occasionally when I get enough pressure from my friends (who then don't ask again for a few years until the memories of the embarrasments and hangovers have faded
) Only really viable if you have access to very strong alcohol (80%+) to get the active ingredients out of the wormwood - easy enough to obtain in a lot of French/Belgian/German supermarkets at 95%+ though!Will be making all sorts of elderflower products soon (flowers are nearly ready up here in Edinburgh) - I tend to pick a lot of flowers and dry them when its sunny, as they store and retain their flavour for up to a year - and a tbsp of flowers in a litre of water with some sugar added makes an instant cordial. Elderflower champagne is always quick and tasty to make though!
Be wary of Bush Booze!!
I had a mate who made a Still out of a Fire Extinguisher!
we drank about 1 part Fire Water to 20 Parts SCREECH!! (horrible foul tasting orange powdered drink found in UK army 24 hour ration packs).
I ended up in the 3rd Battalion,Paras, Guard house for 21 days
I had a mate who made a Still out of a Fire Extinguisher!
we drank about 1 part Fire Water to 20 Parts SCREECH!! (horrible foul tasting orange powdered drink found in UK army 24 hour ration packs).
I ended up in the 3rd Battalion,Paras, Guard house for 21 days
I'd love to make a bevvy from wild things, but there's little of any usefulness my way apart from birch, and I think I missed the best sap-gathering period already. The nearest I've ever come was when I brewed that batch of mead! I didn't make it from wild things but it certainly made me into a wild thing!
Anyone tried Heather Ale?
There is a bottled version in the shops 'Fraoch' which is rather good.
There is a bottled version in the shops 'Fraoch' which is rather good.
last year I had a go at some of roger phillips recipes - nettle beer, elderberry wine and broom flower wine, I occasionally have pine needle tea, which really does'nt count unless you put whiskey in it - hiccup.
I'm making some bog myrtle vodka. It's my first attempt so we'll see how it goes. Very simple really, just soak some bog myrtle in vodka (commercially bought ..... though I suppose you could make your own!) for about a month (or longer). Turns a lovely golden brown colour and smells fantastic! I think I first discovered it while reading the Collins Gem "Food for Free" ....... my reasoning is that if I drink enough of it maybe it'll keep the midges away!
I think it's quite popular in Scandinavia? Found this webpage as well that suggest St. Johns Wort, Crowberry and Blackberries.
I think it's quite popular in Scandinavia? Found this webpage as well that suggest St. Johns Wort, Crowberry and Blackberries.
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