Fruit spirits are sooo last year

[British Red]

Having made nearly every form of fruit spirit imaginable, plus hedgerow wines, meads etc. I am a bit bored...and my pantry runneth over.

Looks to be a great year for sloes and bullaces as well as apples and rhubarb so I'm thinking....fruit beer? Badgers seem to do very well with odd fruit / beer blends and I've noticed others sneaking in.

To date I have tried a "Snakebiter" recipe (sharp apple juice blended in to a golden ale at secondary ferment)...worked really well - sharp and refreshing

I have tried to make a "Poachers Choice" as well using raw liquorice stick pounded and infused and stewing and straining a dozen plums and adding the juice at primary ferment. The liquorice came through strongly, but not the plums. I'm thinking of stewing about three pounds of bullaces with bruised liquorice and adding at secondary ferment.

Now...is rhubarb ale too radical??

What does the assemble wisdom think of fruit beers?

 

[Goatboy]

Having made nearly every form of fruit spirit imaginable, plus hedgerow wines, meads etc. I am a bit bored...and my pantry runneth over.

Looks to be a great year for sloes and bullaces as well as apples and rhubarb so I'm thinking....fruit beer? Badgers seem to do very well with odd fruit / beer blends and I've noticed others sneaking in.

To date I have tried a "Snakebiter" recipe (sharp apple juice blended in to a golden ale at secondary ferment)...worked really well - sharp and refreshing

I have tried to make a "Poachers Choice" as well using raw liquorice stick pounded and infused and stewing and straining a dozen plums and adding the juice at primary ferment. The liquorice came through strongly, but not the plums. I'm thinking of stewing about three pounds of bullaces with bruised liquorice and adding at secondary ferment.

Now...is rhubarb ale too radical??

What does the assemble wisdom think of fruit beers?

Made a lovely rhubarb and ginger gin for the annual martini contest a few years back, very tasty but cloudy (more of a dirty martini). Plums and liquorice then going out poachin' - doesn't sound a good idea to me would likely have the same effect on me as kelp beer did. Lovely drop - but stay near a loo. Seriously though there's lots of recipes for rhubarb beer out there so it must be good. My favourite is gooseberry beer Grozethttp://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/12142/244 a wheat and bog myrtle beer with gooseberries.

 

[British Red]

Goosberry will be worth a go - thanks! I have a fair bit of rhubarb this year - and I've added twenty more crowns for next year, so if rhubarb beer works it'll be a plus. I'm going to use a cheap kit as the wort and add the rhubarb liquor in after primary ferment....I'll report back on progress.

 

[Goatboy]

Goosberry will be worth a go - thanks! I have a fair bit of rhubarb this year - and I've added twenty more crowns for next year, so if rhubarb beer works it'll be a plus. I'm going to use a cheap kit as the wort and add the rhubarb liquor in after primary ferment....I'll report back on progress.

Yeah sounds good, I do like rhubarb seems to have fallen out of favour with chefs these days. Like it as both a sweet and savoury ingredient. Even just nice if your having cheese and oatcakes having some raw to slice on top. Also wonderful raw if your baking the likes of a camembert or brie to use as crudités.

Let us here how you go.

 

[British Red]

Ahh with cheese you need some of my rhubarb chutney - sweet and sour in one ....

 

[Goatboy]

Ahh with cheese you need some of my rhubarb chutney - sweet and sour in one ....

Ohhh is it mushy or can you still make out the rhubarb batons glistening atop the sharp crumbly cheesy chunks... (Food porn) love rhubarb chutney. My gran used to do a rhubarb and carrot one. NICE.

 

[resnikov]

I say go for it, rhubarb is one of my favourite fruits and is not used enough. The Belgians do fruit beers so why not experiment. The liquorice sounds very interesting.

 

[British Red]

Lumps of soft rhubarb GB - with treacly muscovado and sharp cider vinegar over soft notes of shallot, red onion and garlic - I have a truckle of Maryland extra mature cheddar to put it on which will be slabbed on fresh wholemeal from my own wheat still steaming from the woodfired oven

Hard core food porn

 

[British Red]

I say go for it, rhubarb is one of my favourite fruits and is not used enough. The Belgians do fruit beers so why not experiment. The liquorice sounds very interesting.

I tell you though - a little liquorice goes a long way! Two sticks is enough for five gallons of beer. I'm growing my own liquorice now which I have high hopes for

 

[resnikov]

I may have to experiment with liquorice but will not be until next year once the house renovations are complete.

The idiot in me is wondering what could be done with horseradish and booze.

 

[British Red]

Okay for the rhubarb lovers amongst us

My old rhubarb bed


Rhubarb Harvest by British Red, on Flickr

The new one for which I grew the crowns from seed last year


New Rhubarb Bed by British Red, on Flickr

The leaves have about met in the middle now but I won't pick any this year to let them establish!


New Rhubarb Bed by British Red, on Flickr

Pictures of rhubarb chutney making (and yes, it has carrots GB)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/british_red/sets/72157634748256179/


Cooking down by British Red, on Flickr

and my strawberry rhubarb pie / crumble filling

http://www.flickr.com/photos/british_red/sets/72157634744586661/


Cooked down strawberry rhubarb by British Red, on Flickr

Red

 

[British Red]

I may have to experiment with liquorice but will not be until next year once the house renovations are complete.

The idiot in me is wondering what could be done with horseradish and booze.

Blimey there's a thought. Something akin to a chilli vodka?

 

[Goatboy]

Lumps of soft rhubarb GB - with treacly muscovado and sharp cider vinegar over soft notes of shallot, red onion and garlic - I have a truckle of Maryland extra mature cheddar to put it on which will be slabbed on fresh wholemeal from my own wheat still steaming from the woodfired oven

Hard core food porn

[video=youtube;FZluzt3H6tk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZluzt3H6tk[/video]
Has she just had some?

Meant to post up the other day, I've little stooks of wheat which have come up of their own accord at the front of my house beside where I park the car. the clumps have naturally fallen together into little stooks and are ripening away. Ate some of the berries from one the other day, raw wheat is tasty. Don't know whether to leave or harvest and plant next year. Must be satisfying growing your own wheat for your bread. I do like bread making. Lunch is on you if I'm ever passing - I'll bring the Grozet! (Lots of it, well you have to lay some down).

 

[resnikov]

Blimey there's a thought. Something akin to a chilli vodka?

Been done http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/allotment/2010/dec/03/allotments-gardeningadvice Think I may have to try it anyway

 

[British Red]

Lunch is on you if I'm ever passing - I'll bring the Grozet! (Lots of it, well you have to lay some down).

Deal. Need to get into cheese making next..would be great to be able to produce a nice cheddar or brie

 

[British Red]

Been done http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/allotment/2010/dec/03/allotments-gardeningadvice Think I may have to try it anyway

I'm thinking that needs something else...I have the honey, horseradish and vodka...even grow the chillis. Needs something fruity and Vit C like though...elderberry?

 

[daveO]

Maybe try a different approach and make jam from the fruit to make cocktails like this:

http://www.nwedible.com/2013/08/plum-jamtini-cocktail-pass-the-ice-pass-the-shaker.html

 

[British Red]

That's a thought Dave - I have frozen strawberries and always have syrup on hand for the bees...strawberry and vanilla jamtini anyone?

 

[Goatboy]

Deal. Need to get into cheese making next..would be great to be able to produce a nice cheddar or brie

British Red Cheese. You could do a honeyed goats cheese. Can see the packaging as you sell it. (Well why not we produce more types of cheese than France - and during the war we were only producing one type of cheese, quite a turn around.)

My favourite at the moment is this stuff: -

Pretty strong with a wholegrain mustard through it. (I'm not usually a mustard fan but I like wholegrain mustard. And it reminds me of my excellent macaroni cheese).

 

[British Red]

I do grow and make my own wholegrain mustard too That sounds a stonking choice!