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Post by gyro on Mar 5, 2009 20:13:54 GMT
Hopefully, if the nettles are good enough, this is what I'll be doing at the weekend :
Ingredients · 6l water · A small carrier bag of nettle tops, washed · Juice of 1 lemon, strained · Juice of 1 orange, strained · 750g caster sugar · 30g cream of tartar · 5g yeast Method: How to make nettle ale 1. Bring the water to the boil in a large pan. 2. Add nettles, stir, then remove the pan from the heat and leave to infuse for at least an hour until it is at blood temperature. 3. Carefully - you might want to enlist a helper at this point - strain the nettle liquid through a colander lined with a large piece of unbleached muslin into a large brewing bucket or pan. Once the liquid has filtered through, squeeze the muslin to get the maximum amount of liquid into the bucket. 4. Gradually add the sugar, stirring constantly to ensure it is thoroughly dissolved, then add the cream of tartar, and lemon and orange juice. 5. Finally, once the mixture is tepid, stir in the yeast. Cover and leave for 2-3 days in a warm place, until it’s obviously fermenting. 6. Remove any scum which has risen to the top in fermentation and siphon the beer into sterilised bottles and seal with corks. 7. Leave for at least a couple more days or up to a month before drinking.
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Post by bazfaz on Mar 5, 2009 21:01:14 GMT
it's obviously good or you wouldn't be making it. I remember making apple wine, elderflower wine and elderberry wine. After the hot summer of 1976 the elderberry wine was delicious.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2009 21:10:01 GMT
Never had tried any such thing. I have never consumed nettles in any form but I have often been told that they are a good vegetable, particularly in soup.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 5, 2009 22:13:56 GMT
Sounds great. Um, where will you be storing those bottles? Aren't you afraid some will effervesce more than than the corks can control?
Be sure to cover your arms and hands well & especially cover up the kids if they go with you. I didn't realize there'd be nettles this early.
General question: what is cream of tartar for?
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Post by gyro on Mar 6, 2009 5:58:31 GMT
Baz, I don't know if it's any good or not, as I've never made it. I'm hoping though ..
K, yeah nettle soup is nice, but you need to pick the nettles before June or the end of June I think. The older they get, the more diahrretic they become ...
Bix: I have plenty of metal caps and a Crown Capper from my beer making days. But I'll probably be storing the bottles in the garage anyway ....
As for cream of tartar, christ knows - never used it before.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 6, 2009 6:17:02 GMT
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Post by gyro on Mar 6, 2009 6:41:19 GMT
Never taken acid either.
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Post by bazfaz on Mar 6, 2009 10:10:34 GMT
I had netttle soup once. My (ex)sister-in-law was going through a dieting phase. We had nettle soup, tasteless grilled chicken, and rhubarb - stewed without sugar.
It was all awful.
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Post by gyro on Mar 6, 2009 10:24:21 GMT
Yeah well, women are shit cooks, aren't they ?
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Post by bazfaz on Mar 6, 2009 12:40:51 GMT
This same sister-in-law froze some fish stock in ice cube trays which she kept in the compartment at the top of the fridge. A guest (not me) decided he wanted a Pernod and helped himself to a couple of ice cubes.......
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Post by Don Cuevas on Mar 6, 2009 14:18:26 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 6, 2009 16:19:57 GMT
A question: there are all kinds of old-fashioned recipes for dandelion wine and the like. I believe they all start out with a kind of tea, as Gyro describes for the nettle beer.
Why do some of those "teas" turn into wine, and some into beer? Is it because of how much yeast and sugar is used?
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Post by gyro on Mar 11, 2009 6:05:39 GMT
A tea is just infusing a plant or herb in water, which is fairly basic premise to many drinks, when you think about it. It's the adding of yeast and sugar that makes it ferment into an alcoholic drink in most cases.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 11, 2009 7:56:42 GMT
*crosses eyes*
Yeah -- that's what I said, but that's not the question.
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Post by gyro on Mar 11, 2009 8:34:39 GMT
It's all to do with the yeast and sugar.
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